Policy: Mana Tuku Kaupapa Here
(Delegations Policy)
(SF-POL-001)
Publish Date 3 February 2025
Approved by
Kāinga Ora Board
Owner
GM, Strategy Finance and
Author
Financial Control
Policy
Overview
1. This delegations policy provides the framework and expectations for the exercise of
delegated functions and powers on behalf of the Board.
Legal Framework
2. Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities (Kāinga Ora) is a Crown entity formed on 1
October 2019. Its delegations are set in accordance with the Crown Entities Act 2004
(the CEA). The CEA permits the Board to delegate any of its functions or powers to the
Chief Executive, and the Chief Executive can then sub-delegate (with the prior written
consent of the Board) to any employee (or certain other people specified in the CEA).
Further sub-delegations are not permitted.
3. The functions and powers of Kāinga Ora include functions and powers when acting as
under the Official Information Act 1982
agent:
a. Kāinga Ora is appointed as the agent of Housing New Zealand Limited (HNZL) and
Housing New Zealand Build Limited (HNZB), and has the power to act on behalf of
HNZL and HNZB.
b. Kāinga Ora is agent of the Crown under the Housing Act 1955, and may also be
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appointed to provide housing or services related to housing under s13(1)(e) of the
Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities Act 2019.
4. The Board remains responsible for the actions of any delegate acting under a delegation
and the grant of a delegation does not prevent the Board from exercising its powers or
performing its functions (CEA, section 75).
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Delegation instruments
5. The Board to Chief Executive Delegation sets out:
a. functions and powers that are reserved by the Board,
b. functions and powers that are delegated to the Chief Executive, and consent to sub-
delegate, and
c. the conditions of delegation and sub-delegation.
6. The Chief Executive to Employee Delegation sets out:
a. decision making authority for employees that are sub-delegated by the Chief
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Executive to employees of Kāinga Ora, and
b. the conditions for employees in exercising decision making authority (which are
Act
also reproduced in the Appendix to this Policy).
Objective
7. This policy sets out the general responsibilities and Board expectations for the Chief
Executive and employees conducting business under delegation (in addition to the
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formal conditions of delegation and sub-delegation).
8. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the delegation instruments, which specify
certain delegated authority granted to positions, including:
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a. authority for pre-approval of expenditure; and
b. authority to expenditure commitm
the ents and approval for payment.
Scope
under
9. This policy applies to all powers and functions of Kāinga Ora (including financial,
statutory, and employment).
10. The delegations set out in this policy can only be exercised by employees and office
holders. Contractors and consultants are not permitted to exercise delegations (unless
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the Ministers have given permission under the CEA).
Ownership
11. The GM, Strategy Finance and Policy administers the delegations policy on behalf of the
Board. Any policy changes are managed through the GM, Strategy Finance and Policy.
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Board Expectations
12. The Chief Executive must not take, allow or approve any action or circumstance that:
a. is in breach of statute, regulation or Policy direction, is imprudent, which
contravenes any government policy, direction or Ministerial expectation,
b. is in breach of applicable accounting standards or generally accepted business
practices, or
c. could cause financial harm or threaten the financial integrity of Kāinga Ora.
13. The Chief Executive must ensure the Board is informed in a timely, accurate and
understandable way about issues and concerns essential to the meeting of its duties
and accountabilities to Ministers and key stakeholders. This includes the fol owing:
a. Significant risks or matters must be raised with the Board, even if they sit within the
Chief Executive’s sub-delegation.
b. Financial reports should clearly set out significant trends, data relevant to agreed
benchmarks and Board-agreed measures and other Board financial data as
determined by the Board from time-to-time.
c. The Board should be informed of significant external environmental trends, adverse
media publicity, achievement of, or progress towards the achievement of, the
Statement of Intent, Statement of Performance Expectations, or changes in the
basic assumptions upon which the Board’s policies are based.
d. The Board should be notified in writing of any forecast overspend to the approved
Budget.
e. The Board should be informed of:
i. significant changes to the Chief Executive’s sub-delegations,
ii. any issues with acting outside of delegations, or
iii. when there is actual or anticipated non-compliance with a Board policy.
under the Official Information Act 1982
f. There should by quarterly reporting to the Board on legal risks to Kāinga Ora that
are high or critical, including litigation for a value of over $10 million or with other
associated high or critical risks.
14. The Chief Executive must ensure that:
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a. Kāinga Ora operates on ‘no surprises’ basis, in line with the expectation of Ministers
set out in the Enduring Letter of Expectations for Statutory Crown Entity Boards,
b. all communications to the media, Ministers, Government agencies and other
stakeholders reflect an accurate interpretation of Board and organisational policy
and/or current Board decisions and concerns,
c. they provide a workplace environment compliant with Good Employer obligations
and the Public Service Standards of Integrity and Conduct, and
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d. there are appropriate business continuity plans in place including an emergency
management regime that can operate in the event of unexpected loss of the Chief
Executive’s services.
