This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Official Information request 'Emails, texts messages, encrypted messages between Chief Executive and Mr Doug Craig'.


From:
Kim Matthews on behalf of Mark Sowden
To:
Kim Matthews
Subject:
Fw: Seasonally Adjusted Greetings
Date:
Friday, 14 June 2024 11:52:32 am
Attachments:
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From: Doug Craig <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 21 December 2020 4:41 pm
To: Mark Sowden <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Seasonally Adjusted Greetings
Kia ora Mark,
And all the best to you too.
Hope you get a lovely break and come back refreshed in the new year.
Look forward to catching up then.
Cheers
Doug
Doug Craig
Director
e. [email address]
t. 0064 27 721 1010
www.rdcgroup.co.nz
The information contained in this message and or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is
addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material.  If you have received this message in error please
notify the sender immediately and then delete this message along with any attachments.  Any opinions expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of RDC Group.  RDC Group is not responsible for: (i) any viruses in this email or any
attachment; or (ii) any effects this email or any attachments have on your network or computer system.
under the Official Information Act 1982
From: Mark Sowden <[email address]> 
Sent: Wednesday, 16 December 2020 8:34 AM
To: Doug Craig <[email address]>
Subject: Seasonally Adjusted Greetings
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Nga mihi
 
Mark Sowden (pronouns: he/him/his)
 
Government Statistician and Chief Executive | Tumu Whakahaere
Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa 

s 9(2)(a)   | stats.govt.nz
 
Unleashing 
the power of data to change lives
 
 
 
The information contained in this message and or attachments is intended only for the
person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged
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material. If you have received this message in error please notify the sender immediately
and then delete this message along with any attachments. Any opinions expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of RDC Group. RDC Group is not responsible for: (i) any
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viruses in this email or any attachment; or (ii) any effects this email or any attachments have
on your network or computer system.
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From:
Kim Matthews on behalf of Mark Sowden
To:
Kim Matthews
Subject:
Fw: Governance subgroup membership straw man for tomorrow
Date:
Friday, 14 June 2024 11:49:33 am
Attachments:
Potential Governance Group Members - LD comments.docx
From: Mark Sowden <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 2 December 2021 9:23 pm
To: Lyndsey Dance s 9(2)(a)
>; Deb Te Kawa s 9(2)(a)
>; 1982
Doug Craig <[email address]>
Subject: Governance subgroup membership straw man for tomorrow
 
Act 
Hi All
Sorry for the late evening email, did not realise until now that we were meeting on this
tomorrow. Attached is a straw man of potential governance group membership that
represents where Lyndsey and I have got so far. It has not yet been discussed with the rest
of ELT.
Suggest we discuss tomorrow
Thanks
Information 
M
Sent from my iPad
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From:
Kim Matthews on behalf of Mark Sowden
To:
Kim Matthews
Subject:
Fw: Governance review sample doc comments
Date:
Friday, 14 June 2024 11:50:32 am
From: Mark Sowden
Sent: Thursday, 26 August 2021 1:22 pm
To: Lyndsey Dance <s 9(2)(a)
>; [email address]
<[email address]>
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Subject: Governance review sample doc comments
 
Hi Doug
Act 
 
Thanks very much for sending this through and sorry for taking so long to come back to you. I
endorse Lyndsey’s comments she has already sent through. A few additional thoughts from me
below.
 
On incorporating a Maori approach or lens to our decision-making, I think that is something that
we should pose to the team – given our strategy, how far do we want to go into doing this
“properly” as that is a real paradigm shift and will take a lot of upskilling and conscious focus.
 
Information 
Board chair paper – Like Lyndsey, this struck a chord with me. I think effective chairing is
something that we all (ELT and our Third Tier) need to upskill on, as we all chair various
governance boards or “governing” type meetings (eg direction setting for specific work etc). And
I am taken by this idea of “teaming” ie how to get the most out of the skills and perspectives
around the table who are often brought together just to serve a particular purpose for that
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meeting – there is a real art to being both a chair and a participant in these situations. I agree
with Lyndsey that we are not good at this at all levels of the org (broad generalisation of course,
there are a small number of very good chairs, but not very many I have seen). So definitely
the 
something for the governance training programme and then thinking about how to roll out to
lower levels in the org eg senior manager and managers/project leads.
 
Whilst I agree with Lyndsey about the Spark statement and liking the Ethical Behaviour and
Performance concepts, and particularly the little blue-text blurbs, I don’t think we need anything
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near as long. It needs to be short and accessible, not only for us to hold ourselves to account to,
but also for our staff to see what we mean.  I am learning that, despite being a highly technical
organisation that speaks in a language still largely indecipherable to me after nearly 5 years, the
vast bulk of Stats people are like me and actually prefer really short, simple, everyday language.
So that will be the challenge in terms of our Governance Charter or Code. But I think what
Lyndsey and I are both calling out is that holding ourselves to defined and specific high
standards, particularly “outside the room” where behaviour is less visible to peers, is a key
problem area for us, as is “walking the talk” for some ELT and Third Tier members.
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I also think we need to call out something really specific and meaningful on “diversity and
inclusion”, as we talk a lot about this but need to define what “including different perspectives in
decision-making” actually means in practice, what physically do we do to achieve this and
create/nurture the environment where this happens. Same goes for getting free and frank

advice from those who advise the governors.
 
I also really like the Westpac diagram, and the text made reference to some “Principles of Doing
Business” which sounded interesting and the sort of language that resonates, but I could seem to
find the actual Principles themselves…
 
Like Lyndsey I like the focus on “mechanics” within the Spark charter, as I think that’s important,
as is (to repeat a theme, sorry) the behaviours and norms that we can expect of each other and
that staff can expect us to exhibit
 
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On the significance policy, yes this only reinforces my view that we don’t need a full formal policy
but something principles-based that can be part of our wider governance policy would be useful
 
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And one final thought – most of my comments above are from the perspective on someone
being a governor or trying to lead the governance function for the org. I think the thing our staff
most want out of the review is to know where to go for what decisions, how to navigate the
process, and who has the final say or final decision right (ie who’s direction do they take?)
 
Hope this is helpful, happy as always, to discuss further
 
Mark
 
Information 
 
 
Mark Sowden (pronouns: he/him/his)
Government Statistician and Chief Executive | Tumu Whakarae
Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa | stats.govt.nz |
 
Official 
About Aotearoa, for Aotearoa
Data that improves lives today and for generations to come
the 
 
Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
 
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From:
Kim Matthews on behalf of Mark Sowden
To:
Kim Matthews
Subject:
Fw: Governance Review - stress testing session (Wednesday 9 February 2022)
Date:
Friday, 14 June 2024 11:49:13 am
Attachments:
Stress Testing workshop Agenda Feb 2022.pdf
FINAL DRAFT Governance Policy Feb 2022.docx
From: Mark Sowden <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 4 February 2022 4:58 pm
To:
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 Executive Leadership Team <[email address]>; Third Tier Group
<[email address]>; Deb Te Kawa s 9(2)(a)
)
<s 9(2)(a)
>; Doug Craig ([email address])
Act 
<[email address]>; Heather Niven <s 9(2)(a)
>; David
McNaughtan <s 9(2)(a)
>; Lorna Curran s 9(2)(a)
>;
s 9(2)(a)
>
Subject: Governance Review - stress testing session (Wednesday 9 February 2022)
 
Kia ora tātou,
 
Please find attached, ahead of the Governance Review - stress testing session being held on
Wednesday 9th February, 1:30pm – 4:00pm, the agenda and the latest governance review pack
Information 
that includes the governance policy and membership of the individual committees.
 
