Public Service Act 2020

Preliminary provisions - Public service values, minimum standards of integrity and conduct, and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 - Public service values and minimum standards of integrity and conduct

17: Commissioner may set minimum standards of integrity and conduct

You could also call this:

"The Commissioner can make rules for public service workers to be honest and do the right thing."

The Commissioner can set rules for how people in the public service should behave. These rules are about being honest and doing the right thing. They are based on public service values and principles.

The Commissioner can apply these rules to different groups, such as the public service, Crown entities, and companies listed in Schedule 4A of the Public Finance Act 1989. The rules can also apply to the Parliamentary Counsel Office. You will know what rules apply to you because the Commissioner must tell the agencies and people affected.

The Commissioner can change the rules for different situations or groups of people. Before making or changing a rule, the Commissioner must talk to the agencies and people affected. The Commissioner can also give advice to agencies on how to follow the rules and behave with integrity.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS356879.


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16: Public service values, or

"What the public service aims to do: be fair, responsible, and respectful to everyone."


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18: Agencies must comply with minimum standards unless exception granted, or

"Agencies must follow government rules unless they get special permission"

Part 1Preliminary provisions
Public service values, minimum standards of integrity and conduct, and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Public service values and minimum standards of integrity and conduct

17Commissioner may set minimum standards of integrity and conduct

  1. The Commissioner may set minimum standards of integrity and conduct, including standards relating to—

  2. the public service values:
    1. the public service principles.
      1. Those minimum standards may apply in or to—

      2. the public service (including Crown agents):
        1. Crown entities (other than Crown agents and excluding tertiary education institutions, and Crown Research Institutes and their subsidiaries):
          1. companies named in Schedule 4A of the Public Finance Act 1989:
            1. the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
              1. The Commissioner may vary the application of minimum standards, as the Commissioner thinks fit, in light of the legal, commercial, or operational context, in or to any of the following:

              2. 1 or more of the agencies in the categories listed in subsection (2):
                1. particular individuals or groups in 1 or more of those agencies who—
                  1. are carrying out particular functions:
                    1. are a board:
                      1. are board members:
                        1. are office holders:
                          1. are chief executives:
                            1. are employees:
                              1. are individuals working as contractors or secondees.
                              2. When applying or varying the application of a minimum standard, the Commissioner must consult on the proposed content of that standard with all agencies in or to which it will apply.

                              3. Minimum standards and variations must be in writing but may be set out in any form that the Commissioner thinks fit.

                              4. All minimum standards must be notified to the agencies in or to which they apply and, if the Commissioner varies the application of a standard in any case, the variation must also be notified to the agency concerned.

                              5. The Commissioner may also provide advice to agencies in the State services (except Crown Research Institutes and their subsidiaries) on matters that affect the integrity and conduct of individuals (including, for example, the interpretation of minimum standards in particular cases).

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