New Zealand Legislation: Acts
Acts are laws made by Parliament
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as at 26 April 2005
| Public Act | 2003 No 128 |
| Date of assent | 17 December 2003 |
| Commencement | see section 2 |
Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.
A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.
This Act is administered by the Ministry of Social Development.
Other matters to which Commission must have regard
9 Government policy and priorities [Repealed]
Obligation to obtain views of specified groups
Commission's power to refer communications to others
Nature and membership of Commission, and board's role
15 Commission is body corporate [Repealed]
16 Capacity and powers [Repealed]
19 Board's role [Repealed]
21 Accountability of members to Minister [Repealed]
[Repealed]
22 Minister's role [Repealed]
[Repealed]
24 Ability to delegate [Repealed]
25 Effect of delegation [Repealed]
27 Other matters relating to delegation [Repealed]
[Repealed]
28 Board may appoint committees [Repealed]
29 Membership of committee [Repealed]
30 Committee to regulate own procedure [Repealed]
[Repealed]
35 Establishment of superannuation schemes [Repealed]
36 Employees not in service of the Crown [Repealed]
Corruption and bribery, and corrupt use of official information
[Repealed]
37 Members and employees are officials [Repealed]
Protections from liability of members and employees
[Repealed]
41 Insurance for members and employees [Repealed]
42 Saving of judicial protections from liability [Repealed]
43 Breach of indemnity and insurance limits [Repealed]
44 Definitions for protections from liability [Repealed]
Dealings with third parties by Commission
[Repealed]
45 Method of contracting [Repealed]
46 Common seal [Repealed]
48 Dealings between Commission and other persons [Repealed]
[Repealed]
49 Commission's funds [Repealed]
50 Bank accounts [Repealed]
51 Restrictions on investments [Repealed]
52 Restrictions on borrowing [Repealed]
53 Restrictions related to trusts and to forming or holding shares or interests in bodies corporate or associations [Repealed]
54 Auditor-General to be auditor of Commission [Repealed]
55 Tax status: Commission to be public authority [Repealed]
[Repealed]
56 Contents of annual report: requirements additional to those of section 41I of Public Finance Act 1989 [Repealed]
Review of Commission's operations and performance
[Repealed]
57 Minister may conduct review [Repealed]
Application of Public Records Act 2005
Relationship with other enactments, functions, and powers
[Repealed]
Schedule 2
Membership of Commission
[Repealed]
[Repealed]
This Act is the Families Commission Act 2003.
This Act comes into force on 1 July 2004.
The purpose of this Act is to—
(a) establish the Commission as a Crown entity for the purposes of section 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004:
(b) state the Commission's functions and powers:
(c) require the Commission—
(i) to have regard to certain matters; and
(ii) to comply with certain other obligations.
Section 3(a): substituted, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Commission means the Families Commission established by section 6
Commissioner means a member
member means a member of the Commission
Minister means the Minister of the Crown who, under the authority of any warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister, is for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act.
Section 4 board: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
Section 4 de facto partner and de facto relationship: repealed, on 26 April 2005, by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).
Section 4 fees framework: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
This Act binds the Crown.
This section establishes the Families Commission.
(1) The Commission's main function is to act as an advocate for the interests of families generally.
(2) That function does not include acting as an advocate for the interests of a particular family or particular families in connection with a particular case or issue.
(3) In performing that function, the Commission must identify and have regard to factors that help to maintain or enhance either or both of the following:
(a) families' resilience:
(b) families' strengths.
In order to perform its main function stated in section 7, the Commission has the following additional functions:
(a) to encourage and facilitate informed debate, by any of the following persons, on matters relating to the interests of families:
(i) representatives of government, academic, and community sectors; and
(ii) members of the public:
(b) to increase public awareness and promote better understanding of matters relating to the interests of families, for example, the following matters:
(i) the importance of stable family relationships (including those between parties to a marriage, civil union, or a de facto relationship); and
(ii) the importance of the parenting role; and
(iii) the rights and responsibilities of parents:
(c) to encourage and facilitate the development and provision, by Ministers of the Crown, departments of State, and other instruments of the Executive Government, of policies designed to promote or serve the interests of families:
(d) to consider, and to report and make recommendations on, any matter (for example, a proposed government policy) relating to families that is referred to it by any Minister of the Crown:
(e) to stimulate and promote research into any matter relating to the interests of families, for example,—
(i) by collecting and disseminating information or research about families:
(ii) by advising on areas where further research or information about families should be undertaken or collected:
(iii) by entering into contracts or arrangements for research or information about families to be undertaken or collected:
(f) to consult with, or to refer a matter to, any 1 or more other official bodies or statutory officers, if the Commission considers it necessary or desirable to do so for the proper performance of any or all of its other functions.
(g) [Repealed]
Section 8(b)(i): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).
Section 8(g): repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 9: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
(1) In the exercise and performance of its powers and functions, the Commission must have regard to the kinds, structures, and diversity of families.
(2) In this section, family includes a group of people related by marriage, civil union, blood, or adoption, an extended family, 2 or more persons living together as a family, and a whānau or other culturally recognised family group.
(3) However, persons are not members of a family for the purposes of this section solely because they have as their common objective or one of their common objectives the achievement of some outcome of a community, domestic, professional, recreational, social, vocational, or other nature (for example, the commission of offences against any enactment, whether to obtain valuable consideration or not).