Also, please refer to Doug Craig’s note below in regards to this session.
 
Ngā mihi
Official 
Mark
 
(This information is also included in the calendar invitation)
the 
 
 
Kia ora koutou,
 
I am really looking forward to working with you all again at next week’s workshop where we will
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be stress testing the new governance arrangements that the ELT have approved for future use
by Stats NZ. These are some of the most up to date and fit for purpose arrangements we have
seen in the public service and have been commissioned and designed by the leadership of Stats
NZ. As you know you have previously provided great input to the design of the new committees
and significance policy.
 
This session will be interactive and a great opportunity to put the new arrangements to the test
using some real world scenarios. We will give you more detail on the specific scenarios on the
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day, but here is a flavour of what we will be getting into.
 
By the end of the session, we want to be clear about the following sorts of things:
 
Where do change requests go for current in-flight projects? Different committees

depending on the nature of the change request or does one particular committee oversee
all change requests? Is there a distinction between minor and major CRs (what’s the
criteria and do they go to a committee vs. ELT)?
 
How will the Systems and Standards Board vs. the External Environment Board ensure
standards are made mandatory across the system? Where are the decisions made about
this?
 
Does the External Environment drive standard setting internally or the other way round
and which committees are made for what?
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The role of the programme board is articulated in a Terms of Reference and escalation
pathways to ELT specified.  Under the revised governance would we update the escalation
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pathway to a new Governance Board, probably the Investment and Delivery Board?
 
There are three key areas that the Investment and Delivery Board would reasonably
expect to have authority over, and these relate to changes to scope, timing and budget -
above any agreed tolerance levels set at the programme board level – and these
tolerances would need to be approved by the Investment and Delivery Board.   It would
seem that the new Investment and Delivery Board replaces the Investment Board –
presumably this would also mean the programme would need to secure the approval of
the ID for the drawdown of any funds?
Information 
 
Will the Investment and Delivery Board approve any business cases for the programme or
could this sit within the programme board’s delegations/responsibilities.
 
From a practical perspective, all projects and programmes will need to factor in approval
for any technical documentation from the Systems and Standards Board and the cycle of
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meetings will need to be reflected in project/programme delivery plans particularly as
part of ‘go-live’ planning. How will we deal with approvals that are needed out of cycle
the 
and who will be able to approve things coming direct to ELT for approval out of cycle?
Chairs, DCEs, the CE?
 
If the Investment and Delivery Board is simply the overarching governance in lieu of ELT as
a collective then this can easily be reflected in in existing programme TOR.  If a different
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layering of responsibility is expected e.g., for areas that the Board are currently
responsible for then further work is needed to understand how the interplay between
Investment and Delivery Board and programme boards will work.
 
Where will chairs and staff be able to go to get advice on when it is not clear which Board
a particular business case, or approval needs to go?
 
As noted, we will have a range of additional practical examples to work through on the day,
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which hopefully will also allow us to have a bit of fun along the way.
 
In the meantime, have a great long Waitangi weekend.
 
Ngā mihi nui,

 
Doug
 
 
 
 
 
 
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This policy supersedes all previous versions and is valid until further notice. 
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Purpose 
This policy sets out the role and responsibilities of the Executive Leadership Team and how the Executive 
Leadership Team exercises and discharges those roles and responsibilities. It also sets out matters which are 
delegated to the various committees. 
Policy 
Information 
Governance in Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ is a system of decision-making embedded in the organisation, 
over and above its basic legal obligations. This policy is focused on good governance. Good governance at 
Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ relies on five principles: 
1. Transparency: being unambiguous about the organisation's strategic direction, operations, and 
performance, both external y and internal y, while also providing insight into who makes decisions and how 
Official 
decisions are made. 
2. Accountability: following the policies, charters, guidance, and institutional arrangements, that support 
the 
the organisation to account for the effectiveness and efficiency of its decision-making. 
3. Stewardship: taking a whole-of-organisation approach to decision-making. 
4. Culture of trust and respect: using governance to build strong relationships between decision-makers 
under 
by role modelling the expectations of senior leaders in all matters. 
5. Delegation and Significance: placing decision-making as close as where the work is done, in return for 
decision-makers escalating significant decisions, as required. See section 3 below. 
6. Mana Ōrite: in so much as the respective views of the parties to the mana ōrite have started to find ways 
to be heard, issues and ideas considered, and afforded equal explanatory power. 
 
 
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Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 1 of 32 
Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ © Crown Copyright 

 
Who this applies to 
All Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ managers, staff, suppliers, and contractors must comply with this policy. 
 
