Once the intention to make a particular appointment has been noted by the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee (APH), Cabinet and the government caucus, the actual appointment needs to be made. The relevant Act, Cabinet minute or board's constitution will prescribe who makes the appointment. It will generally be the:
- Minister or shareholding Ministers;
- Governor-General on the advice of a Minister; or
- Governor-General in Council.
While there may be instances when an Associate Minister has delegated authority to deal with appointments in a particular area of work, the appointment, or recommendation of appointment to the Governor-General, must be made in the name of the Minister who has the authority under the relevant Act. The Associate Minister can sign the documentation on behalf of the principal Minister, but should sign 'for' the principal Minister (the word 'for' should be written next to the responsible Minister's title).
A notice in the New Zealand Gazette may also be required for an individual to be legally appointed. Check whether this is the case by reference to the relevant Act, Cabinet minute or constitution of the body to which the appointment is being made. The publication of a notice in the New Zealand Gazette is arranged by the department or the Minister's office. For advice on the steps required, contact the Gazette Officer in the Department of Internal Affairs.
Letters of appointment
The Crown appoints members to some 400 bodies performing a wide variety of roles and functions, ranging from small policy agencies to large organisations with substantial regulatory powers. Individuals appointed to these bodies may be experienced directors or novice members with little or no experience with the public sector environment or corporate governance issues. Cabinet has agreed that comprehensive information should be given to new appointees upon appointment. Letters of appointment for Crown appointees should follow prescribed guidelines and be supplemented with additional material appropriate to the appointee. This section provides guidelines on letters of appointment to Crown bodies except for Crown companies.
More detailed advice on induction information for appointees is set out in the State Services Commission's Board Appointments and Induction Guidelines (the SSC Guidelines). The Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit in the Treasury has its own guidance on appointments and induction for Crown company directors.
All appointees to Crown bodies must receive a letter of appointment. The letter should be drafted by those responsible for running the appointment processes, and approved and signed by the appointing authority.
The letter should include the following information:
- the designation of the position;
- the position description;
- the proper name of the board or office;
- the authority under which the appointment is made;
- the term of the appointment;
- termination procedures;
- legislation relevant to the board or office;
- training and development opportunities;
- the name of a contact person for further information;
- fees and allowances relating to the appointment.
Unless already undertaken, the appointee must be requested to accept in writing the terms of the appointment, including confirmation of any conflicts of interest identified and mechanisms put in place to manage those conflicts. Appointees should be asked to enter into confidentiality agreements where appropriate.
The appointing authority may wish to provide further information to the appointee, suitable for the type of experience the person possesses and the position they have been appointed to. This could include information about interests, conflicts and other due diligence checks, and about the duties of board members (these matters are further discussed in the SSC Guidelines).
Departments and Ministers' offices may find it desirable to record the information sent to appointees, as this could become important in the event of any future dispute as to the extent or adequacy of a person's briefing on appointment.
Further information will be provided to new board members by the chair of the board, as it is the role of the chair to induct members into the board's specific environment. This additional information may include the composition of the body and its procedures (sub-committees, workload and time demands, governance and management issues), responsibilities to the chair and to board colleagues, and relationships with the responsible Minister and Parliament.
Appointments made by the Minister or shareholding Ministers
For appointments made by a Minister or shareholding Ministers:
- The appointment is made by way of a letter from the Minister advising the individual of the appointment.
- Remember to publish a Gazette notice, if required.
Appointments made by the Governor-General
Template documents are available for appointments made by the Governor-General or the Administrator of the Government: GG_appointments_template.doc (Microsoft Word format) AoG_appointments_template.doc (Microsoft Word format). (Note, these are for appointments made outside of Executive Council).
The templates comprise:
- an information sheet for officials on how to use the template;
- an 'advice sheet' from the Minister, which formally recommends that the Governor-General make the appointment (this differs from the advice sheet used for Executive Council items);
- an 'instrument' that makes the appointment.
Officials should fill in the necessary sections of the template, following the guidance provided in italics (note that, by default, this guidance will not be printed). When filling in the templates, officials should be aware of the following points:
- The advice sheet and instrument must be printed onto heavyweight buff paper, and must be of a high standard (without spelling mistakes or typographical errors).
- The term 'appoint' is used for both appointments and reappointments.
- The advice sheet and the instrument should include a term of appointment, including specific start and end dates - for example: "for a term commencing on 1 June 2011 and ending on 31 May 2014" or "for a term of three years commencing on 1 June 2011". (Note that the word 'on' means that the term will apply on the specified date. The word 'from' means that the term will apply from the day after the specified date. It is recommended that the phrase "commencing on..." be used).
- The Minister signs and dates the advice sheet, but does not counter-sign the instrument until after it has been signed by the Governor-General. Appointment documents should not be pre-witnessed or pre-dated before being sent to the Governor General. (It may be useful to print a copy of the template's information sheet to assist Ministers' office staff with the process).
- If there is more than one appointee to a particular organisation, the names should be on one advice sheet, rather than having separate advice sheets for each appointment. There should, however, be separate instruments for each appointee.
- If the Governor-General is overseas, the Administrator of the Government fulfils the Governor-General's functions. The Cabinet Office will notify when the Governor-General is going to be overseas through a notice on the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees section of the Public Sector Intranet (link only available to those with access to the PSI).
- Another Minister may sign the advice sheet and counter-sign the instrument. In this case, that Minister will sign 'for' the responsible Minister (the word 'for' should be written next to the responsible Minister's title).
As a matter of courtesy, a letter from the portfolio Minister to the Governor-General should accompany the documents. It should state the action the Governor-General is being advised to take (that is: appoint a particular person to a particular board) and include information about the position and the appointee, a brief description of the role or function of the board, and any other background information it would be useful for the Governor-General to know. Attach a copy of the CAB 50 CV form for every person being appointed.
The Cabinet Office provides a collection/dispatch service for Ministers' offices for delivering documents to the Governor-General. A regular delivery takes place between Government House and the Cabinet Office at 2.00pm each day. Documents to go to the Governor-General are to be hand-delivered to the Cabinet Office reception on the 10th floor of the Beehive.
The responsibility of the Cabinet Office is limited to relaying the documents to Government House and keeping a record of them. Responsibility for the accuracy of the documents lies with the Minister's office. To avoid the risk of documents being damaged in the post, Government House has emphasised that documents should be sent through the Cabinet Office, not by mail.
Once the appointment has been signed by the Governor-General and counter-signed by the Minister:
- remember to publish a Gazette notice, if required;
- a letter of appointment must be sent to the appointee.
Appointments made in Executive Council
For appointments made in Executive Council:
- The appointment is made by way of the Governor-General in Executive Council signing a document that has recommended the appointment. The documentation required for this is an Executive Council advice sheet, sometimes a separate instrument of appointment (for example, a warrant), and a CAB 50 CV form.
- The above documentation is to be submitted to the Cabinet Office at the same time as the committee paper proposing the appointments.
- Remember to publish a Gazette notice, if required.
- A letter of appointment must be sent to the appointee once the Governor-General in Executive Council has made the appointment.