A new Public Service Act

The Government has implemented the most significant overhaul of New Zealand’s Public Service in 30 years by replacing the State Sector Act with a new Public Service Act.

The Public Service Act 2020 came into force on 7 August 2020. Key features include:

• a more flexible set of options for how the public service can organise itself to better respond to specific priorities
• allowing public servants to move between agencies more easily
• clearly establishing the purpose, principles and values of an apolitical public service, as well as its role in government formation
• supporting the Crown in its commitment to and its relationship with Māori
• strengthening leadership across the public service and, in particular, providing for system and future focused leadership
• shifting the focus from state services to public services (and changing the name of the State Services Commission to the Public Service Commission)
• recognising new organisational forms including:
  • interdepartmental executive boards, made up of chief executives and independent advisors, selected by the Commissioner. The purpose of an interdepartmental executive board is to align and co-ordinate strategic policy, planning, and budgeting departments with responsibilities in a subject matter area, and to support priority work and cross-department initiatives in that area.
  • interdepartmental ventures where an agency is governed by a board and made up of the chief executives of the relevant departments. The purpose of an interdepartmental venture is to deliver services or carry out regulatory functions that relate to the responsibilities of two or more departments, and to assist to develop and implement related operational policy.

For more on the Act see our article State Sector Act reform.