1  Role of Executive Leadership Team 
The role of the Executive Leadership Team is to: 
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• 
Shape with the Government of the day, and regularly review the appropriateness of Tatauranga 
Aotearoa: StatsNZ strategic direction. 
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• 
Oversee the implementation and hold one another to account for the implementation of Tatauranga 
Aotearoa: StatsNZ strategic direction. 
• 
Oversee and steward Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ policies and performance. 
• 
Oversee and steward the Mana Ōrite agreement. 
• 
Approve and role model senior leadership behaviours. 
• 
Approve the risk appetite. 
Information 
• 
Establish and disestablish committees and change committee membership. 
The Executive Leadership Team reserves the fol owing decisions to itself: 
1.1  Strategic 
Official 
• 
Approving the strategic direction. 
• 
Ensuring all of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ activities support the strategic direction. 
the 
• 
Overseeing performance and providing assurance to the Government of the day. 
1.2 Governance 
under 
• 
Adopting and regularly reviewing the delegations of authority which are attached as Appendix H. 
• 
Approving this governance policy and any amendments. 
• 
Assessing whether and how the senior leadership behaviours are integrated into al  relevant 
processes, including performance and development planning and reviews, recruitment, career 
planning, progression, talent, and workforce planning. 
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• 
Ensuring the committees are fit-for-purpose and have the capacity and capability they need to be 
successful. 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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• 
Ensuring the delegations and significance principle is in place and working so appropriate information 
flows through to the Executive Leadership Team and the committees. 
• 
Inducting new members. 
• 
Overseeing the timely, balanced, and appropriate disclosure of information to the Office of the 
Minister for Statistics, and any other minister(s), as appropriate. 
• 
Considering reports on material breaches of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ Code of Conduct, Health 
and Safety Policy and Whistle-blower Policy. 
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1.3 Operations 
Act 
• 
Approving and receiving ninety-day reporting. 
• 
Approving the annual plan. 
• 
Approving, overseeing, and reviewing financial and non-financial risk management while seeking 
assurance from the Risk and Assurance Committee. 
• 
Approving and overseeing al  matters relating to health, safety and wellbeing. 
• 
Proactively and regularly considering health and safety at work. 
Information 
• 
Delegating al  design authority – expect for financial decisions – to Systems and Standards. 
• 
Delegating approval for al  recruitment, retention, performance management, and termination policies 
to the People, Culture and Capability. 
• 
Delegating approval for all plans, and policies to improve culture, including senior leadership 
Official 
development, succession planning, talent management to the People, Culture and Capability. 
• 
Delegating monitoring results against that plan to the Investment and Delivery. 
the 
• 
Overseeing issues relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion. 
• 
Overseeing the remuneration framework. 
under 
1.4 Financial 
• 
Approving the annual budget. 
• 
Confirming that Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ has the resources it needs to achieve its strategic 
direction both now and into the future. 
• 
Delegating the monitoring of expenditure against the annual budget to the Investment and Delivery 
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Committee. 
• 
Determining there are satisfactory arrangements in place for auditing financial and non-financial 
matters and the scope of the external audit is sufficient. 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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2  Composition of Executive Leadership Team 
The Executive Leadership Team includes: 
• 
Government Statistician and Chief Executive (Chair) 
• 
Chief Methodologist 
• 
Kaihautu, Te Tohu Rautaki, Angitu Māori 
• 
Census and Col ection Operations, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 1982
• 
Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
• 
Data System Leadership, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive  Act 
• 
General Manager, External and Government Relations 
• 
General Manager, Strategy and Investment 
• 
Insights and Statistics, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
The Executive Leadership Team meets every Monday. Members are expected to use reasonable endeavours 
to attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. The Executive Leadership Team 
also have quarterly wānanga where they receive the 90-day planning report, explore medium to long-term 
chal enges, and discover better ways of working more effectively together. For the sake of clarity the 
Information 
Executive Leadership Team considers health and safety at work matters at least once a month. 
The Chair is Government Statistician and Chief Executive. The role of the Chair is to lead the Executive 
Leadership Team, facilitate constructive conversations. However, every member of the Executive Leadership 
Team is responsible for ensuring the team functions effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
Official 
The Chair wil  appoint at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the Executive 
Leadership Team. The Chair, with the assistance of the secretary, wil  establish the agenda and confirm the 
minutes and action items. The secretary shares responsibility with the Executive Leadership Team for good 
the 
quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and the Executive 
Leadership Team share responsibility for a 12-month pipeline of key decisions. 
While the Executive Leadership Team evaluates its own performance on an annual basis, including against 
the requirements of this policy, that evaluation is reported to RAC for it review. The Executive Leadership 
under 
Team also evaluates the performance of each of the committees. Similarly, those evaluations are reported to 
RAC for its review.  
 
 
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Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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3  Significance Principle 
Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ seeks to use governance to include more people at al  levels in the 
organisation's work and decision-making. It does this by delegating decision-making rights as close to 
where the work is being done as possible. In return for that degree of autonomy and trust, this policy 
introduces the significance principle. 
The significance principle is not a 'no surprises' principle. The significance principle is a way of thinking (and 
a process) that encourages everyone to seek the advice of more experienced, specialised, or senior 
col eagues on 'significant' matters. The goal is to improve decision-making quality by addressing 
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information asymmetry and encouraging decisions to be taken with as much information as possible. This 
also enables the further implementation of the expectations of senior leaders. 
Act 
While there are no hard and fast rules, criteria for deciding on whether a matter is significant or not might 
include: 
•  The degree to which a decision or action is consequential to, or undermines, a decision or action 
that has already been taken by the Government of the day or the Executive Leadership Team. 
•  The cost of the decision – the higher the cost, the greater the degree of significance 
•  Reversibility – once done, how easily could a decision be undone – the more difficult a decision is to 
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reverse, general y the higher the significance 
•  Stakeholder and community interest – the higher the degree of stakeholder and community interest 
in a decision, the greater the likely degree of significance 
•  Impact on Mana Ōrite agreement 
Official 
•  Impact on customers 
•  The degree of impact on affected individuals and groups 
the 
•  Impacts levels of service – the greater the impact, the higher the likelihood that a particular decision 
or proposal will be significant 
•  The impact on fees or levies – the greater the impact, the higher the likelihood that a particular 
under 
decision or proposal will be significant 
•  The impact on other agencies 
Those holding decision-making rights are expected to demonstrate they have integrated the significance 
principle into their decision-making. Failure to do so may see a decision-making right suspended or 
revoked. 
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Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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4  Committees 
The Executive Leadership Team has decided to establish seven committees. The role of each committee is to 
assist in carrying out specific responsibilities. Charters for each of those boards are attached. For now, those 
committees are: 
•  2023 Census Board 
•  External Environment (EE) 
•  Governance Advisory Board (GAB) 
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•  Investment and Delivery (ID) 
•  People, Culture and Capability (PCC) 
Act 
•  Risk and Assurance Committee (RAC) 
•  Systems And Standards (SAS) 
The Executive Leadership Team can direct any committee to include an independent member or members, 
except for the Governance Advisory Board and the Risk and Assurance Committee. Other than those two 
committees, the Executive Leadership Team decides which emerging leaders from the third or fourth tier 
can sit as full members on any committees. 
Information 
 
 
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Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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The Executive Leadership Team delegates al  powers and authorities to the committees, except for those it 
has reserved for itself, or are reserved to individual roles set out in the delegations of authority attached as 
Appendix I. 
The Executive Leadership Team may, from time to time, delegate a function or a decision to a committee or 
a role. Conversely, it may also choose to remove a function or a decision. This needs to be done in writing. 
Delegations are made in line with the strategic direction, the annual budget, and risk appetite. 
Each committee is accountable to the Executive Leadership Team for exercising the delegated authority and 
must report on significant matters to the Executive Leadership Team with accurate and timely information. 
1982
The Executive Leadership Team are expected to hear from each committee Chair at its weekly meeting. This 
is not an opportunity to relitigate or change decisions but rather to stay informed. 
 
Act 
6  Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ references 
(link to intranet with guidance, templates and tips) 
6.1 Renewal 
This policy is reviewed annual y. The ELT reviews the policy with RAC provided peer review. 
Information 
6.2 Year One Review 
The year one review will review this policy and the sufficiency of the arrangements in respect of the Mana 
Ōrite agreement; it wil  offer advice to ELT on improvements. The year one review wil  also cover what is 
Official 
working in the System And Standards (SAS) Committee (being the newest committee), and what 
improvements can be made. 
the 
 
7  External references 
under 
The fol owing external references have assisted the development of this policy. 
7.1 Legislation 
Act 1 (link to legislation online) 
 
 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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……………………………………………………. . . . . . . . . . 
 
