This Act may be cited as the Clerk of the House of Representatives Act 1988.

This Act shall come into force on 1 August 1988.

There shall from time to time be appointed, as an officer of the House of Representatives, a Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The functions of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be—

There shall from time to time be appointed, as an officer of the House of Representatives and as a member of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, a Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Subject to the control of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall perform such general official duties (including the exercise of functions, duties, and powers of the Clerk of the House of Representatives) as are for the time being assigned to the Deputy Clerk by the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

On the occurrence from any cause of a vacancy in the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives (whether by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise) and in the case of absence from duty of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (from whatever cause arising), and so long as any such vacancy or absence continues, the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall have and may exercise all the functions, duties, and powers of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The fact that the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives exercises any function, duty, or power of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be conclusive evidence of the authority of the Deputy Clerk to do so.

In the event of both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives being unable for any reason (including a vacancy in either office or vacancies in both offices) to carry out their duties, the Speaker of the House of Representatives may appoint any other person to act as the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the time being; and any person so appointed shall, so long as his or her appointment continues, have all the powers and functions of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the absence from duty or other inability to perform the functions of the office of both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives extends over a period of more than 3 months, no person shall, after the expiry of that period, be appointed to act or continue to act as the Clerk of the House of Representatives except with the approval of the Governor-General.

Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), where—

the Governor-General may appoint a person to act as the Clerk of the House of Representatives while both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives are unable to carry out their duties.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall each be appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives after consultation by the Speaker with—

The remuneration of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the remuneration of the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be determined from time to time by the Remuneration Authority under the Remuneration Authority Act 1977.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the terms and conditions of employment of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the terms and conditions of employment of the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be determined from time to time by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

A person who holds the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives or the office of Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall not be capable of being a member of Parliament, and shall not, without the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in each particular case, hold any office of trust or profit, other than that person’s office as Clerk of the House of Representatives or Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives, or engage in any occupation for reward outside the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives or Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Subject to section 11(1), the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall each be appointed for a term of 7 years; but shall be eligible for reappointment from time to time.

Where the term for which any person has been appointed as Clerk of the House of Representatives or Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives expires, that person, unless sooner vacating or removed from office under section 11, shall continue to hold office, by virtue of the appointment for the term that has expired, until—

Any person who holds the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives or the office of Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives may at any time resign the office by writing addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or to the Governor-General if there is no Speaker or the Speaker is absent from New Zealand or is for any reason unable to carry out the duties of the office of Speaker, and shall so resign the office on attaining the age of 68 years.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives may at any time be removed or suspended from office by the Governor-General, upon an address from the House of Representatives, for inability to perform the functions of the office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct.

At any time when Parliament is not in session, the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives may be suspended from office by the Governor-General for inability to perform the functions of the office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General; but any such suspension shall not continue in force beyond 2 months after the beginning of the next ensuing session of Parliament.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives may delegate any of the Clerk’s functions or powers to a person described in subsection (1A), including a function or power delegated to the Clerk under—

The following persons may be a delegate:

A delegation must be made in writing.

Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions imposed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the person to whom any functions or powers are delegated under this section may exercise those functions or powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on that person directly by this Act and not by delegation.

Every person purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this section shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation.

Any delegation under this section may be made to a specified person or to persons of a specified class, or to the holder or holders for the time being of a specified office or specified class of offices.

No such delegation shall affect or prevent the exercise of any function or power by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, nor shall any such delegation affect the responsibility of the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the actions of any person acting under the delegation.

Every delegation under section 12 shall be revocable in writing at will.

Any such delegation, until it is revoked, shall continue in force according to its tenor, notwithstanding that the Clerk of the House of Representatives by whom it was made may have ceased to hold office, and shall continue to have effect as if made by the successor in office of that Clerk of the House of Representatives.

There is hereby established as an Office of the House of Representatives an office to be called the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be the principal officer of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be responsible to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on behalf of the House, for the efficient, effective, and economic management of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The Public Service Commissioner may from time to time, at the request of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, exercise in respect of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives any of the functions conferred on the Public Service Commissioner by section 44 of the Public Service Act 2020.

The Public Service Commissioner must exercise functions requested by the Speaker in accordance with subsection (1) consistently with the role of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and its separation from the executive government.

