Ombudsmen Act 1975

Miscellaneous provisions

28: Delegation of powers by Ombudsman

You could also call this:

"The Ombudsman can give some of their jobs to others to do."

You can be given some of the Ombudsman's powers. The Ombudsman can choose someone to do some of their jobs. The Ombudsman can pick a specific person or a person with a specific job to do these tasks. They can also change their mind and take the powers back at any time. You might be given some of the Ombudsman's powers, but you will have to show you have the authority to use them. The Ombudsman can give you these powers for a specific case or for all cases. If the Ombudsman who gave you the powers leaves their job, the new Ombudsman will still recognise the powers you have been given. The Ombudsman can also add some rules or conditions to the powers they give you. This means you will only be able to use the powers in certain situations. You will have to follow these rules when you are using the powers given to you by the Ombudsman.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM431185.

This page was last updated on 25 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Government and voting > Government departments

27: Power of entry on premises, or

"The Ombudsman can visit certain places to check if they are doing things correctly."

28A: Protection of name, or

"Only authorised people can use the name 'Ombudsman' for their job or business"

28Delegation of powers by Ombudsman

Any Ombudsman may from time to time, by writing under his hand, delegate to any person holding any office under him any of his powers under this Act, except this power of delegation and the power to make any report under this Act.
Any delegation under this section may be made to a specified person or to the holder for the time being of a specified office or to the holders of offices of a specified class.
Every delegation under this section shall be revocable at will, and no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power by an Ombudsman.
Any such delegation may be made subject to such restrictions and conditions as the Ombudsman thinks fit, and may be made either generally or in relation to any particular case or class of cases.
Until any such delegation is revoked, it shall continue in force according to its tenor. In the event of the Ombudsman by whom it was made ceasing to hold office, it shall continue to have effect as if made by his successor.
Any person purporting to exercise any power of an Ombudsman by virtue of a delegation under this section shall, when required to do so, produce evidence of his authority to exercise the power.

Compare

1962 No 10 s 24

Notes

Section 28(1): amended, on 2 September 1996, by section 3 of the Ombudsmen Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 137).