Approved 1 July 2022 as the Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ Governance Policy 
 
Government Statistician and Chief Executive 
1982
Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ 
 
 
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix A: Senior Leaders Behaviours 
 
Our people know what is expected of them. 
Our people develop and grow. 
Our people have the tools, information, and space to do their jobs. 
We acknowledge we are col ectively responsible for the Mana Ōrite agreement 
1982
We look after our staff's wellbeing at all times. 
We develop a strong, high-performing, and adaptive culture. 
Act 
We work as a col ective in everything we do. 
We are open and honest with each other. 
We engage early, frequently and effectively, and model transparency. 
We delegate, we make decisions consistent with this delegation, but we keep everyone informed. 
We do the basics well and avoid "own goals". 
Information 
 
 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 10 of 32  
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Appendix B: 2023 Census Board 
The 2023 Census Board includes: 
•  Independent Chair 
•  Census and Col ection Operations, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
(Senior Responsible Officer) 
•  Kaihautu, Te Tohu Rautaki, Angitu Māori 
1982
•  Chief Methodologist 
•  Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
Act 
•  Data System Leadership, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
•  An independent subject matter expert 
•  Insights and Statistics, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
•  A representative from the Data Iwi Leaders Group 
 
The role of the 2023 Census Board is to provide assurance that the 2023 Census programme will 
Information 
deliver strongly while continuing to be aligned with the organisation's strategic direction and the 
social and population statistics strategy, including census transformation. It does this by: 
•  Providing governance for the 2023 Census programme. 
•  Ensuring the 2023 Census programme partners with Māori in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi 
Official 
as well as the Mana Ōrite relationship agreement 
•  Ensuring the programme is managed well and remain healthy from cost/benefit, timeline, quality, 
the 
and risk/issue perspective. 
•  Raising programme escalations for changes to scope, cost, schedule, benefits to the Government 
Statistician and Chief Executive when the Senior Responsible Officer tolerances are exceeded. 
•  Ensuring relevant quality assurance processes are adhered to. 
under 
 
The 2023 Census Board has set itself the fol owing outcomes: 
•  Maintaining the programme within specification. 
•  Providing an accurate and consistent view of programme status. 
Released 
•  Ensuring the benefits are delivered according to the business case and to the agreed level of 
quality. 
 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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The 2023 Census Board has no decision-making rights. It supports the Senior Responsible Officer and 
the Government Statistician and Chief Executive to make good decisions. 
For the sake of clarity, the 2023 Census Board has set itself the fol owing scope statement. Activities 
within scope include: 
•  Governing the running of the 2023 Census programme. 
•  Ensuring the programme actively partners with iwi and Māori leadership to increase participation 
of the Crown's Tiriti partner to lift the participation of and response rates to the 2023 Census. 
1982
•  Managing within budget, requesting additional funding for the 2023 Census programme from the 
Executive Leadership Team when it is justified (e.g., cal  on contingency). 
Act 
•  Enforcing the change management process (comprising of scope, costs, and schedule). 
•  Ensuring consistent monitoring of the 2023 Census programme against critical milestones to 
prevent unforeseen breakdowns, delays and other issues affecting successful delivery. 
•  Ensuring the programme adheres to al  relevant Al -of-Government quality assurance frameworks 
such as the Public Services Commission Major Projects Monitoring, Gateway and IQA processes, 
etc. 
•  Ensuring financial or reputational risks arising from programme execution issues are mitigated or 
Information 
accepted. 
•  Ensuring the defined benefit enablers are delivered to the level required by the benefit owner. 
 
The fol owing activities are out of scope: Official 
•  Increasing funding that exceeds agreed thresholds without making a request through appropriate 
funding sources (unless approved through a suitable change mechanism). 
the 
•  Setting principles or standards for matters covered by other committees. 
•  Census transformation research and development. 
•  Census coverage assessment that evaluates the 2023 Census. 
under 
•  Realising the benefits - this is the responsibility of the benefit owner. However, the Census Board 
wil  periodical y review the benefits realisation and trajectory. 
 
The 2023 Census Board meets monthly. Members are expected to use reasonable endeavours to 
attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. A quorum is four members. If 
there is no quorum, the decision to reschedule is made by the Chair. Out of cycle meetings can be 
Released 
organised by the Chair with the Senior Responsible Officer for urgent matters. 
 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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The Chair is Jenn Beswick. The role of the Chair is to lead the board, facilitate constructive 
conversations. Every board member is responsible for ensuring the board functions effectively and 
communicates decisions with one voice. The representative from the Data Iwi Leaders Group is 
Kirikowhai Mikaere. The independent subject matter expert is Duncan Young, who is also the General 
Manager for the Data Acquisition Operations and Transformation, Australian Bureau of Statistics. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the board. 
With the secretary's assistance of the Chair and the Senior Responsible Officer wil  establish the 
agenda and confirm the minutes and action items. The secretary and the Senior Responsible Officer 
shares responsibility with al  board members for good quality papers and clear decisions that can be 
1982
easily communicated. The Secretary and the Senior Responsible Officer, and al  board members share 
responsibility for a pipeline of decisions to be endorsed by the Chair. The secretary is responsible for 
ensuring mintues and action items are available within one business day of each meeting. 
Act 
 
The 2023 Census Board has the fol owing values: 
•  Col ective ownership of decisions made 
•  Fair 
•  Responsible 
Information 
•  Impartial and Trustworthy 
•  Clear accountability 
•  Responsiveness 
•  Transparency 
Official 
 
 
the 
The 2023 Census Board has the fol owing culture and behaviours 
•  The membership wil  fol ow the Mana Ōrite relationship agreement with an emphasis on the 
relationship principles. 
•  Strong and decisive leadership by senior management - supported by clear and appropriate 
under 
allocation of responsibility and authority without ambiguity. 
•  Leadership by example and strong "sponsorship" by the executive are essential to success - areas 
of concern or uncertainty are monitored. 
•  Early, consistent, and direct involvement of programme staff - with appropriate feedback 
mechanisms to encourage, col ect and analyse criticism without fear of retribution. 
Released 
•  Comprehensive data analysis by experienced staff with a programmatic and systemic focus, with 
timely reporting of KPIs and other metrics - new skil  sets and training must be implemented at an 
early stage. 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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•  Discipline in programme management - fostering a chal enging culture that rigorously examines 
the performance of the 2023 Census programme. 
•  Build a culture of transparency - giving governance teams and other stakeholders the information 
they need to assess the 2023 Census Programme. 
•  Effective risk management - ensuring the 2023 Census Board meets its business objectives and 
legal requirements through risk identification and mitigation culture. 
•  Clear and effective recording of decisions and subsequent communication with important 
stakeholders. 
1982
•  Continuous review and improvement - a culture that seeks to get better backed up by appropriate 
review processes. 
 
