In New Zealand, the Public Sector (Māori: Te Rāngai Tūmatanui) consists of organisations across the branches of government which are responsible for the discharge of the business of the Crown and the constitutional and democratic functioning of the state. Currently regulated by the Public Service Act 2020 and associated legislation (such as the Crown Entities Act 2004 and Public Finance Act 1989), the public sector in New Zealand consists of a core Public Service (Māori: Te Ratonga Tūmatanui) and other State Services under the control of the central executive government, as well as instruments of the local, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Collectively, the public sector is subject to the supervision of the Public Service Commission and financial regulatory agencies, with organisations closer to the core public service generally being subject to higher levels of government direction and commission regulation.
The public sector has been organised in this manner since 1988, following the passage of the State Sector Act; prior to this, New Zealand had a more traditional civil service similar to the United Kingdom with a greater degree of separation between the political and administrative aspects of government departments. The new act effectively broke up the public service from an institution which staffed departments into a looser grouping of the employees of individual departments and agencies, and split the executive branch into various levels: public sector, state sector, state services, and the public service, with organisations closer to the public service being subject to more direct ministerial control;State Services Commission this system has been largely maintained under the new Public Service Act, with reforms stripping out some of the previous layers and creating new joint boards and ventures to create a more joined-up public service while keeping the departmental structure introduced in 1988.
Public Service
Public service departments Crown Law Office (Te Tari Ture o te Karauna) Department of Conservation (Te Papa Atawhai) Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua) Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga) Births, Deaths and Marriages (Whānautanga, Matenga, Mārenatanga) Censorship Compliance Unit Charities Services (Ngā Ratonga Kaupapa Atawhai) National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) New Zealand Citizenship Office (Te Raraunga) New Zealand Gazette Office (Te Kahiti o Aotearoa) New Zealand Lottery Grants Board (Te Puna Tahua) New Zealand Passports Office (Ngā Uruwhenua) Office for the Community & Voluntary Sector (Tari mō te Rāngai ā-Hāpori, ā Tūao) The Translation Service (Te Pūtahi Whakawhiti Reo) Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Te Tari o te Pirimia me te Komiti Matua) Cabinet Office Honours Unit National Assessments Bureau Education Review Office (Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga) Government Communications Security Bureau (Te Tira Tiaki) National Cyber Security Centre Inland Revenue Department (Te Tari Taake) Land Information New Zealand (Toitu te Whenua) Crown Property Management New Zealand Geospatial Office Overseas Investment Office Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport Ministry for Culture and Heritage (Manatū Taonga) Ministry for Pacific Peoples (Manatū mō ngā Iwi o te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa) Ministry for Primary Industries (Manatū Ahu Matua) Agriculture & Investment Services (Tapuwae Ahuwhenua) Biosecurity New Zealand (Tiakitanga Pūtaiao Aotearoa) Fisheries New Zealand (Tini a Tangaroa) He Taurikura Māori (Māori Partnerships & Investment) New Zealand Food Safety (Haumaru Kai Aotearoa) Te Uru Rākau (New Zealand Forest Service) Ministry for Regulation (Manatū Waeture) Ministry for Women (Manatū Wāhine) Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Hīkina Whakatutuki) Business.govt.nz Companies Office Consumer Protection Electrical Workers Registration Board Immigration New Zealand (Te Ratonga Manene) Insolvency and Trustee Service Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand New Zealand Cycle Trail (Ngā Haerenga) New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals New Zealand Space Agency Occupational Safety and Health (Te Ratonga Oranga) Radio Spectrum Management Standards New Zealand (Te Mana Tautikanga o Aotearoa) Ministry of Defence (Manatū Kaupapa Waonga) Whaikaha (Ministry of Disabled People) Ministry of Education (Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Te Manatū Aorere) New Zealand Agency for International Development (Ngā Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti) Ministry of Health (Manatū Hauora) HealthPAC New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (a.k.a. Medsafe) Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee Medicines Classification Committee Medicines Review Committee Office of Radiation Safety Whakarongorau Aotearoa (New Zealand Telehealth Services) Public Health Agency (Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui) Ministry of Justice (Tāhū o te Ture) Crime Prevention Unit Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) Ministry of Social Development (Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora) Heartland Services (Ngā Ratonga ki te Manawa o te Whenua) Ministry of Youth Development (Te Manatū Whakahiato Taiohi) The Office for Seniors (Te Tari Kaumātua) Studylink (Hoto Akoranga) Work and Income (Te Hiranga Tangata) New Zealand Customs Service (Te Mana Arai o Aotearoa) New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (Te Pā Whakamarumaru) Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) Public Service Commission (Te Kawa Mataaho) Leadership Development Centre (Ara Kaiarahitanga) Serious Fraud Office (Te Tari Hara Taware) Social Investment Agency (Toi Hau Tāngata) Statistics New Zealand (Tatauranga Aotearoa) The Treasury (Te Tai Ōhanga) New Zealand Debt Management New Zealand Export Credit
Departmental agencies Cancer Control Agency (Te Aho o Te Kahu) hosted by the Ministry of Health Charter School Agency (Te Tari Kura Hourua) hosted by the Ministry of Education Ministry for Ethnic Communities (Te Tari Mātāwaka) hosted by the Department of Internal Affairs National Emergency Management Agency (Te Rākau Whakamarumaru) hosted by the Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Whakatau (Office of Treaty Settlements and Takutai Moana) hosted by the Ministry of Justice
Interdepartmental ventures Though the new Public Service Act 2020 provides for the establishment of interdepartmental ventures as part of the core public service, as of 2026 no such ventures have been established.