Chief Executive sub-delegation principles
15. When deciding the appropriate level at which functions and powers should be
delegated, the delegation should go to the role/s best qualified, with suitable expertise
and experience, for making effective and efficient decisions. The Chief Executive must
also seek to optimise accountability, business efficiency and the risk mitigation related
to the exercise of that decision when deciding the most appropriate level for decision
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making. A good balance is maintained between enabling the organisation to fulfil its role
and providing a strong financial control environment.
Act
16. The fol owing further principles guide Kāinga Ora towards a strong control environment
and enables good governance:
a. Delegations are easily understandable, can be implemented consistently, and are
supported by tools and training.
b. Decision-making frameworks are simple to administer and are kept up to date.
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Whanonga Whakatau Kaupapa: Decision making
principles (for employees exerci
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sing delegated
powers)
the
17. Delegation holders should fol ow these principles when exercising any delegations
a. Delegation holders must be accountable, transparent, act with integrity, and must
understand and accept the responsibilities of holding a delegation.
under
b. Delegation holders should consider the significance of the decision they are
authorised to make before exercising a delegation, and turn their mind to whether
it is appropriate in the circumstances to inform or consult someone at a higher level
in the organisation, or for the decision to be made by someone at a higher level in
the organisation. Factors that might be relevant to elevating a decision include:
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matters that might impact on the reputation of Kāinga Ora, the level of public
interest, ability to deliver services, financial performance, the environment, or
matters that have precedential effect.
c. Delegations should only be exercised once the necessary consultation has occurred.
d. Decision holders should consider the organisation beyond their own functional
area, taking a Kāinga Ora-wide and outcome-focused approach.
e. Delegation holders must ensure that Kāinga Ora operates on ‘no surprises’ basis, in
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line with the expectation of Ministers set out in the Enduring Letter of Expectations
for Statutory Crown Entity Boards.
f. Delegated authority is granted to a position, rather than to employees as named
individuals.
g. A person may be appointed to temporarily act in a role, and that acting person may
exercise all the delegation of the substantive role or position (provided they are an
employee or, if not, have Ministerial permission).
h. Delegation holders must act consistently with any Kāinga Ora policies when
exercising delegated authority.
18. Delegation holders may identify the need to escalate a decision. If they need to seek
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approval on that basis, the approval must come from their manager (one-up). If their
manager does not have sufficient delegated authority, approval wil need to be sought
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from their managers’ manager and so forth.
19. Only employees may exercise a delegation (this includes fixed-term employees and
employees seconded to another role in Kāinga Ora). This means temporary staff (e.g.
those not paid on Kāinga Ora payroll, external secondees, contractors, consultants,
recruitment agency staff) are not permitted to exercise any delegation even if acting in
a permanent position (unless with Ministerial permission). If a temporary
Information staff member
is acting in a permanent position, their ‘one-up’ manager must exercise the relevant
delegations.
Managing delegations
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20. If there are concerns regarding an employee’s ability to responsibly hold a delegation,
the
the Chief Executive may approve (on the recommendation of the relevant Deputy Chief
Executive, General Manager or Director) withholding a delegated authority of that
employee.
under
Te Whakamahi he Ahumoni Mana Tuku (Principles
specific to financial delegations)
21. Financial delegations are considered to be exercised at the time a decision is made to
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commit Kāinga Ora to spending.
22. Financial delegation holders cannot approve expenditure that will cause their budget (or
latest forecast) to be knowingly exceeded (unless approval has been granted).
23. When required for Kāinga Ora operational efficiency a person may need to hold two
financial delegations at the same time (e.g. their permanent financial delegation and a
temporary financial delegation arrangement). In this situation the financial delegation
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holder cannot exercise their delegation powers in more than one capacity for a single
transaction, contract or decision.
System changes when authorising a person to act in a substantive position
24. Please refer to guidance documents from the Finance team on Oracle and Jadestar
changes to support acting arrangements.
Te Manawhakapau Moni e pa ana ki Nga pakihi me
Nga tūtohu (Approving expenses of employees)
25. Delegation holders can only approve expenses of their direct or indirect reports within
their cost centre(s) or group. They cannot approve the expenses of manager(s) they
report to, nor approve the expenses of a col eague at the same level or higher in the
organisational.
26. Authorisation of an employee’s own expenditure is not permitted. Hence, any
delegation holder’s business related or sensitive expenditure must be approved by their
‘one-up’ manager (or their managers’ manager) who holds the appropriate financial
delegation. This applies to:
a. employee training, employee conferences and international travel,
b. travel within and between New Zealand and Australia,
c. entertainment,
d. hotels and accommodation,
e. meals (while travelling on behalf of Kāinga Ora),
f. purchase card expenses, and
g. gifts and koha
Refer to Travel Policy (POL-332) and Sensitive Expenditure Policy SF-POL-003 and
under the Official Information Act 1982
Sensitive Expenditure Guidance SF-POL-003A
27. The Chief Executive’s business-related and sensitive expenditure must be approved by
the Board Chair or, in their absence, the Deputy Chair.
