Accountability Arrangements
The Chief of Defence Force, as ‘Chief Executive’ of the New Zealand Defence Force, is responsible to the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs for the financial management of Veterans' Affairs New Zealand under the Public Finance Act 1989 (as amended by the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004). The Director, Veterans' Affairs New Zealand, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Force, is responsible to the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs for the delivery of the Veterans' Affairs New Zealand outcomes and outputs.
As Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is a semi autonomous body within the New Zealand Defence Force, and as the New Zealand Defence Force is not a Department of the Public Service under the First Schedule of the State Sector Act 1988, Veterans' Affairs New Zealand does not come under the auspices of the State Sector Act 1988.
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is not, therefore, subject to the accountability and monitoring frameworks and processes under the State Sector Act 1988. The New Zealand Defence Force is, however, subject to the provisions of the Public Finance Act 1989 (as amended by the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004) and Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is subject to the accountability and monitoring frameworks under that Act.
Statutory Independence of the Chief of Defence Force
Section 8 of the Defence Act 1990 gives the CDF sole responsibility for:
- Command of the Navy, Army and Air Force through the respective Chiefs of Staff; and
- Command of any joint force, either directly or through a joint force commander.
Consequently, nothing in this Statement of Intent shall affect the statutory independence of the Chief of Defence Force from Ministerial direction with regard to:
- The issue and promulgation of Defence Force Orders (DFOs);
- All aspects of military discipline;
- The appointment or enlistment of members of the Armed Forces and the appointment of civil staff of the Defence Force;
- The terms and conditions of service for members of the Armed Forces, and the conditions of employment of civil staff of the Defence Force; and
- The establishment and functions of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Monitoring and Reporting
The Director Veterans’ Affairs/Secretary for War Pensions and senior staff of VANZ meet with the CDF and key senior NZDF staff monthly to discuss issues relating to the support provided by the NZDF for the provision of services and supports to veterans.
The Director Veterans’ Affairs/Secretary for War Pensions meets with the Minister Veterans' Affairs fortnightly to discuss issues relating to the government’s provision of services and supports to veterans.
Formal Reporting to the Minister occurs on a quarterly basis. The Annual Report to Parliament provided at the end of each financial year is included in the New Zealand Defence Force Annual Report.
Audit and Assessment
The Controller and Auditor General fulfils the statutory requirement in the Public Finance Act 1989 (as amended by the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004) to provide an opinion on Veterans' Affairs New Zealand - Defence Statement of Service Performance and financial results. This opinion is derived from the work done by Audit New Zealand in confirming achievement against performance standards and that statements of account fairly reflect the financial position of the Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is subject to internal audit by the New Zealand Defence Force.
Risk Management
The key risks, which could prevent Veterans' Affairs New Zealand achieving its mission, and strategies to manage them, are outlined below.
Key Risks and Risk Management Strategies
| Key Risks |
Risk Management Strategies |
| All of the Service documents, personnel and medical, held by the New Zealand Defence Force are destroyed. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will work with the New Zealand Defence Force to ensure that the files are adequately protected and that a system for establishing electronic copies of the files is put in place. |
| War Pension files held by the Ministry of Social Development are lost or destroyed. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will work with the Ministry of Social Development to ensure that a system for establishing electronic copies of the files is put in place. |
| Unable to achieve outcomes due to the constraints on resourcing created by the size of the organisation. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will set clear expectations around the results required to be achieved and will ensure that priority projects can be staffed effectively.
Resourcing will be monitored to ensure that it is used effectively, and where required, additional resourcing sought. |
| Other departments and agencies do not consult Veterans' Affairs New Zealand when developing policy. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will work to establish effective networks with departments and agencies to ensure that they are aware of areas that impact on veterans. |
| Veterans' Affairs New Zealand service delivery fails to meet the needs of a veteran or the family, which results in significant consequences. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will ensure that systems are in place to monitor service delivery and to ensure that service meets the organisation’s expectations. |
| Service delivery provided by the Ministry of Social Development does not meet the expectations of the Secretary for War Pensions. |
The Secretary will meet regularly with the manager War Pensions Services and follow up any issues with the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development. |
| The New Zealand Defence Force fails to provide the level of infrastructure support required by Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand. |
Veterans' Affairs New Zealand will develop its own systems so it is less reliant on the New Zealand Defence Force. |
Internal Capabilities
Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is a semi-autonomous body within the New Zealand Defence Force. The New Zealand Defence Force provides infrastructure support for Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand. The staff of Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand are members of the civil staff of the New Zealand Defence Force. The Director, Veterans' Affairs reports directly to the Chief of Defence Force.
The relationship with the New Zealand Defence Force allows Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand to operate autonomously, from a policy and service delivery perspective, while giving the advantage of the infrastructure support of a larger organisation. Alignment with the New Zealand Defence Force also has the advantage of enabling Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand to access information on current and past deployments through the available records and the corporate memory.
The environment in which Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand operates as an organisation requires the capability to work on both current and historic issues across the interface of the political environment, public service and veteran community. Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is a relatively new entity. Having established and resourced a viable structure it is now in a phase of developing and strengthening the capabilities the staff require to operate effectively in the environment.
The following organisational capabilities that Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is seeking to develop and strengthen are premised on the need for Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, as an organisation, to be able to react to all circumstances - the predictable and unpredictable:
- The capability to critically analyse issues in context, identify the level of risk and take a pragmatic approach to proposing solutions.
- The analytical capability to establish cause as well as to generate a solution so that risk is minimized and future practice is informed.
- Knowledge of the legislation and regulatory components and policy expectations of the environment in which Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand operates.
- The capability to build constructive relationships with the groups impacting on Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand’s role, while understanding the boundary issues inherent in those relationships and the consequences of crossing those boundaries.
- The capability of working across the whole organisation so that the organisational impact of decision-making is considered.
Human Resource Management
As a semi-autonomous body within the New Zealand Defence Force, Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is subject to the human resource management polices put in place for the civil staff within the New Zealand Defence Force. These are not always in alignment with Veterans' Affairs New Zealand organisational requirements. Veterans' Affairs New Zealand is working, in consultation with the New Zealand Defence Force, to establish policies that reflect the needs of the staff of Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.
Information Technology Systems
The New Zealand Defence Force provides information technology support for Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand. Veterans' Affairs New Zealand uses the New Zealand Defence Force corporate systems.
Financial Accounting for Vote Veterans' Affairs - Defence
The accounting policies and financial forecasts associated with Veteran’s Affairs - Defence are incorporated into the New Zealand Defence Force Financial Statements.
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