01 May 2023

Statutory Crown entities are part of the broader public sector, and deliver services on behalf of government, but are governed by boards with a level of independence from Ministers.  

Each entity must deliver the specific purpose and functions set out in its establishing legislation. They may also be subject to other legislative requirements, and Ministerial expectations, covering a range of additional all-of-government priorities. These typically relate to how these entities operate, and to government policy priorities that require a response from a wide range of government institutions. 

This publication provides information on the “all-of-government” requirements and expectations for statutory Crown entities (Crown agents, autonomous Crown entities and independent Crown entities) under a series of themes. For each specific area within a theme, the legal requirements and Ministerial/system expectations that apply are set out. In addition, the information includes details on the system lead for that theme or specific area, with links to any published guidance, and a contact point within the system lead agency who can be contacted for further advice and support. 

It should be noted that, in some cases, requirements and expectations may vary within a category of Crown entity, for example where specific requirements are set out in a Crown entity’s establishment legislation or specific expectations in annual Letters of Expectations (LOEs). The information is primarily focussed on the generic requirements and expectations that apply to all Crown entities of that particular type. As such, this table does not represent an exhaustive list of requirements.- 

In some cases, requirements and expectations are laid out via a direction to support a whole of government approach under section 107 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 which is used when the Government has decided on a multi-agency approach for some activity and there are benefits from applying this to some or all Crown entities (except Crown entity subsidiaries and Tertiary Education Institutes) and/or companies listed in schedule 4A of the Public Finance Act 1989 – for more information, see the Whole-of Government directions Cab Circular CO (13) 4.