28. Board members’ business-related and sensitive expenditure must be approved by the
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Board Chair or, in their absence, the Deputy Chair.
29. The Board Chair’s expenditure is approved by the Deputy Chair of the Board. In their
absence, approval is by the Chair of the Finance, Risk and Assurance Committee (or
equivalent).
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Principles specific to the Investment Management
Framework
30. Investment decisions on all capital investments relating to land and buildings (excluding
minor capitalised maintenance works, Crown products, investments in ICT, facilities and
corporate activity) must be made in accordance with the Investment Management
Framework (IMF). You can find more information on the Investment Management
Office page on Atamai. Retrofits and Complex Remediations are part of the IMF.
Substantial ‘one off’ maintenance that is not part of the Retrofit or Complex
Remediation programmes but is similar in nature (e.g. substantial repair of a fire-
damaged home) should be covered by the IMF. $300,000 is the threshold for 1982
differentiating between ‘major’ (IMF) maintenance and ‘minor / routine’ maintenance
(non-IMF).
Act
Mana Tuku ko Kirimana (Principles specific to
contracts)
31. Before any contract is entered into (i.e. approved or signed), any procurement
initiatives with a contract value (whole of life cost) that exceeds the financial threshold
Information
of $100,000 for goods, services, work (including refurbishments), or $9,000,000 for new
construction (including al stages of a turn-key housing project) must meet the
requirements of the Procurement Policy (POL-335) and the Kāinga Ora Procedures
Manual (SP-GDL-101), including the Government P
Official rocurement Rules.
32. Any variations to contracts must be documented and approved by the relevant
the
Procurement Manager and the Supplier, in accordance with the Kāinga Ora
Procurement Procedures Manual (SP-GDL-101).
33. A financial delegation holder who is leaving their position should use their ‘one up’
under
manager to sign contracts in the last month of holding that position to ensure
knowledge of Kāinga Ora commitment is transferred.
Principles specific to human resources
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34. A People Leader cannot approve an action that would directly benefit themselves. For
example, People Leaders cannot authorise changes to their own terms and conditions of
employment, or authorise the hiring of relatives.
35. Where a delegation holder does not have a budget, they should consult the budget
holder if exercising their people management delegations in a way that will have an
effect on a budget.
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36. All matters affecting the employment relations strategy, including Collective
Employment Agreement negotiations, are to be referred to the Chief Executive and the
GM People, Governance and Capability.
37. Generally, approval by at least the ‘one-up’ People Leader would be required for:
a. acting appointments where sufficient people delegation authority has not
otherwise been granted,
b. areas of ambiguity, sensitivity or discretionary matters,
c. where significant risk has been identified, or
d. where the decision significantly affects/impacts the decision maker or their direct
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reports.
Executive Administration Authorities
Act
38. Executive Administrators can be empowered to upload/enter the instructions and
decisions of the Leader across various systems and platforms within Kāinga Ora.
39. The Leader is responsible for providing clear instructions and decisions to the Executive
Administrator.
Information
40. Executive Administrators are authorised to take necessary actions to implement the
instructions and decisions of the Leader in any system, platform, or tool.
41. This authority includes, but is not limited to:
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a. having visibility of workflows on behalf of the Leader,
the
b. creating requests on behalf of the Leader,
c. approving workflows on behalf of the Leader, and
d. troubleshooting issues and
under resolving errors.
42. Executive Administrators shall exercise this authority in a manner consistent with Kāinga
Ora policies, procedures and values.
43. The Leader shal ensure the Executive Administrators have the necessary training and
support to carry ou
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44. If an acting appointment is proposed, complete ‘Request and approval for acting
delegations’ (H-371), which can be found on Atamai. A copy must be forwarded to the
People Advisory Team.
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Conflict of Interest
45. If the delegation holder is aware of a perceived, potential or actual conflict of interest
for any delegated approval, they must not process the approval. The delegation holder
must report the conflict of interest to their manager who wil support the delegation
holder to write up a Conflict of Interest Management Plan. Where the decision relates
to a procurement, the Procurement Excel ence Manager (Probity Advisor) must be
notified. If appropriate, the expenditure should be approved by their manager in
accordance with the ‘one-up’ principle (and within the manager’s delegation).
Refer to the Declarations of Interest and Conflicts of Interest (the DOI and COI) Policy
(SH-POL-111).
