22 September 2023
Ministerial Services
45 Pipitea St, Thorndon
PO Box 805, Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Website: www.dia.govt.nz
Jonathan
[FYI request #23951 email]
Dear Jonathan
Official Information Act request (OIA 2324-0135)
Thank you for your request for information dated 25 August 2023 made under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Department of Internal Affairs (the Department). You
requested the fol owing information:
1. Hel o, I would like to request the job descriptions and salary bands for Ministerial Services
staff who work in Ministerial offices. This includes but is not limited to Ministerial
Advisors, Press Secretaries, Senior Private Secretaries, Ministerial Secretaries, Private
Secretaries (administrative ones - not the ones seconded from Government
Departments). I understand many of these roles may have different levels or grades -
please include al of these relevant roles.
2. If there are any staff that are paid beyond the salary range, can I please have an
indication of which roles and how many people? I'm not wanting to identify any
individuals or reveal their salaries so please don't break the numbers down by individual
offices.
3. Lastly, can I please have an indication of when these bands were last changed or
evaluated.
Background Information
There are three types of staff who work in Ministers’ offices:
Department-employed staff assigned to work in a Minister’s office;
Roving staff, also employed by the Department, although not assigned to a Minister’s
office. They are deployed across Ministerial offices in a range of roles to provide cover for
offices in situations of planned and unplanned leave and surge support; and
Portfolio Private Secretaries who are seconded to Ministers’ offices by government
agencies (also known as home agencies) to facilitate the management of Ministers’
portfolio responsibilities.
The Department’s Ministerial Services Group is responsible for employing al Ministerial office
staff. I have interpreted Ministerial staff to refer to Department-employed staff who are assigned
to work in a Minister’s office and roving staff.
Response to your request
1. Hel o, I would like to request the job descriptions and salary bands for Ministerial Services
staff who work in Ministerial offices. This includes but is not limited to Ministerial Advisors,
Press Secretaries, Senior Private Secretaries, Ministerial Secretaries, Private Secretaries
(administrative ones - not the ones seconded from Government Departments). I
understand many of these roles may have different levels or grades - please include al of
these relevant roles.
Please see Appendix A below for a table that lists job titles for the current Ministerial staff
employed in Ministerial offices, along with their corresponding salary band. The information
provided is accurate as of 30 June 2023.
2. If there are any staff that are paid beyond the salary range, can I please have an indication
of which roles and how many people? I'm not wanting to identify any individuals or reveal
their salaries so please don't break the numbers down by individual offices.
Due to the smal number of employees working in specific roles within Ministerial offices, making
such information available could lead to the identification of individuals. As the employer of staff
working in Ministers’ offices, the Department has an obligation to protect the privacy of these
individuals and to keep their employment information safe and secure. Therefore, under section
9(2)(a) of the Act withholding this information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural
persons, including that of deceased persons.
I have considered whether the above grounds for withholding the information under section 9 of
the Act are outweighed by other considerations which would make it desirable, in the public
interest, to make that information available. In this instance, I do not consider that to be the case.
3. Lastly, can I please have an indication of when these bands were last changed or evaluated.
Changes or evaluations of job roles, associated job descriptions and associated salary bands may
take place at any time. Likewise, the types of roles needed by an Executive may change/differ. In
order to best il ustrate this, we are providing you with material provided in an earlier OIA which
shows changes in roles and salaries over time that we believe answers your questions and
il ustrates this wider context. This is attached at Appendix B.
We may publish this OIA response on www.dia.govt.nz (with your personal details having been
removed). Publishing responses to OIA requests increases the availability of information to the
public and is consistent with the purpose of the Act to enable effective participation in the making
and administration of laws and policies, and to promote the accountability of Ministers and
officials.
If you have any concerns with the information in this response, you have a right to request an
investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. Information on how
to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Briget Ridden
General Manager – Ministerial Services
Te Haumi – Enterprise Partnerships
Te Tari Taiwhenua – The Department of Internal Affairs
Page 2 of 4
Appendix A: Ministerial office details broken down by job title and salary band (details correct
as at 30 June 2023).
Job Title
2023 Salary Band
Chief of Staff
Non-banded
Chief Policy Advisor
$145,719 - $195,738
Chief Press Secretary
$170,000 - $230,000
Communications Director
Non-banded
Correspondence and Records
$72,060 - $96,681
Manager
Deputy Chief of Staff
$133,315 - $178,956
Director of Communications
$112,555 - $150,868
Executive Assistant
$53,317 - $71,323
(Correspondence Unit)
Executive Assistant to PM / Chief
$80,750 - $110,160
of Staff
Events Manager
$82,023 - $110,160
Lead Advisor (Correspondence
$72,060 - $96,681
Unit)
Ministerial Advisor (Level 2)
$96,135 - $129,252
Press Secretary (Level 1)
$82,023 - $110,160
Press Secretary (Level 2)
$97,166 - $130,647
Private Secretary (Administration)
$61,561 - $82,476
Private Secretary (Advisory/Media)
$81,160 - $108,993
Private Secretary (Media)
$61,217 - $82,010
Private Secretary (Executive
$72,060 - $96,681
Support)
Research and Policy Director
Non-banded
Senior Ministerial Advisor
$109,605 - $146,878
Senior Press Secretary
$140,250 - $189,750
Senior Private Secretary Inside
$102,000 - $138,000
Cabinet
Senior Private Secretary Outside
$91,545 - $123,855
Cabinet
Specialist Ministerial Advisor
$109,605 - $146,878
Visual Content Designer
$61,217 - $82,010
*Please note that salary bands that have been re-evaluated may have increased or decreased.
This could be due to several reasons such as aligning the salary with comparative roles in the
current job market, or review of the job description/role (i.e., tasks and responsibilities
associated with a role/roles may have been re-evaluated and changed impacting on salary for
the role).
Page 3 of 4
Appendix B: Salary bands of staff employed in Ministerial Offices as at 30 June, broken down
by job title from 2014-2023.
Page 4 of 4
