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

20: Required content of guidance on political neutrality

You could also call this:

"What public servants need to know about being neutral in politics"

When you read guidance about being neutral in politics, it must talk about your right to say what you think. It must also discuss the responsibilities of people in certain jobs that have special rules. These jobs have rules because the people in them have to register to work.

If a job has rules like this, it is called a profession, which means the people in that job have to follow certain standards. You can find more information about this in guidance issued under section 19. This guidance helps you understand how to be neutral in politics when you are working in the public service.

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This page was last updated on 24 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS356881.

Topics:

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

19: Guidance on integrity and conduct, or

"Rules for being honest and fair at work"

21: Status of minimum standards and guidance, or

"Minimum standards and guidance: what it means and how it works in the law"

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

20Required content of guidance on political neutrality

If guidance issued under section 19 includes guidance on the public service principle of political neutrality, the guidance must address—
the right to freedom of expression; and
the responsibilities of individuals who have obligations as a member of a profession.

In this section, profession means an occupational group with a registration requirement under an Act for the individuals who work or practise in the occupational group.