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Position change
Act
46. Where a position is disestablished, and the functions and powers previously delegated
to the position are transferred to another position (the ‘alternative position’), then the
holder of the alternative position may exercise the functions and powers of the
disestablished position.
Information
47. Where the title or name of a position changes and the duties of the newly named
position (the ‘substitute position’) are the same as the specified position, the functions
and powers previously delegated to the specified position must be exercised by the
holder of the substitute position. Official
Breaches of this policy o
the
r a delegated authority
48. Any breach of this policy or a delegated authority may be deemed as misconduct, or for
a serious breach or repeated breaches, be considered serious misconduct, and
under
disciplinary action may be taken. Non-compliance with this policy may also be a breach
of the conditions on which the authority to exercise delegation has been given and is an
unlawful exercise of power. Confirmed breaches of this policy wil be reported to the
Board as they arise by the Chief Executive.
49. If a delegation holder becomes aware that they have, or may have, breached this policy
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(including their delegated authority) then they must notify their manager immediately.
All managers that have been notified of a serious breach of this policy (including
financial delegated authority) must immediately notify the GM Finance Strategy and
Policy or if this is not appropriate they should inform the Chief Executive.
50. If any persons working at Kāinga Ora suspects any delegation holder has breached this
policy or their delegated limits they should inform one of the fol owing:
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a. their manager or their manager’s manager; and
b. the Director Financial Control.
51. Al reported breaches must be entered in to the ‘Delegations Issues Register’ by the
Director Financial Control.
Reviewing effectiveness of the Mana Tuku Kaupapa
Here (Delegations Policy)
52. This policy will be monitored by the Kāinga Ora Finance team for effectiveness. Reviews
conducted at least annually will be undertaken to ensure it is achieving its objectives.
53. In addition, internal Audit Services will review compliance with this policy.
54. This policy will be reviewed as required by the Board.
55. The GM Strategy Finance and Policy is responsible for oversight of delegations. The
Board may wholly or partly revoke or modify this policy at any time.
Success criteria
56. This policy wil be successful if:
a. all delegation holders have completed training on this policy and are aware of their
responsibilities and financial delegation limits,
b. all delegation holders comply with this policy and within their financial delegated
limits,
c. commitments of Kāinga Ora are made within the delegation framework and are
able to withstand audit, parliamentary and public scrutiny,
under the Official Information Act 1982
d. there are no breaches of this policy or to delegation limits, or if there are breaches
they are dealt with in a timely manner to reduce any risk to Kāinga Ora, and
e. decisions are being made by those best placed to make them.
Records
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57. Retain all records within the records system of Kāinga Ora - refer 'Records retention and
disposal' (R-105).
References
58. Related Kāinga Ora policies and procedures:
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• Procurement Policy F-227
• Services and Supplies F-107
• Employee Expenditure F-114
• Travel and Expenses Policy F-132
• Housing Investment Manual 2018
• Investment Management Framework LS-200
• Standards of Integrity and Conduct H-109
• Conflicts of Interest and Gifts Policy H-122
• Discretionary Expenditure Guidelines F-219
• Fringe Benefits and Entertainment Expenditure F-203
• Consultants/Professional Services (for tenders) F-111
• SP-GDL-101 Kāinga Ora Procurement Procedures Manual
59. Relevant legislation, regulations and standards:
• Crown Entities Act 2004
• Government Procurement Rules - Rules for sustainable and inclusive procurement,
Published June 2019 [fourth edition] In force 1 October 2019
• MBIE Guidelines for Contracting with Non-Government Organisations for Services
Sought by the Crown, Treasury, 2009
• Managing Conflicts of Interest: Guidance for Public Entities, Office of the
Auditor-General
• Principles to Underpin Management by Public Entities of Funding to
Non-Government Organisations, Office of the Auditor-General
• Principles of Government Procurement, MBIE, 2015
• Procurement Guidance for Public Entities, Office of the Auditor-General
• State Services Commission Standards of Integrity and Conduct
under the Official Information Act 1982
Help
60. Contact the Kāinga Ora Director Financial Control or [email address] for
help or more information on this Financial Delegations Policy.
Released
Document control
Details of previous versions are stored in the document management system for Kāinga Ora
(Objective). Refer to header and footer information for reference document elements or for
any queries contact Atamai@Kāingaora.govt.nz
Date
Reviewed/Modified by
Comments/Descriptions of changes
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1 October Board
Approved to support establishment of Kāinga
2019
Ora
22 June
Director Financial Control Updated delegation framework fol owing
2022
Shaping Kāinga Ora
16
Director Financial Control Updated delegation framework fol owing change
December
of approach from Board delegating to
2024
employees, to Chief Executive sub-delegating to
employees (with consent of the Board).
Appendices:
1982
Conditions of delegations to Employees (Schedule 1 of Chief Executive to Employee Sub-
Delegation Instrument)
Act
Information
Official
the
under
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