Ombudsmen Act 1975

Ombudsmen

6: Removal or suspension from office

You could also call this:

"When an Ombudsman can be removed or suspended from their job by the Governor-General."

The Governor-General can remove or suspend an Ombudsman from their job at any time. This happens when the House of Representatives asks for it, and it's because the Ombudsman cannot do their job, has gone bankrupt, has not done their duty, or has behaved badly. You can find more information about this in the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001. When Parliament is not meeting, the Governor-General can also suspend an Ombudsman, but only for a short time, until Parliament meets again. The Governor-General must be satisfied that the Ombudsman cannot do their job, has gone bankrupt, has not done their duty, or has behaved badly before suspending them.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM431108.

Topics:

Government and voting > Government departmentsRights and equality > Anti-discrimination

5: Term of office of Ombudsmen, or

"How long Ombudsmen stay in their job"

7: Filling of vacancy, or

"What happens when an Ombudsman's job becomes empty and needs to be filled again"

6Removal or suspension from office

Any Ombudsman may at any time be removed or suspended from his office by the Governor-General, upon an address from the House of Representatives, for inability to perform the functions of the office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct.
At any time when Parliament is not in session, any Ombudsman may be suspended from his office by the Governor-General in Council for inability to perform the functions of the office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General; but any such suspension shall not continue in force beyond 2 months after the beginning of the next ensuing session of Parliament.

Compare

1962 No 10 s 5

Notes

Section 6(1): amended, on 1 January 2002, by section 70(1) of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 96).
Section 6(2): amended, on 1 January 2002, by section 70(1) of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 96).