Lead and support agencies

For any national security risk (or major element of such a risk), a lead agency is identified.

The lead agency is the agency with the primary mandate for managing a particular hazard or risk across the “4Rs” of risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery.

The principal reasons for having nominated lead agencies, and setting clear expectations of them, are to:

• ensure clarity and certainty about responsibilities and leadership at a time of crisis;
• ensure responsibilities for maintaining situational awareness and risk mitigation are assigned properly;
• give early warning and more time for decision-making;
• facilitate prompt response, thereby avoiding compounding damage;
• give clarity on communications lines and the provision of necessary information;

• have designated responsibilities for both proactive and reactive risk management.

Where activities are required at national, regional or local levels, a devolved accountability model is used. For example, the Ministry of Health is the strategic lead for infectious human disease nationally, while District Health Boards are the regional lead. Maritime New Zealand is the national lead for a marine oil spill, with the regional lead being the responsibility of the affected Regional Council.

The responsibilities of a lead agency with specific regard to emergencies are set out in Section 14 of the National CDEM Plan Order 2015. 

The agencies below are mandated (either explicitly through legislation or because of their specific expertise) to manage an emergency arising from the following hazards. This table is largely, although not wholly, based on Appendix 1, National CDEM Plan Order 2015.

Support Agencies
While some risks are managed by the lead agency alone, many require the support of other government departments and agencies.

The role of support agencies is laid out in Section 15(1) of the National CDEM Plan Order 2015.

Support agencies may have statutory responsibilities and/or specific objectives of their own, which they may need to pursue in addition to, or as part of, the support that they provide to the lead agency. Sometimes, a support agency might support the lead agency simply by repurposing an existing capability.