Appointments

Introduction 

Papers recommending government appointments are considered by the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee (APH). Officials do not usually attend meetings of APH.

The information in the CabGuide applies to both appointments and reappointments, but the generic term "appointments" is used.  

Which appointments should be considered by Cabinet? 

The collective interest of the government is best served if the whole of Cabinet participates in the making of appointments. In general, all but the most minor appointments made by Ministers, or by the Governor-General on the advice of a Minister, should first be considered by APH.

Even where an appointment is the responsibility of a particular Minister, it is important that it is raised with colleagues to ensure the widest possible input into the appointment process.

The appointment process

Drafting a paper to APH is one of the final steps in the appointment process. The groundwork for the appointment should have been completed before the APH paper is written. General guidance on procedures for making appointments to statutory and other bodies, other than Crown companies, can be found in the State Services Commission (SSC) publication, Board Appointments and Induction Guidelines (November 2009). General guidance on appointments to Crown companies can be found in the website of the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit (COMU) in the Treasury.

Those managing an appointment process should follow the process set out in the appointment guidelines. By following the guidelines from the start of the appointment process, departments can ensure that the preparation of the APH paper will be straightforward. The SSC guidelines are available on the SSC website at http://www.ssc.govt.nz/.  COMU's website is http://www.comu.govt.nz.

Matters to consider when identifying candidates for appointments:

• balanced representation
• public servants on boards 

Guidelines for drafting appointments (APH) papers:

• introduction
• content of APH papers
• certification that an appropriate process has been followed
• commencement and expiry dates for appointments
• conflicts of interest
• accompanying documentation
• appointments that are contingent on obtaining further information

Annotated example of an appointment paper

Political consultation on appointments:

• introduction
• consultation with the Prime Minister 
• coalition consultation
• consultation with Ministerial and parliamentary colleagues
• consultation with the government caucuses
• consultation with other parliamentary parties

The procedure for making appointments:

• letters of appointment