Ngā hinonga Karauna What Crown entities are

Crown entities are government organisations that deliver many of the services New Zealanders use every day. They handle a large part of government spending and service delivery.

The rules for how they work are mainly set out in the Crown Entities Act 2004, with extra rules in other laws like the Public Finance Act 1989 and the Public Service Act 2020. Each Crown entity also has its own specific law that explains what it does.

Crown Entities Act 2004 — New Zealand Legislation

Public Finance Act 1989 — New Zealand Legislation

Public Service Act 2020 — New Zealand Legislation

Ngā hinonga Karauna Who the Crown entities are

Find a list of all Crown entities on our website.

Public Service organisations

There are several different types of Crown entity with the statutory entities delivering a wide range of government services. These are described in section 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

Section 7, Crown Entities Act 2004 — New Zealand Legislation

Te whakahaerenga o ngā hinonga Karauna How statutory Crown entities operate

Statutory Crown entities are government organisations set up by law to deliver specific services. They get their funding mainly from taxpayers, but sometimes also from fees, levies or other sources.

Most Crown entities are run by a board chosen by a government minister. A few are led by just one person such as the Privacy Commissioner. While some of Crown entities work is independent (as set out in law), they still need to follow government priorities and policies.

These entities are expected to act in line with what their minister wants and follow many of the same rules as other government departments—like being fair, working well with others, and managing staff properly.

Their boards are responsible for how well they perform and how they spend public money, and they must answer to both their minister and Parliament.

Tā te Hinonga Karauna pārongo, aratohu hoki Crown entity information and guidance