 
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix C: External Environment (EE) 
External Environment (EE) includes: 
• 
Data System Leadership, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive (Chair) 
• 
Kaihautu, Te Tohu Rautaki, Angitu Māori (Deputy Chair) 
• 
Director Marketing Communications and Engagement 
• 
General Manager, Data System Capability 
1982
• 
General Manager, Data System Policy 
• 
General Manager, External and Government Relations 
Act 
• 
General Manager, Strategy and Investment 
• 
General Manager Te Tohu Rautaki Angitu Māori 
• 
Senior Manager, Executive and Government Relations 
• 
Independent Advisor 
 
Information 
The role of External Environment is to consider matters relating to its public leadership role, including 
the health of its key institutional relationships.  
It does this by:  
• 
Developing a deep understanding of ministerial preferences, needs and risk appetites. 
Official 
• 
Ensuring a whole-of-organisation view on how and when Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ is 
engaging with key partners and stakeholders in the authorising environment. 
the 
• 
Ensuring a whole-of-organisation view on how various communities throughout Aotearoa-New 
Zealand, including Māori, iwi, hapū and whānau, are affected by our activities so we ensure clear 
lines of communication and understanding. 
• 
Ensuring delivery of the Deliver for and with Iwi, Māori and hapu strategic priority. 
under 
• 
Ensuring delivery of the Engagement and transparency transformational priorities. 
• 
Ensuring delivery of the Proactively improving the health of Aotearoa’s data system strategic 
priority.   
• 
Maintaining a strategic view of mandatory standard setting and common data capabilities, with 
a view to enabling a common approach to the col ection, management, and use of data across 
government. 
Released 
External Environment meets on the first week of every month. Members are expected to use 
reasonable endeavours to attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. A 
quorum is five members. If there is no quorum, the decision to reschedule is made by the Chair with 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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the Deputy Chair. At their discretion, the Chair and Deputy Chair can run out-of-cycle decisions, so 
long as they are recorded at the next available meeting. 
The Chair is Data System Leadership, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive. The 
Deputy Chair is Kaihautu, Te Tohu Rautaki, Angitu Māori. 
The Chair and Deputy Chair work together to lead the committee and facilitate constructive 
conversations. However, every member is responsible for ensuring External Environment functions 
effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the  1982
committee. With the secretary's assistance of the Chair and Deputy Chair wil  establish the agenda and 
confirm the minutes and action items. The Secretary shares responsibility with al  committee members 
for good quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and
Act  al 
committee members share responsibility for a pipeline of decisions determined by the Chair and 
Deputy Chair. The secretary is responsible for ensuring mintues and action items are available within 
one business day of each meeting. 
The culture of the committee should reflect the behaviours outlined in Appendix A. 
 
 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix D: Investment and Delivery (ID) 
Investment and Delivery includes: 
•  Insights and Statistics, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive (Chair) 
•  Census and Col ection Operations, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
(Deputy Chair) 
•  Chief Financial Officer 
1982
•  Chief Digital Officer 
•  Data System Leadership, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
Act 
•  General Manager Statistical Change and Assurance 
•  General Manager, Strategy, and Investment 
•  Senior Manager Enterprise Portfolio Office 
•  Independent Advisor 
 
The role of Investment and Delivery is to consider operational delivery and customers. It also 
Information 
considers matters relating to in-year investment and disinvestment. It does this by: 
•  Ensuring investment and delivery assurance systems are fit-for-purpose. 
•  Strategic priorities are implemented as promised. 
•  Service delivery is undertaken in accordance with interna
Official  l guidelines, Tatauranga Aotearoa: 
StatsNZ has accountability documents and international best practice. 
•  Insights are captured and used to improve the next delivery cycle. 
the 
•  Identifying and resolving cross priority resource constraints and bottlenecks. 
 
Investment and Delivery Committee can make decisions in relation to the following: 
under 
•  Verifying performance and providing assurance to the Chief Statistician and Chief Executive and, in 
turn to the Government of the day. 
•  Verifying performance against the annual plan. 
•  Ensuring delivery of the Measure what matters and actively reduce core system risks strategic 
priority. 
Released 
•  Ensuring delivery of the Becoming and Admin Data First organisation strategic priority. 
•  Approving in-year investment, disinvestment, and reprioritisation decisions. 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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•  Monitoring of expenditure against the annual budget. 
Investment and Delivery meets on the second week of every month. Members are expected to use 
reasonable endeavours to attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. A 
quorum is seven members. If there is no quorum, the decision to reschedule is made by the Chair with 
the Deputy Chair. At their discretion, the Chair and Deputy Chair can run out-of-cycle decisions, so 
long as they are recorded at the next available meeting. 
The Chair is Insights and Statistics, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive. The 
Deputy Chair is Census and Col ection Operations, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief 
1982
Executive. 
The Chair and Deputy Chair work together to lead the committee and facilitate constructive 
conversations. However, every member is responsible for ensuring Investment and Delivery func
Act tions 
effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the 
committee. With the secretary's assistance of the Chair and Deputy Chair wil  establish the agenda and 
confirm the minutes and action items. The Secretary shares responsibility with al  committee members 
for good quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and al  
committee members share responsibility for a pipeline of decisions determined by the Chair and 
Deputy Chair. The secretary is responsible for ensuring mintues and action items are available within 
Information 
one business day of each meeting. 
The culture of the committee should reflect the behaviours outlined in Appendix A. 
 
 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix E: People, Culture and Capability (PCC) 
People, Culture and Capability includes: 
•  General Manager, Strategy, and Investment (Chair) 
•  Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive (Deputy 
Chair) 
•  Chief People Officer 
1982
•  General Manager Te Tohu Rautaki Angitu Māori 
•  General Manager, Col ection Operations 
Act 
•  General Manager, Economic and Environmental Insights 
•  Government Statistician and Chief Executive 
•  Senior Manager, Business Insights and Improvements 
 
The role of People, Culture and Capability is to consider matters relating to people, culture, integrity, 
and organisational capability. 
Information 
It does this by overseeing strategies, policies and processes relating to: 
•  Employee performance, potential and development. 
•  Diversity, inclusion, and equity 
•  Health and Safety. 
Official 
•  Integrity and probity. 
the 
•  Organisational culture. 
•  Organisational design and structure and change management capacity. 
•  Remuneration. 
under 
•  Succession planning and talent management. 
•  Considering significant issues relating to people, culture, and integrity. 
 
