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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Public Works Act 1981

Preliminary

4C: Delegation of Minister's powers

You could also call this:

“The Minister can share some of their jobs with other people, but not all of them”

The Minister can give some of their powers to someone else in their department. They do this by writing it down. However, they can’t give away their power to give powers to others.

The Minister for Land Information can’t give someone else the power to tell people they want to take their land.

The Minister can give powers to a specific person, a type of person, someone in a certain job, or people in certain types of jobs.

The person who gets these powers can use them just like the Minister would, unless the Minister tells them to do things differently.

If someone says they’re using powers given to them by the Minister, people should believe them unless there’s proof they’re not telling the truth.

Even if the Minister gives someone else powers, the Minister can still use those powers too.

If a new Minister takes over, the powers given by the old Minister still work.

The Minister can take back the powers they’ve given at any time, but they need to tell the person first.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM45747.

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4CDelegation of Minister's powers

  1. Any Minister of the Crown may from time to time, either generally or particularly, delegate in writing to any officer of the Minister's department any of the powers conferred on the Minister by this Act, except the power of delegation conferred by this section.

  2. Despite subsection (1), the Minister for Land Information must not delegate the power to issue a notice of intention to take land under section 23(1).

  3. Any delegation under this section may be made to—

  4. a specified person; or
    1. a person of a specified class; or
      1. the holder for the time being of a specified office or appointment; or
        1. the holders for the time being of offices or appointments of a specified class.

          1. Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions or restrictions imposed by the Minister, the person to whom any powers, functions, and discretions are delegated may exercise them in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this Act and not by delegation.

          2. Every person purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this section shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with its terms in the absence of proof to the contrary.

          3. A delegation under this section shall not affect the exercise of any power, function, or discretion by the Minister.

          4. If the Minister by whom any delegation under this section is made ceases to hold office, the delegation shall continue to have effect as if made by the Minister's successor in office.

          5. Every delegation under this section shall be revocable at will, but any such revocation shall not take effect until it has been communicated to the delegate.

          Notes
          • Section 4C: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43).
          • Section 4C(2): replaced on , by section 191 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).