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Public Service Act 2020

Preliminary provisions - Provisions for operation of Act

4: Guide to this Act

You could also call this:

"A guide to help you understand the Public Service Act and what it's about."

Illustration for Public Service Act 2020

This Act is mainly about the public service, which includes public service agencies and Crown agents. You will find that some parts of this Act also apply to other State services or agencies. The Act has different parts that explain what the public service is, the people who work in it, and the rules they follow.

The first part of the Act defines the public service and talks about its purpose, values, and relationships with Māori. It also mentions the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. You can find more information about the different types of public service agencies in Part 2.

The Act also describes the people who work in the public service, including the Public Service Commissioner and employees. You can read about the Government's workforce policy in Part 4 and find other miscellaneous provisions in Part 5. This guide is just to help you understand the Act and does not change what the provisions say.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS356773.

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3: Purposes of this Act, or

"What the Public Service Act 2020 is trying to achieve for New Zealand's public service and community."

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5: Interpretation, or

"What special words in the Public Service Act 2020 mean"

Part 1Preliminary provisions
Provisions for operation of Act

4Guide to this Act

  1. The provisions of this Act apply mainly to the public service, which includes public service agencies and Crown agents (for the latter, this is for the purposes of subparts 2 and 4 of Part 1). Some provisions of this Act also apply to other State services or specified agencies in other State services and some provisions apply to other areas of government. Some provisions apply to Crown agents as part of the public service (see section 10) and other provisions apply to Crown agents as part of the State services.

  2. Part 1 defines the public service and contains provisions relating to the purpose of the public service, the public service principles, acting with a spirit of service to the community, the Crown’s relationships with Māori, the public service values, minimum standards of integrity and conduct, and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

  3. Part 2 describes the 4 different types of public service agencies. These are departments, departmental agencies, interdepartmental executive boards, and interdepartmental ventures.

  4. Part 3 describes the people working in the public service and their roles and functions. These people are the Public Service Commissioner, Deputy Public Service Commissioners, public service chief executives (who include functional chief executives), and employees who make up the public service workforce. Part 3 also includes provisions relating to system leaders, the public service leadership team, the public service leadership strategy, and secondments.

  5. Part 4 relates to the Government’s workforce policy.

  6. Part 5 contains a miscellaneous group of provisions. These include a provision making it an offence to solicit or attempt to improperly influence public service leaders and a provision that provides immunity for good-faith actions or omissions by public service chief executives and employees.

  7. Repealed

  8. This guide is for explanation only and does not affect the provisions referred to in it.

Notes