The Ministry of Justice – Te Tāhū o te Ture has finalised its organisational realignment, which is aimed at making savings whilst also ensuring core justice services are delivered to New Zealanders.
Under the finalised structure announced today by Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite, 186 roles will be disestablished, 89 of which are vacant, and 59 new roles established. This will result in a net reduction of 127 roles, almost exclusively in National Office functions. Under the initial proposal announced in June, 178 roles were proposed to be disestablished.
“Firstly, I want to I want to acknowledge how difficult and unsettling it has been for our kaimahi, especially those who have been impacted by the change proposal and today’s final decisions. Throughout, they have behaved with professionalism and a commitment to our RISE values of respect, integrity, service and excellence – and I want to thank them for that,” Mr Kibblewhite said.
“We received more than 1400 pieces of feedback from staff on the original proposal and have taken this feedback into consideration when shaping our final decisions.
“As I said at the start of our change proposal process, the key factor in our decision-making has been the need to deliver on our core functions and strategy and continue our work to strengthen people’s trust in the law of Aotearoa New Zealand.
“In finalising these proposals, we looked closely at where we might be able to make savings, reduce duplication or overlap in functions, and be more efficient,” Mr Kibblewhite added.
Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of measures initiated by the Ministry of Justice to identify efficiencies and ensure the agency’s long-term fiscal sustainability, including significantly reducing the use of contractors and consultants, and actively identifying savings in non-personnel areas by reducing travel, printing, SIM cards and other operational costs.
The Ministry of Justice will now begin the appointment of people into the new roles with the new structure coming into effect on 1 October.
Media contact:
Joe Locke
Media and Social Media Manager
media@justice.govt.nz
021 636 416