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1.73The granting, confirmation, and control of armorial bearings (coats of arms) and other heraldic devices fall within the Sovereign's prerogative as the “Fount of all Honour”. Her Majesty's Lieutenants, in exercising this prerogative in New Zealand,...

1.77The Order of Precedence is approved by the Sovereign. It indicates the relative precedence of constitutional office holders, public officials, and certain others, on state, official, and other important occasions. Hosts and organisers of official...

2.1 This chapter covers: the appointment and roles of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers (including Associate Ministers, acting Ministers, and duty Ministers), Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, and Parliamentary Private...

Appointment 2.2 The Prime Minister is appointed by warrant by the Governor-General. In making this appointment, constitutional convention requires the Governor-General to: act on the outcome of the electoral process and subsequent...

2.13 The Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by warrant. If the Prime Minister is unavailable or unable to exercise the statutory or constitutional functions and powers of the office, the Deputy Prime Minister can, if necessary, exercise those powers...

Appointment 2.15 The Letters Patent (see the appendix), issued under the Sovereign’s prerogative power, empower the Governor-General: …to constitute and appoint under the Seal of New Zealand, to hold office during pleasure, all such Members of...

2.48 The Governor-General, under section 8 of the Constitution Act, may appoint any member of Parliament to be a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in relation to the ministerial office or offices specified in the warrant of appointment. The Governor-...

2.52 Parliamentary Private Secretaries are members of Parliament who may be appointed by the Prime Minister by letter to assist Ministers. Parliamentary Private Secretaries support the Minister by building relationships with relevant communities,...

General 2.53 To protect the integrity of the decision-making process of executive government and to maintain public trust in the Executive, Ministers and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries must conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to their office...

2.82 In a democracy, everyone has the right to make representations to Ministers on matters that concern them. Ministers will receive a large number of requests for meetings with people and organisations seeking either to influence government policy,...

General 2.84 The Standing Orders require members of Parliament to disclose to the Registrar of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament any gift received with an estimated market value of more than a prescribed amount (or...

Speaking engagements 2.94 Ministers receive many invitations to events and offers of speaking engagements. Ministers should consider carefully which invitations they will accept, and try to honour invitations from a variety of organisations. 2.95...

2.107 Governments have a responsibility to keep the public informed about important issues of the day. They may legitimately use public funds and resources for advertising and other publicity that explains their policies, informs the public of the...

Overseas travel 2.111 Overseas travel by Ministers or Parliamentary Under-Secretaries can provide important benefits to their portfolios and to New Zealand generally. 2.112To ensure that their travel is approved properly and undertaken in an...

3.1 This chapter covers: the relationship between Ministers and the various organisations making up the public service, the state services, and the state sector; the standards of integrity and conduct expected throughout the state sector...

Public service 3.3 “Public service” is the term used to describe all public service departments listed in Schedule 1 of the State Sector Act 1988, and any departmental agencies listed in Schedule 1A of that Act. The public service is part of the...

3.6The formal relationship between Ministers and the public service is governed primarily by the State Sector Act and the Public Finance Act. The relationship is also governed by convention, key aspects of which are set out in this chapter. Roles and...

General 3.35 Crown entities are legal entities in their own right. A decision to assign a government activity or function to a Crown entity indicates that the function should be carried out at “arm’s length” from the government. As reflected in the...

General principles 3.51 The relationship between Ministers and companies in the state sector differs from the relationship between Ministers and agencies in the state services. Although the nature of the relationship with a particular company will...

Principles of public service 3.57 Employees in the state sector must act with a spirit of service to the community and meet high standards of integrity and conduct in everything they do. In particular, officials must be fair, impartial, responsible,...

4.1 This chapter covers: the role of the Attorney-General, including the law officer role; the relationship between Ministers and the judiciary; litigation involving Ministers, including judicial review and proceedings taken by or...

General 4.2 The Attorney-General is the principal legal adviser (the “senior law officer”) to the government. The Attorney-General is a Minister and almost always a member of Cabinet. In Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, the Attorney-General...

4.12 The separation of the Executive and the judiciary under New Zealand’s system of government means that Ministers must exercise judgement before commenting on judicial decisions, whether generally, or in relation to the specifics of an individual...

4.17 CO (16) 2 Cabinet Directions for the Conduct of Crown Legal Business is available on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's website. These directions set out the processes to be followed when: Ministers seek legal advice or...

Judicial review 4.19 “Judicial review” is the review by a judge of the High Court of any exercise of, or non-exercise of, a decision-making power in order to determine whether or not the decision was lawful or valid. Most formal decisions taken by...

General 4.62 Legal advice in departmental documents and Cabinet papers should be protected from disclosure in a manner consistent with the law. The guidance in paragraphs 4.63 – 4.72 sets out the required approach to the release of legal advice....

General 4.74 This guidance provides information on the different types of inquiry, and the principles that apply to their establishment. 4.75Statutory inquiries, non-statutory ministerial inquiries, and standing statutory bodies with powers of...

5.1 This chapter covers: Cabinet and Cabinet committees; the main principles and procedures governing decision-making by Ministers in the Cabinet and Cabinet committee system; the roles of the Secretary of the Cabinet and the Cabinet...

5.2 Cabinet is the central decision-making body of executive government. It is a collective forum for Ministers to decide significant government issues and to keep colleagues informed of matters of public interest and controversy. 5.3 Cabinet is...

5.6 Cabinet committees provide the forum for detailed consideration and discussion of issues before their reference to Cabinet, with officials available to assist Ministers if the committee wishes. Almost all matters are considered first by one or more...

Items for consideration by Cabinet 5.11 As a general rule, Ministers should put before their colleagues the sorts of issues on which they themselves would wish to be consulted. Ministers should keep their colleagues informed about matters of public...

Preparing and submitting Cabinet papers 5.39 Papers are submitted to Cabinet committees and Cabinet to enable Ministers to make collective decisions based on sound information and analysis. Good papers reflect robust policy development and...