Guidance: Directions to support a whole of government approach

On 22 April 2014, the Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance issued directions to apply whole of government approaches to Procurement, ICT and Property.  These directions have now come into force  

Read the 2014 directions:

Procurement(PDF, 284 KB)

ICT(PDF, 572 KB)

Property(PDF, 592 KB)

The 3 directions, together with explanatory material provided to the House, are available at:

Directions to support a whole of government approach given by the Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance under section 107 of the Crown Entities Act 2004  — New Zealand Parliament

Read the select committee report back to the House:

Whole of government directions regarding procurement, ICT, and property functional leadership — New Zealand Parliament

The direction on use of authentication services issued in July 2008 continues to apply to all Crown agents, apart from those with sizeable ICT business transactions and investment specifically listed within the 2014 direction.

AoG direction shared authentication services July 2008 (PDF, 53 KB)

Cabinet papers and minutes for the 2014 directions 

The Cabinet papers and minutes setting out the proposed directions, and the changes following consultation with affected entities, are set out in this table.

On 21 August 2018 the Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance issued a direction setting out requirements for Crown entities in relation to implementation of the New Zealand Business Number. This replaced an earlier order that came into force on 10 May 2016.

The first link provides the text of the Direction. The second link is to the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment website and provides more information on the New Zealand Business Number programme.

NZBN 2018 Direction to Crown entities — Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

The New Zealand Business Number — Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment 

On 21 August 2018 the Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance issued a direction setting out requirements for Crown entities in relation to implementation of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP)

The first link provides the text of the Direction. The second link below is to the Ministry for the Environment website and provides more information on the Government Carbon Neutral Programme.

Direction for agencies to implement the Carbon Neutral Government Programme — New Zealand Parliament

Carbon Neutral Government Programme — Ministry for the Environment 

Application of directions: decision and resolution processes 

Extending the mandate of functional leaders to Crown entities does affect the duties, responsibilities and operating model of a Crown entity board and its responsible minister.  The diagram below shows what ministers are answerable for, and the responsibilities of central agencies, Crown entity boards and functional leaders in respect of functional leadership.  

Under section 151 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, an entity's annual report must include information of “any new direction given to the entity by a Minister in writing under any enactment during that financial year, as well as other such directions that remain current”. A full account of the activities affected by a requirement will assist ministers, the Office of the Auditor-General and Parliament to understand where responsibilities lie for particular activities of the entity.

Related links

Government Procurement Rules — New Zealand Government Procurement and Property

 Delivering better outcomes for New Zealand — New Zealand Government Procurement and Property

Procurement — NZ Digital Government

Better Public Services

Crown entities

Directions to Support a Whole-of-Government Approach, Given to the House of Representatives by the Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance  — New Zealand Gazette 

Coverage for the Procurement, ICT and Property directions is set out in this table.

(*): 7 specific Crown agents with the common characteristic of sizeable ICT business transactions and investment: Accident Compensation Corporation, Earthquake Commission, Housing New Zealand Corporation, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Transport Agency, and Tertiary Education Commission.

(**): All functions, staff, assets and contracts held by DHBs transferred to Health NZ under the Pae Ora Act on 1 July 2022.

(***): The NZ Blood Service was excluded from coverage of the Property direction following consultation on the same basis as for District Health Boards (all office space is going to be within operational sites).

New Zealand’s central government organisations 

When the directions apply to affected entities

• Procurement direction applies from 1 February 2015.
• ICT direction applies from the date the direction comes into force, except that the ICT assurance requirements apply to District Health Boards from 1 July 2015.
• Property direction applies from 1 July 2014.

Crown entity subsidiaries and section 107 directions

Under section 107(3) of the Crown Entities Act 2004, the Ministers of State Services and Finance cannot issue a direction to subsidiaries.

Section 107(3), Crown Entities Act 2004 — New Zealand Legislation

However, under section 97(e), there is an obligation on the parent entity to ensure that their subsidiaries comply, to the extent that the direction relates to the subsidiary.

Section 97(e), Crown Entities Act 2004 — New Zealand Legislation

Directions under section 107 apply to Schedule 4A entities

Under one of the 2013 amendments to the Crown Entities Act 2004, companies named in Schedule 4A of the Public Finance Act 1989 (PFA) may be treated as a category of Crown entities for the purposes of giving whole of government directions to one or more categories of Crown entities. 

New Zealand’s central government organisations lists the current PFA Schedule 4A entities.