Interdepartmental executive boards Border Executive Board hosted by the New Zealand Customs Service Climate Change Chief Executives Board hosted by the Ministry for the Environment Digital Executive Board hosted by the Department of Internal Affairs Family Violence and Sexual Violence Executive Board hosted by the Ministry of Justice Strategic Planning Reform Board hosted by the Ministry for the Environment
Crown agents Crown agents are specific kind of crown entity, the other two (autonomous and independent crown entities) falling outside of the core public service. Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, Crown agents, despite being considered part of the public service, are only subject to some of the regulations imposed by the Public Service Commission, with each crown agent having a varying degree of accountability as defined by their founding statute.
Wider state services organisations
Executive non-public service departments These departments, though falling under the executive branch and being subject to ministerial direction, are not considered part of the core public service and as such are not subject to the same public service standards of the public service departments due to their unique character as uniformed and political services. New Zealand Defence Force (Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa) New Zealand Cadet Forces (Te Taua Tauira o Aotearoa) New Zealand Cadet Corps Sea Cadet Corps Air Training Corps Armed Forces of New Zealand New Zealand Army (Ngāti Tumatauenga) Regular Force Territorial Force Army Reserve New Zealand Naval Forces Royal New Zealand Navy (Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa) Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve Naval Reserves Royal New Zealand Air Force (Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa) Regular Air Force Territorial Air Force Air Force Reserve Veterans' Affairs New Zealand (Te Tira Ahu Ika a Whiro) (semi-autonomous body) New Zealand Police (Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office (Te Tari Tohutohu Pāremata)
The Reserve Bank The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Te Pūtea Matua) is a category of state sector agency in its own right.
Arms-length agencies
Autonomous crown entities
Independent crown entities
Public Finance Act Schedule 4 organisations These organisations are specifically listed in the Public Finance Act 1989 and, though largely independent from central government, must adhere to certain standards for crown entities such as financial reporting, performance reporting, and providing certain information to the government.
Crown-owned companies
Crown entity companies Auckland Light Rail Limited monitored by the Ministry of Transport Crown Irrigation Investments Limited monitored by the Ministry for Primary Industries New Zealand Growth Capital Partners Limited monitored by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Radio New Zealand Limited (Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa) monitored by The Treasury and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Television New Zealand Limited (Te Reo Tātaki o Aotearoa) monitored by The Treasury and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Public Research Organisations
New Zealand Institute for Earth Sciences (a.k.a. Earth Sciences New Zealand) replacing the old crown research institutes of National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, MetService and GNS Science. Natural Hazards and Resilience Platform New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science (a.k.a. Bioeconomy Science Institute, Maiangi Taiao) replacing AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Plant & Food Research and Scion. New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (a.k.a. PHF Science) replacing the Institute of Environmental Science and Research. New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology
Public Finance Act Schedule 4a companies City Rail Link Limited Crown Regional Holdings Limited Crown Infrastructure Delivery Limited Education Payroll Limited (Rārangi Utu ā-Mātauranga) Ferry Holdings Limited Kiwi Group Capital Limited Kiwibank Limited Kiwibank Investment Management Limited The New Zealand Home Loan Company Limited National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Limited Ngāpuhi Investment Fund Limited (Tupu Tonu) Predator Free 2050 Limited Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand Limited Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited (Urupare ki te Tonga) Tāmaki Redevelopment Company Limited The Network for Learning Limited (a.k.a. N4L)
Education service See: Education in New Zealand
2,425 School Boards of Trustees 27 Kindergarten Associations
Wider public sector organisations
Legislative non-public service departments
Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (Te Tari o te Manahautū o te Whare Māngai) Reporting Services (a.k.a. Hansard) Parliamentary Service (Te Ratonga Whare Pāremata) New Zealand Parliamentary Library
Offices of Parliament
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General (Te Rati o te Tumuaki o te Mana Arotake, a.k.a. The Audit Office, Te Mana Arotake) Office of the Ombudsman (Te Rati o te Kaitiaki Mana Tangata) Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (Te Rati o te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata Aotearoa)
Independent crown-owned companies
State-owned enterprises