Public Service Act 2020

People working in public service - Public Service Commission leaders and advisory committees - Public Service Commissioner and Deputy Public Service Commissioners

44: Commissioner’s general functions

You could also call this:

"The Commissioner's main job is to help public service agencies work well and be fair."

The Commissioner has some main jobs to do. You can think of these jobs as helping the public service work well. The Commissioner must lead a team to make sure public service agencies work together to help the public. They also promote integrity, accountability, and transparency in these agencies by setting standards and giving guidance.

The Commissioner works with public service leaders to build a strong workforce that reflects the community it serves. They make sure employment is fair and equal, and they promote good employer requirements. The Commissioner is also the employer of public service chief executives, which means they appoint and review their performance.

The Commissioner reviews how government agencies are designed and how they work, and gives advice to the Minister on how to improve services and make agencies work better together. They also carry out other jobs related to the public service as directed by the Prime Minister, as long as these jobs are not already given to a chief executive. You can find more information about how this role has changed over time by looking at the Public Service Act 1988.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS356898.


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43: Commissioner’s role, or

"The Commissioner is the leader in charge of the public service, making sure it works well and does the right thing."


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45: Duty to act independently when making decisions about public service chief executives, or

"The Commissioner makes decisions about public service bosses without being told what to do by the Minister."

Part 3People working in public service
Public Service Commission leaders and advisory committees: Public Service Commissioner and Deputy Public Service Commissioners

44Commissioner’s general functions

  1. The Commissioner’s general functions are to—

  2. establish and lead a public service leadership team so that public service agencies work as a system to deliver better services to, and achieve better outcomes for, the public; and
    1. promote integrity, accountability, and transparency throughout agencies in the State services, including by setting standards and issuing guidance; and
      1. work with public service leaders to develop a highly capable workforce that reflects the diversity of the society it serves and to ensure fair and equitable employment, including by promoting the good employer requirements in this Act; and
        1. act as the employer of public service chief executives, including by—
          1. appointing chief executives and reviewing their performance, including how they carry out their responsibilities and functions under this Act or another enactment; and
            1. to the extent relevant in each case, reviewing the performance of the public service agency that the chief executive leads or carries out some functions within; and
            2. review the design and operation of the system of government agencies in order to advise the Minister or the appropriate Minister on the following matters:
              1. possible improvements to delivery of services and inter-agency cohesion:
                1. agency establishments, disestablishments, and amalgamations:
                  1. the governance and allocation of functions, and the transfer of functions to and between agencies; and
                  2. carry out any other administrative and management functions in relation to the public service that the Prime Minister from time to time directs (not being functions conferred by this Act or another enactment on a chief executive appointed by the Commissioner).
                    Compare
                    • 1988 No 20 s 6