(4) Subsection (3) is for the avoidance of doubt.
Section 10(2): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).
In the exercise and performance of its powers and functions, the Commission must have regard to the needs, values, and beliefs—
(a) of Māori as tangata whenua:
(b) of the Pacific Islands peoples of New Zealand:
(c) of other ethnic and cultural groups in New Zealand.
In the exercise and performance of its powers and functions, the Commission must have regard to New Zealand's international obligations relevant to the interests of families.
(1) In the exercise and performance of its powers and functions, the Commission must maintain mechanisms (for example, by appointing advisory committees or forming consultation forums) to ensure that there are at all times readily accessible to it the views—
(a) of Māori as tangata whenua:
(b) of the Pacific Islands peoples of New Zealand:
(c) of other ethnic and cultural groups in New Zealand:
(d) of groups that represent families, or 1 or more kinds of family members, and of groups that have a particular interest in families or in any 1 or more matters related to the Commission's functions.
(2) Examples of groups referred to in subsection (1)(d) are groups that represent the interests of any of the following:
(a) spouses, civil union partners, and de facto partners:
(b) parents, fathers, and mothers:
(c) children and young persons (as defined in section 2(1) of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989), and older persons who are under the age of 18 years:
(d) grandparents and the elderly:
(e) caregivers:
(f) men and women:
(g) providers of social services:
(h) academics and researchers interested in matters relating to families:
(i) Family Court Judges and other family law specialists:
(j) employers and workers.
Section 13(2)(a): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).
(1) The Commission may refer to another official body or to a statutory officer a communication the Commission has received from a person if, in the Commission's opinion,—
(a) the communication relates in whole or in part to a matter that is more properly within the scope of the functions of that body or officer; and
(b) it is in all the circumstances appropriate to do so.
(2) The Commission must notify the person of the referral of the communication.
(3) Subsection (1) overrides section 18 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.
Section 14(3): amended, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 15: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 16: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
(1) The Commission is a Crown entity for the purposes of section 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.
(2) The Crown Entities Act 2004 applies to the Commission except to the extent that this Act expressly provides otherwise.
Section 17: substituted, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
(1) The Commission consists of no more than 7, and no less than 3, members.
(2) The Minister must appoint 1 member to be Chief Commissioner.
(3) The Minister may appoint 1 member to be Deputy Chief Commissioner.
(4) The Chief Commissioner is the chairperson of the board of the Commission, and the Deputy Chief Commissioner (if any) is the deputy chairperson of that board, for the purposes of clause 1 of Schedule 5 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.
(5) In addition to the appointment processes and criteria in sections 28 and 29 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, the Minister must—
(a) before appointing a member, notify a vacancy in a manner that enables suitably qualified individuals to apply for appointment; and
(b) in appointing a member, take into account the need for Commissioners to have among them a breadth of experience and expertise, and knowledge of, or experience in,—
(i) different aspects of matters likely to come before the Commission; and
(ii) the needs and aspirations (including life experiences) of different communities of interest and population groups in New Zealand society.
Section 18: substituted, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 19: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 20: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 21: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 22: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 23: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 24: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 25: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 26: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 27: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 28: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 29: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 30: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
(1) The board must appoint a chief executive.
(2) The chief executive must not be a member.
(3) The chief executive is responsible to the board for the efficient and effective administration of the affairs of the Commission, including the appointment of employees.
[Repealed]
Section 32: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 33: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 34: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 35: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 36: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 37: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 38: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 39: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 40: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 41: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 42: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 43: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 44: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 45: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 46: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 47: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 48: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 49: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 50: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 51: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 52: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 53: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 54: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 55: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 56: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Heading: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 57: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 58: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
[Repealed]
Section 59: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
Heading: substituted, on 21 April 2005, by section 67(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 (2005 No 40).
The Commission is a public office for the purposes of the Public Records Act 2005.
Section 60: substituted, on 21 April 2005, by section 67(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 (2005 No 40).
Nothing in this Act affects functions or powers conferred on any person by any other enactment.
The Acts listed in Schedule 4 are amended in the manner set out in that schedule.
Schedule 1 |
[Repealed]
Schedule 1: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
Schedule 2 |
[Repealed]
Schedule 2: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
Schedule 3 |
[Repealed]
Schedule 3: repealed, on 25 January 2005, by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).
Schedule 4 |
1General
2Status of reprints
3How reprints are prepared
4Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989
5List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)
This is a reprint of the Families Commission Act 2003. The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the Act as at 26 April 2005, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.
Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that have yet to come into force or that contain relevant transitional or savings provisions are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.
Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.
This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.
A number of editorial conventions are followed in the preparation of reprints. For example, the enacting words are not included in Acts, and provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted. For a detailed list of the editorial conventions, see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.
Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.
A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.
In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint:
•omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section”
and “of this Act”
)
•typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)
•layout of provisions, including:
•indentation
•position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section)
•format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)
•format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999”
is now expressed as “1 January 1999”
)
•position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)
•punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions)
•Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly
•case and appearance of letters and words, including:
•format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)
•small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters
•schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly
•running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)
•format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg, they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).
Public Records Act 2005 (2005 No 40): section 67(1)
Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3): section 7
Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115): section 200
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