People, Culture and Capability can make decisions in relation to the following: 
•  Approving al  recruitment and remuneration strategies and policies while ensuring that each 
Released 
complies with the institutional risk appetite, role, purpose, and strategic direction. 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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•  Approving al  strategies, plans and policies aimed at improving Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ 
culture, including senior leadership development, succession planning, talent management, as well 
as health and safety. 
•  Approving and overseeing Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ recruitment, retention, performance 
management, and termination policies. 
•  Ensure delivery of the leadership and culture transformational priority. 
•  Ensuring that appropriate policies and practices are in place to protect, promote and support the 
health, safety and wellbeing of employees and other relevant stakeholders, including monitoring 
1982
indicators, incident reports and other key metrics, and overseeing actions taken by management in 
response. 
Act 
•  Advising and escalating health, safety and wellbeing matters to the Executive Leadership Team as 
a matter of urgency. 
•  Making recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team about change readiness and capacity 
while overseeing and approving the change pipeline and significant change requests. 
•  Making recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team about the measurable objectives for 
diversity, inclusion, and equity. 
•  Monitoring financial and corporate governance processes and reporting as it relates to individual 
Information 
performance and remuneration 
•  Overseeing delivering for and with Māori, iwi, hapū and whānau by ensuring there is a growth in 
internal capacity and capability across al  people, culture, and integrity workstreams. This also 
includes ensuring there are policies and processes in place to apply a Tiriti-lens. 
Official 
•  Overseeing employee engagement survey results and the progress of any management actions 
undertaken in response to those surveys. 
the 
•  Overseeing ethical compliance, including material breaches of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ code 
of conduct and material incidents under Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ whistleblower policy and 
actions taken by management regarding breaches and incidents. 
•  Proactively reporting significant health and safety matters to the Executive Leadership Team. 
under 
•  Verifying al  of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ people and culture activities and integrity matters 
support the strategic direction. 
People, Culture and Capability meets on the third week of every month. Members are expected to use 
reasonable endeavours to attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. A 
quorum is six members. If there is no quorum, the decision to reschedule is made by the Chair with 
the Deputy Chair. At their discretion, the Chair and Deputy Chair can run out-of-cycle decisions, so 
long as they are r
Released ecorded at the next available meeting. 
The Chair is General Manager, Strategy, and Investment. The Deputy Chair is Chief Operating Officer, 
Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive. 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 20 of 32  
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The Chair and Deputy Chair work together to lead the committee and facilitate constructive 
conversations. However, every member is responsible for ensuring People, Culture and Capability 
functions effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the 
committee. With the secretary's assistance of the Chair and Deputy Chair wil  establish the agenda and 
confirm the minutes and action items. The Secretary shares responsibility with al  committee members 
for good quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and al  
committee members share responsibility for a pipeline of decisions determined by the Chair and 
Deputy Chair. The secretary is responsible for ensuring mintues and action items are available within 
1982
one business day of each meeting. 
The culture of the committee should reflect the behaviours outlined in Appendix A.  Act 
 
 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 21 of 32  
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Appendix F: Systems And Standards (SAS) 
Systems And Standards includes: 
•  Chief Methodologist (Chair) 
•  Chief Digital Officer (Deputy Chair) 
•  Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive 
•  Deputy Chief Methodologist 
1982
•  General Manager Statistical Change and Assurance 
•  General Manager, Col ection Operations 
Act 
•  General Manager, Data Management and Operations 
•  General Manager, Data Services 
•  General Manager Te Tohu Rautaki Angitu Māori/technical advisor 
•  General Manager, Social and Population Insights 
 
Information 
The role of Systems And Standards is to consider matters relating to mandatory standards and 
common data capabilities, and its impact on internal information systems. It also has a role in 
overseeing compliance with mandatory standards. 
Systems And Standards can make decisions in relation to the following: 
•  Approving technical guidance and providing peer-review
Official   as required. 
•  Ensuring delivery of the Simply and Strategical y strategic priority. 
the 
•  Ensuring Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ organisational system for the ownership and approval of 
statistical design standards and practices are functional.   
•  Ensuring the overal  strategy and direction of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ statistical design 
architecture and recommending a road-map, priorities and an investment path for it.     
under 
•  Providing a focus on the coherence of Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ standards and their fitness 
for purpose. 
•  Regularly checking in and monitoring compliance with standards. 
•  Highlighting good practice compliance and reporting on non-compliance. 
•  Managing compliance exemptions.  
Released 
 
Systems And Standards cannot make decisions that have significant financial implications. Those 
decisions need to be socialised with Investment and Delivery and/or Executive Leadership Team. 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 22 of 32  
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System And Standards meets on the fourth week of every month. Members are expected to use 
reasonable endeavours to attend meetings. Delegates can attend with the approval of the Chair. A 
quorum is six members. If there is no quorum, the decision to reschedule is made by the Chair with 
the Deputy Chair. At their discretion, the Chair and Deputy Chair can run out-of-cycle decisions, so 
long as they are recorded at the next available meeting. 
The Chair is the Chief Methodologist. The Deputy Chair is Chief Digital Officer. 
The Chair and Deputy Chair work together to lead the committee and facilitate constructive 
conversations. However, every member is responsible for ensuring Systems And Standards functions 
1982
effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the 
committee. With the secretary's assistance of the Chair and Deputy Chair wil  establish the agend
Act  a and 
confirm the minutes and action items. The Secretary shares responsibility with al  committee members 
for good quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and al  
committee members share responsibility for a pipeline of decisions determined by the Chair and 
Deputy Chair. The secretary is responsible for ensuring mintues and action items are available within 
one business day of each meeting. 
The culture of the committee should reflect the behaviours outlined in Appendix A. 
 
