Ministerial portfolios

This directory provides information on ministerial portfolios and responsibilities (excluding Deputy and Associate Minister positions).

Its purpose is to provide a record of the departments and other agencies, votes and legislation associated with each ministerial position.

Directory of ministerial portfolios

Information is provided on:

• Departments, Crown entities, organisations named or described in Schedules 4, 4A, and 5 of the Public Finance Act 1989, and State-owned enterprises for which each Minister is responsible

  The departments are those that comprise the Public Service as listed in the First Schedule of the State Sector Act 1988 or which are departments for the purposes of the Public Finance Act 1989. Where a Ministerial position does not involve responsibility for a department, the name of the department that provides the administrative support for the portfolio is indicated. The Crown entities are those listed in the Crown Entities Act 2004 (other organisations that come within the definition of a Crown entity in the Crown Entities Act 2004, such as subsidiary companies owned by Crown entities, are not listed separately). The Public Finance Act (PFA) Schedule organisations are those specified in Schedules 4, 4A, and 5 of the Public Finance Act 1989. These are organisations to which certain provisions of the Crown Entities Act 2004 apply. The State-owned enterprises are those listed in the First Schedule of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986.

• Other organisations associated with the portfolio

  The 'Other Organisations' category includes organisations that are subject to the Official Information Act 1982, or are associated with the portfolio.

• Vote(s) for which each portfolio Minister is responsible

  Where more than one Minister is responsible for different appropriations within a Vote, the Directory indicates that the portfolio Minister is responsible for specified appropriations within the particular Vote.

• Legislation (Public Acts) administered within each portfolio

  Some Acts provide for the Prime Minister to authorise a Minister or department to administer an Act. These are listed in the Register of assigned legislation. This directory lists all legislation administered in each portfolio, including assigned legislation.

Related publications

• The Register of Assigned Legislation is a list of the Acts where the Prime Minister has formally assigned to a Minister or department the responsibility for the Act’s administration.

• The Ministerial list contains information on the current Ministers of the Crown and the portfolios and other responsibilities that they hold.

• The Schedule of responsibilities delegated to Associate Ministers sets out defined responsibilities formally delegated to Associate Ministers, and includes details of some transfers of ministerial functions and powers to other Ministers. The Schedule is presented to the House of Representatives from time to time.

Parliamentary agencies and Offices of Parliament

The Directory and Register provide information on Ministers of the Crown. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is responsible for the Parliamentary Service, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Offices of Parliament - the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, the Office of the Ombudsmen, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Updates of directory

This directory is updated from time to time to reflect changes in portfolio responsibilities and the public sector.

Advice from Government departments and agencies on changes to the content of the Directory should be forwarded to the Cabinet Office, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Executive Wing, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, Telephone: (04) 817 9743.