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AgVetLink: Number 61, April 2007

Possible split: NZFSA and MAF

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), which was established on 1 July 2002, is a semi-autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). The functions and powers exercised by NZFSA are vested in the MAF Director-General who delegates to the NZFSA Executive Director.

The Minister of State Services is seeking to separate NZFSA from MAF and create a new department to administer food safety. She has asked the State Services Commissioner to provide advice on such a separation.

The State Services Commission (SSC) has engaged an external contractor to evaluate the situation, working closely with the SSC, Treasury, NZFSA and MAF staff to determine the financial, legal and human resource implications of separation. The contractor will advise the SSC of possible structural options arising from the separation of NZFSA from MAF. This advice will include the scope and range of functions for each organisation and a discussion of the relative merits of each option.

The SSC will consider the advice and provide recommendations to the Ministers of Food Safety and Agriculture and Forestry. Based upon this advice, the Ministers will indicate their preferred structural option(s).

The SSC is expected to provide the Minister of State Services with detailed advice on the implications of separating NZFSA from MAF by May 2007. The State Services Commissioner’s report will contain:

• a description of a potential new Food Safety department, including its scope and range of functions

• a description of the consequential new scope and range of functions of MAF

• a suggested model for sharing services between the two departments

• a report on the legal, financial and human resource implications of separating NZFSA from MAF

• a suggested work programme for implementing the separation of NZFSA from MAF.

Following receipt of the State Services Commissioner’s advice, Cabinet will decide whether or not to proceed with the separation of NZFSA from MAF.

* This information is taken from the State Services Commission’s website (http:www.ssc.govt.nz).