 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix G: Governance Advisory Board Charter 
(GAB) 
This Charter sets out the role, function and operation of the Stats NZ Governance Advisory Board (“the 
Board”). 
The Board is an advisory body that supports the Chief Executive and the Executive Leadership Team 
(col ectively, ‘the executive’) to ensure that the Stats NZ’s organisational strategy, capability and 
performance make the best possible contribution to the achievement of its goals. The Board will also 
1982
provide regular reports to the Minister of Statistics. 
The Board’s role and operating practice may evolve over time. This Charter may be updated from time 
Act 
to time to reflect this. 
1: Stats NZ’s goals 
Stats NZ’s vision is to unleash the power of data to change lives. Further information on Stats NZ’s 
goals and strategy can be found in the Statement of Intent. 
2: Role and Function of the Board 
The Board is established as a Group 4 Advisory Board under the Cabinet Office Circular Fees 
Information 
framework for members appointed to bodies in which the Crown has an interest (CO(12)6). 
Stats NZ aims to replicate the discipline provided by a private sector governance board as far as 
possible within the public sector management system, to provide additional chal enge and external 
expertise to the executive. The Board’s principal role is to provide chal enge and independent advice 
to the Chief Executive. In performing this role, it wil : 
Official 
• test high-level strategy as set by the executive 
• provide advice on strategy development, design, and execution 
the 
• link Stats NZ with external expertise 
• provide an independent perspective on any area raised by the Chief Executive 
• report on the advice the Board has provided to the Chief Executive to the Minister of Statistics bi-
under 
annual y, and as required at other times by invitation. 
Examples of matters the Board may discuss include: 
• Is Stats NZ’s strategic direction appropriate in the wider context? 
• Does Stats NZ have the appropriate governance and decision-making settings? 
• Does Stats NZ have the appropriate financial settings to meet its strategic objectives? 
Released 
• Does Stats NZ have the appropriate capability to meet its objectives? 
• Is Stats NZ taking an appropriate approach to managing its information? 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Overal , the board wil  seek to provide assurance to the Chief Executive that Stats NZ is doing the right 
things. 
The statutory responsibilities and accountabilities of the Chief Executive, Government Statistician, and 
the State Services Commissioner remain unchanged. The Board’s contribution to these is advisory, and 
they may choose to act with or against the Board’s advice. In order to ensure this, the Board operates 
in accordance with the fol owing principles: 
• Board members wil  not comment on or represent the Stats NZ’s views external y without express 
permission. External engagement is led by the Stats NZ’s senior management. 
1982
• The Board wil  not become involved in internal management decisions. The executive takes 
management decisions to deliver on the strategic direction endorsed by the Board.  Act 
• The Board does not determine the nature of the Stats NZ’s strategic direction or policy advice, or 
make operational decisions. These remain the responsibility of Stats NZ managers and staff. 
• The Board does not engage in the design, production or dissemination of statistics. This remains the 
responsibility of the Government Statistician and his delegates. 
The Board may develop and agree a set of outcomes and/or performance standards by which it wil  
assess its own effectiveness. These may then be appended to this Charter. 
The existence of the Board does not shift any accountabilities of either the Chief Executive or the 
Information 
Minister of Statistics. The Board has no decision-making ability and performs an advisory function 
only, and the Chief Executive maintains accountability to the Minister as standard for a government 
department. 
3: Membership of the Board 
Official 
The Board comprises an independent Chair and up to seven non-executive members. Al  Board 
members are expected to fully participate in Board meetings. 
the 
The Chief Executive of Stats NZ wil  be ex-officio member of the Board. Other members of the 
Executive Leadership team wil  be invited to join meetings, as appropriate. 
The Chair is appointed by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Minister of Statistics. 
The non-executive members are appointed by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chair and 
under 
the Minister of Statistics. One non-executive member wil  represent the Chief Executive’s Risk and 
Assurance Committee (see below). 
The Chief Executive sets their terms of engagement, and remuneration, as set out in the Cabinet Office 
Circular Fees framework for members appointed to bodies in which the Crown has an interest 
(CO(12)6). 
Non-executive members agree to be subject to the State Services Code of Conduct when performing 
Released 
their role. 
The skil s sought in the non-executive members may change over time to reflect the chal enges and 
issues facing Stats NZ. They include: 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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• strong governance skil s 
• an understanding of organisational culture and performance issues associated with large scale 
operational delivery 
• an understanding of te ao Māori 
• experience in a chal enge and performance accountability role 
• experience in organisational growth and leadership in the commercial or public sectors 
• an understanding of the digital chal enges currently being faced in New Zealand (such as algorithms 
1982
and the growth of AI) 
• a balance of representation of different groups and communities of interest, for example Māori 
Act 
• experience working in the data and analytics, statistical, or technology dominated sectors. 
As and when existing members come up for reappointment, or new members are appointed, the Chief 
Executive will re-consider the balance of skil s and experience desired and that is offered by existing 
members. 
The Chair wil  provide overal  leadership to the Board, which includes ensuring the Board has a good 
mix of capable members and an effective culture. In meetings, the Chair wil  ensure discussions are 
appropriately chal enging and productive and that effective advice is produced. 
Information 
The Chair wil  set the forward agenda for the meeting, to be discussed with the Board. 
Ensuring an appropriate link to the Risk and Assurance Committee 
The Stats NZ has elected to establish the Risk and Assurance Committee independently of the 
establishment of the Board. The purpose of the Committee is to provide assurance to the Chief 
Official 
Executive that Stats NZ is acting with probity and managing its functions appropriately. It wil  achieve 
this by reviewing and providing advice with respect to: 
the 
• risk management 
• internal audit 
• external audit  under 
• internal control profiles 
• financial management 
• other governance and assurance frameworks and processes as appropriate. 
The Chair wil  represent the Committee as a full member of the Board. 
It is expected that the Committee’s role wil  strengthen Stats NZ’s risk management culture and 
Released 
process through the provision of an independent perspective, advice and chal enge to management 
on the policies, processes, systems and controls including the governance model. 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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The Risk and Assurance Committee wil  complement the Board by providing support to Stats NZ to do 
things the right way. 
4: Operation of the Board 
Board meetings 
Meetings wil  be held six times a year, approximately a month after the meeting of t1he Risk and 
Assurance Committee. From time to time, it may also be necessary for the Board to meet on an ad-
hoc basis. The minutes of the Risk and Assurance Committee wil  be brought to the Board for noting 
and discussion if required. 
1982
Each meeting wil  include a financial update from the organisation. 
Members wil  use their best endeavours to attend Board meetings and to prepare thoroughly. 
Act 
Members are expected to participate fully, frankly and constructively in Board discussions and other 
activities. Members unable to attend a meeting wil  advise the Chair and Secretariat as early as 
possible. 
Meetings wil  general y be held in Wellington, however, meetings may sometimes be held outside 
Wellington if this is considered appropriate, for example, in order to better engage 
with business and community leaders. Where necessary and appropriate, Board members wil  be able 
to video-conference as part of meetings. 
Information 
Reporting to the Minister of Statistics 
Twice a year the Board wil  formal y report to the Minister of Statistics, outlining the Board’s activities, 
lines of enquiry and the views it has formed. At a minimum, the report would advise the Minister on 
the appropriateness of Stats NZ’s strategy, the strengths and weaknesses of Stats NZ’s capability and 
Official 
performance, and risks to the organisation’s delivery. 
In between times, the Chair wil  provide a short report back from each meeting (facilitated by the 
the 
secretariat) and can meet with the Minister of Statistics informal y to discuss matters arising from the 
meetings as appropriate. 
Board secretariat 
The Board wil  be supported by a secretariat provided by the Office of the Chief Executive. 
under 
The Board wil  have good access to senior management and key staff, facilitated by the secretariat. 
The secretariat wil  facilitate the flow of advice to the Board, prepare the forward agenda and minutes, 
and co-ordinate within Stats NZ, and the secretariat of the Risk and Assurance Committee on the 
Board’s behalf, where necessary. 
5: Review of the Board 
The Board and its
Released  operation wil be reviewed after a year of operation, in the first half of 2021. This 
provides the Chief Executive and the Minister of Statistics an opportunity to: 
• assess the Board’s contribution to improving Stats NZ’s organisational governance 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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• consider changes to the relationship between the Board and the Risk and Assurance Committee 
• consider whether the reporting requirements for the Board provide sufficient value to the Minister of 
Statistics 
• consider whether the structure of the Board continues to be the most appropriate. 
 