For the purposes of this section, section 44 of the Public Service Act 2020 shall apply with all necessary modifications and as if the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives were a department within the meaning of that Act and as if the Clerk of the House of Representatives were the chief executive of that department.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives may from time to time appoint, as officers of the House of Representatives and as members of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, such employees (including acting or temporary or casual employees) as the Clerk of the House of Representatives thinks necessary for the efficient exercise of the functions of the Clerk.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives, in making an appointment under section 18, shall give preference to the person who is best suited to the position.

Where the Clerk of the House of Representatives intends to fill a position that is vacant or is to become vacant in the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall, wherever practicable, notify the vacancy or prospective vacancy in a manner sufficient to enable suitably qualified persons to apply for the position.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall notify the members of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives of every appointment (other than that of an acting, temporary, or casual employee) made to the staff of that Office.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall establish a procedure for reviewing appointments made under section 18 that are the subject of any complaint by a member of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The procedure shall be approved by the Speaker of the House of Representatives before being established.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives may from time to time, with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, amend or replace any procedure established under this section.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives may, subject to any conditions of employment included in any award or agreement, remove any employee appointed under section 18 from that employee’s office or employment.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall operate a personnel policy that complies with the principle of being a good employer by following, subject to this Act, as closely as possible and as if he or she were the chief executive of a department, the provisions of sections 73 and 74 of the Public Service Act 2020.

Except as otherwise provided in section 26, the Employment Relations Act 2000 applies in relation to employees appointed under section 18.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives must negotiate under the Employment Relations Act 2000 every collective agreement applicable to employees appointed under section 18.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives must conduct the negotiations with a union of which employees are members.

In this section, union has the meaning given to that term by section 5 of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

For the purposes of the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956, service as an officer of the House of Representatives appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be Government service.

Where any person who is appointed under this Act as an officer of the House of Representatives is, at the date of that person’s appointment, an officer of the State services, the period of that person’s service as an officer of the House of Representatives appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be continuous service in that branch of the State services in which that person was employed at that date for the purposes of—

No person shall be deemed to be employed in the service of Her Majesty for the purposes of the Public Service Act 2020 by reason of that person’s appointment under this Act as an officer of the House of Representatives.

All salaries and allowances and other expenditure payable or incurred under or in the administration of this Act shall be payable out of money to be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

The Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives is a public entity as defined in section 4 of the Public Audit Act 2001 and, in accordance with that Act, the Auditor-General is its auditor.

Part 4 of the Official Information Act 1982 shall apply in relation to the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives as if that Office were an organisation within the meaning of that Act.

Section 35 of the Official Information Act 1982 shall apply accordingly with all necessary modifications.

The person holding office immediately before 1 August 1988 as the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be deemed to have been appointed to that office under this Act for a term of 7 years beginning on 1 August 1988.

The person holding office immediately before 1 August 1988 as the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be deemed to have been appointed to that office under this Act for a term of 7 years beginning on 1 August 1988.

The persons (other than the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives) who, immediately before 1 August 1988, hold office (whether or not in an acting capacity) under section 26 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1985, shall be deemed to have been appointed under section 18 (in the same capacity) and to be, as from the commencement of 1 August 1988, members of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Any person who, immediately before 1 August 1988, holds office (whether or not in an acting capacity) as the Director of the Select Committee Office or as a Senior Committee Secretary or as a Committee Secretary or as an Assistant Committee Secretary and who is an employee of the Parliamentary Service, shall be deemed to have been appointed to office under section 18 (in the same capacity) and to be, as from the commencement of 1 August 1988, a member of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Any other person who, immediately before 1 August 1988, is an employee of the Parliamentary Service and who, on or after 1 August 1988 but before the close of 31 August 1988, is informed in writing by the Speaker of the House of Representatives that that person is to be transferred to the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall, if that person has agreed to be so transferred, be transferred accordingly and shall become, as from the close of the day on which that person is so informed in writing of his or her transfer, a member of that staff.

The terms and conditions of employment of the persons to whom subsections (1) to (5) apply shall, on 1 August 1988 or, in the case of a person to whom subsection (5) applies, on the date on which that person becomes a member of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, (and thereafter until varied or superseded) be, except as amended by this Act, identical with the terms and conditions of that person’s employment immediately before 1 August 1988 or the date on which that person became a member of the staff of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Nothing in subsection (6) prevents any terms or conditions of employment continued in force by that subsection from being varied or superseded by a determination under the Remuneration Authority Act 1977 or by an award or agreement.