DHB Appointments - The Appointment Process

District Health Board Appointments
The Appointment Process

The Ministry of Health manages the appointment process on behalf of the Minister of Health. The Minister, in consultation with Cabinet and Caucus, appoints suitable candidates to boards based on the following process.1

Vacancies
The term of office for Ministerial appointments to DHB boards is three years or less. Vacancies may arise through expiry of current terms of office, or the resignation or death of a member. Members are required to write to the Minister (with a copy to the DHB) to effect their resignation. 2

On becoming aware of a vacancy, Ministry officials usually:

review the current board composition and performance and consider any issues (including ethnicity, gender, etc) that may affect the attributes desired in potential appointees
discuss the vacancy with the board chairperson to identify any other requirements of the board
develop a skills profile specific to the DHB that reflects the needs of the board, following the above review and discussion
discuss this skills profile and options regarding the vacancy with the Minister.

Nominations
Nominees for Ministerial appointment come from a variety of sources. Many people choose to nominate themselves for appropriate positions, and this can be done through the Ministry’s website (www.moh.govt.nz). The Ministry maintains a database of potential appointees, as do other government agencies. The Ministry works with these agencies to ensure a broad range of appropriate nominations are presented for consideration by the Minister.

In seeking nominees, Ministry officials:

review the Ministry’s Statutory Boards and Committees database and identify potentially suitable applicants
seek nominations from other relevant government agencies (for example, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Te Puni Kökiri, the Office of Ethnic Affairs, the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit (CCMAU), the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and the Office for Disability Issues)
seek nominations from the Minister; the Minister’s Office also consults the Minister’s Caucus colleagues
consider any nominations submitted by iwi, health organisations and agencies, and the general public
collate nominations and carry out initial screening for eligibility based on the relevant statutory criteria 3
review those nominations which meet legislative requirements against the skills profile for the vacancy, and develop an initial shortlist of nominations
discuss the initial shortlist with the Minister who indicates preferred candidates for interview.

Interview
Interviewing candidates, via a Ministry-chaired panel, ensures that no impediment to appointment exists. It also confirms the candidate’s general suitability (or otherwise) for appointment.

At the interview stage, Ministry officials:

discuss with relevant candidates that they have been short-listed for appointment, and confirm that those candidates are still interested and available for appointment
send a declaration form to short-listed candidates to complete and return (see Appendix A)
convene the interview panel, which consists of a Ministry official (as panel chairperson), the DHB board chairperson and a local iwi representative
conduct interviews, which include discussion of the completed declaration forms with the candidates and how they intend to manage any identified conflicts of interest
discuss the panel’s recommendations with the Minister.

Appointment
After the Minister selects a potential appointee, the process to appoint that person begins. Convention requires appointments to be reviewed and confirmed by Cabinet’s Appointments and Honours Committee (APH), followed by Cabinet itself and then Caucus.

During the appointment phase:

an appointment memorandum is considered by APH and Cabinet; Caucus is also consulted
if the proposed appointment is approved, a signed letter of appointment is sent to the successful candidate, with a copy to the DHB; this letter also sets out the terms and conditions of the member’s appointment
after the appointment has been made, notice of it is published in the Gazette (the notice specifies the appointee’s term of office)
the board’s chairperson is notified that an appointment has been made.

The Minister typically announces the appointee as soon as possible after Caucus has agreed to the appointment.

Fees
Appointees are remunerated in accordance with the Fees Framework.4 The Minister is responsible for determining members’ remuneration5 and members are entitled to reimbursement for actual and reasonable travelling and other expenses incurred. 6

Reappointment
When a member’s term of office draws to a close, the Minister may consider reappointing that member. A number of factors need to be taken into account when contemplating reappointments. Issues may arise with periods of service and members appointed to fill elected vacancies.

In managing the reappointment process, Ministry officials:

enquire as to whether the Minister wishes to appoint to the pending vacancy (or whether the position should be left vacant) and if so, whether the incumbent member is suitable for reappointment
if the Minister agrees to a reappointment, enquire as to the incumbent member’s willingness to be reappointed
seek a review of the member’s contribution to the board from the board chairperson
check the Ministry’s records for the member’s commencement date: if appointment for a further term will result in the member continuously serving more than six (but fewer than nine) years on the same board, explicit consent to reappointment will be required from the Minister. Members may not be appointed to serve more than nine years continuously on one board.
consider any reappointment in light of changes which have occurred in the board’s composition, whether through DHB elections or resignations, since the original appointment was made.

As described earlier, Ministerial appointments are used to balance the composition of the board’s elected members, and to provide the board with additional skills and representation. With this in mind, there may be a need for the Minister to appoint different members to boards, regardless of an incumbent member’s positive contribution.

Footnotes:

The appointment process may vary from that described in this document, depending on the specific circumstances relating to the vacancy in question.
See section 44 of the CE Act.
See clause 17(1) of Schedule 2 to the NZPHD Act, which references the criteria set out in section 30(2)(a)-(f) of the CE Act. Note that nominees for elected member vacancies must be New Zealand citizens and be on the parliamentary electoral roll (clause 17(2) of Schedule 2 to the NZPHD Act, which references section 25 of the Local Electoral Act 2001), and that elected members cannot serve on more than one board at the same time, whether by election or appointment (clause 3 of Schedule 3 to the NZPHD Act).
Cabinet Office Circular CO (03) 04, Fees Framework for Members of Statutory and Other Bodies Appointed by the Crown (available online at http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet/circulars).
See section 47 of the CE Act.
See section 48 of the CE Act.

Page last updated: June 2005.