Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wel ington
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F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
28 April 2026
John Luke
[FYI request #34291 email]
Our ref: OIA131426
Tēnā koe John
Official Information Act request: List of expiring appointments
Thank you for your email of 29 March 2026 to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry),
requesting information under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act), regarding the
updated list of appointments that are set to expire on 31 December 2026.
Specifically, you requested:
Could you please provide an updated list of appointments that are set to expire on 31
December 2026? In the list. ("indicative" as you have suggested within your previous
reply)
Additionally, could you provide an update compared to your previous list, specifically,
whether any positions have already begun the recruitment process, and if so, whether
the process has been completed and new appointees have been appointed?
In response to your request, please see attached an updated version of the list provided to
you in April 2025, which includes information about upcoming appointment expiries. This
document is released to you in full, along with details about each role or body, which
positions are due to expire in 2025/2026, and the latest updates.
As you wil see, there are a number of appointments remain pending. This is due to: either
they have not yet reached their expiry date, and the process has not commenced, so they
are awaiting Ministerial direction on recruitment preferences; or the process is underway but
not yet complete.
It is also important to note that this is an election year. If appointment processes are not
completed by August 2026, some matters may be deferred until 2027 due to the three-month
period before an election, when statutory appointments are not usually made.
As you can see from the updates, some additional appointments have been made which
were not anticipated back in April 2025. I would like to reiterate that any list of pending
matters is only indicative, as appointing Ministers may decide not to proceed with an
appointment or make additional appointments in other cases.
In this regard, the Ministry can advise that some matters that relate to the Disputes Tribunal,
Tenancy Tribunal and Land Valuation Tribunal are moving to a less region-based way of
working, with more hearings being held remotely. This means that some vacancies
previously linked to a specific region, which have been marked as pending, may be fil ed by
appointments made in other locations.
In addition, the Ministry considers that rather than providing a bespoke list, it may be more
useful for you to receive a slightly redacted version of the list provided to appointing
Ministers at the end of each year. This provides a more complete overview of appointments
across different bodies, including upcoming expiry dates and appointment periods for people
in each role.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at:
Of icial Information Act responses | New Zealand Ministry of Justice.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28 of the Act. The Office of the Ombudsman may be contacted
by phone on: 0800 802 602, by email at: [email address], or via the
webform:
Make a complaint (for members of the public) | Ombudsman New Zealand.
Nāku noa, nā
Wayne Newall
Manager, Appointments and Specialist Functions