1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 28 of 32  
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Appendix H: Risk and Assurance (RA) 
The Risk and Assurance Committee includes: 
•  Wendy Venter (Chair) 
•  Michael Ahie 
•  TBC 
The role of the Risk and Assurance Committee is to provide strategic and operational advice,  1982
chal enge, and assurance to the Government Statistician and Chief Executive relating to the 
effectiveness and adequacy of risk and assurance, processes, and activities across Tatauranga 
Aotearoa: StatsNZ. 
Act 
It does this by providing chal enge, and an independent perspective the Risk and Assurance 
Committee needs to operate within an environment of cooperation and trust with Tatauranga 
Aotearoa: StatsNZ. It also  
The outcome the Risk and Assurance Committee seeks is assurance to the Government Statistician 
and Chief Executive that Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ. is acting with probity and managing its 
functions appropriately. The Risk and Assurance Committee does this by reviewing and providing 
advice with respect to: 
Information 
Risk management 
•  Appropriateness of the risk management framework and practices. 
•  Organisational risk profile at the strategic and organisational levels. 
Internal audit 
Official 
•  Internal Audit Charter, policies, and draft work programmes. 
the 
•  Monitoring the implementation of recommendations by management. 
•  Providing support and guidance to the Internal Auditor. 
•  The Internal Auditor may meet independently with the Risk and Assurance Committee at either 
party's request. 
under 
External audit 
•  Scope of the annual audit plan. 
•  Issues arising from interim and final audits and any matters that the external auditors may wish to 
discuss. 
The Risk and Assurance Committee may meet independently with the external auditors at either 
Released 
party's request. 
 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Internal control profiles 
•  Adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls from a management perspective. 
•  Compliance with relevant regulatory and statutory requirements. 
•  All policies and practices. 
Financial management 
•  The clarity and completeness of information, particularly disclosures in the annual report, focuses 
on changes to policies and practices, significant adjustment resulting from the audit, compliance 
1982
with financial reporting and appropriate standards, and compliance with relevant regulatory and 
statutory requirements. 
Act 
Other 
Other governance and assurance frameworks and processes as appropriate, including but not limited 
to the operation of the governance policy and the delegations register. 
The Risk and Assurance Committee is an advisory committee. It has no management responsibilities 
and no decision-making rights. 
Risk and Assurance Committee members have been selected for the experience in assurance, as wel  
as public sector leadership, information ownership, us, management and maximisation, the privacy 
Information 
and security of information and an understanding of governance and the issues associated with large 
scale operational delivery, an understanding of Te Ao Māori and have some experience in a chal enge 
and performance accountability role  
The Risk and Assurance Committee meet six times a year. Members are expected to use reasonable 
endeavours to attend meetings. 
Official 
The Chair is Wendy Venter. The role of the Chair is to lead the Committee, facilitate constructive 
conversations. Every committee member is responsible for ensuring the committee functions 
the 
effectively and communicates decisions with one voice. 
The Chair appoints at least one secretary. The secretary is accountable to al  members of the 
committee. With the secretary's assistance of the Chair wil  establish the agenda and confirm the 
minutes and action items. The Secretary shares responsibility with all committee members for good 
under 
quality papers and clear decisions that can be easily communicated. The secretary and al  committee 
members share responsibility for a pipeline of decisions determined by the Chair. 
The Risk and Assurance Committee also have, through the Chair, access to al  employees. The Risk and 
Assurance Committee also has access to al  the agendas, minutes, and papers considered by al  
governance arrangements described in this policy. The Risk and Assurance Committee also expect to 
be able to review key accountability documents as they evolve. 
Released 
The culture of the Risk and Assurance Committee should reflect the behaviours outlined in appendix 
a. In addition, Risk and Assurance Committee members are expected to proactively disclose conflicts 
of interest. They also owe an obligation of confidentiality to the Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ. 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix I: Schedule of policies and renewals 
 
The governance policy includes a schedule of al  policies and their renewal dates. This wil  need to be 
covered off by legal. 
 
 
1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title: 
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
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Appendix J: Delegations of Authority 
 
The governance policy includes the delegation of all decision-making rights. This will also need to be 
covered off by legal. We do not imagine any major changes to the current delegations. 
1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
Policy Title:  
Governance Policy 
Effective Date:  1 July 2022 
Policy Owner: 
Executive Leadership Team 
Page 32 of 32  
Tatauranga Aotearoa: StatsNZ © Crown Copyright 


1982
Act 
StatsNZ
Workshop to Scenario Test Gove

Information rnance 
Model 
Official 
Wednesday 9 February 2021 – 1.30 pm – 4 pm and via Teams 
the 
under 
Released 


The Session
1982
Feb 2022 – Workshop to Scenario Test Governance Model 
Act 
PURPOSE
AGENDA
An opportunity to engage in a facilitated 
1.30 Welcome, Karakia
discussion about the new governance 
model and supporting arrangements. A 
chance to get into the detail of how they will 
1.35 Housekeeping outline and purpose
operate, using scenarios to ‘stress test’ the 
Information 
model.
1.40 CE opening remarks
OUTCOME
1.45  Recap on where we are at and 
A robust and open discussion on the new 
implementation timeline
Official 
model, identifying the challenges, issues 
and risks. A discussion on how the calendar 
2.00- 3.45 New Governance structure, 
and rhythm of the arrangements will work. 
scenarios, stress testing the 
the 
Using some scenarios to ‘stress’ test the 
model for the real world
model for real world situations to discuss 
how the governance model might need to 
3.45  Wrap up and next steps
respond to different situations and to build a 
under 
shared understanding of the model after ‘go 
4:00  Karakia and close 
live’. 
2
Released 

Potential Governance Group Membership 
 
Systems and Standards 
ELT 
•  s 9(2)(a) (chair?) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
1982
•  s 9(2)(a) (if he has time?) 
3rd Tier 
Act 
•  CIO 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a)
 
•  s 9(2)(a) ?(if no s 9(2)(a)) 
 
People, Culture and Capability 
Information 
ELT 
•  s 9(2)(a) (chair) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
3rd Tier 
Official 
•  CPO 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
the 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a)
 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
 
under 
Investment Delivery 
ELT 
•  s 9(2)(a)(chair) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
Released 
3rd Tier 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a)
 (CFO) 
•  s 9(2)(a)
 

•  CIO 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
 
External Environment 
ELT 
•  s 9(2)(a) (chair) 
•  s 9(2)(a) 
1982
•  s 9(2)(a) 
 
Act 
3rd Tier 
•  s 9(2)(a)
 
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a)  
•  s 9(2)(a) 
•  s 9(2)(a)
 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 



 
       
1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
  
 
 Released 
 
 
 



   
 
 
 
 
 
1982
    
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
under 
Released 
         
     
 
 



 
1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
  
   
                    
under 
Released 



1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
     
 
under 
Released 



1982
Act 
Information 
Official 
the 
  
 
 
under 
 
Released