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As a departmental agency, the Ministry manages its own resources but receives corporate support from its host agency, the Department of Internal Affairs. In 2025/26 the Ministry ensured it maximised the opportunities available through this arrangement to support continued organisational health and capability build.
Our people
Our people bring a diverse range of skills, experiences and perspectives that support the Ministry to deliver its strategic priorities, provide high-quality advice and engage effectively with Ethnic Communities. As at 30 June 2026, the Ministry employed 55 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff.
Workforce diversity and inclusion
The Ministry is committed to maintain a workforce that reflects a broad range of backgrounds, skills and experiences. Workforce diversity contributes to an inclusive workplace culture and supports the Ministry’s capability to engage effectively across a diverse operating environment.
As at 30 June 2026 the Ministry workforce was made up as follows:
NZ European 41.8%, Māori 5.5%, Pacific Peoples 7.3%, Asian 32.7%, MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) 12.7%, Other European 21.8%, Other Ethnicity 1.8%.
Equal employment opportunity
The Ministry is committed to creating an inclusive workplace, where people feel supported, connected and empowered to be themselves and deliver for New Zealanders. The gender pay gap on 30 June was 3.2%. The Asian pay gap was -7.8%, with further ethnicity breakdowns unavailable due to the small number of employees.
Unplanned turnover
Unplanned turnover as of 30 June 2026 was 27.9%, compared with 20.9% in 2024/25.
Workforce movement during the year reflected a range of factors, including redundancies, retirement, relocation and employees pursuing career development opportunities. As a small Ministry, we recognise that career pathways will often extend beyond our organisation, and we continue to support the development of talent that contributes to the wider public sector.
We continue to invest in developing talent and capability that contributes both to the Ministry and the wider public service.
Building organisational capability
During 2025/26, the Ministry focused on developing leadership capability through a series of workshops and facilitated sessions which focused on performance management, strategic thinking, planning and prioritisation.
Implementation of the Code of Conduct for the Public Sector was a key focus for the Ministry. In April 2026, all staff completed the Navigating the Code modules and participated in leader-led interactive sessions focused on the Code and its application.
Our people also had access to learning opportunities for building capability in artificial intelligence (AI), through programmes delivered in partnership with our host agency, the Department of Internal Affairs.
Systems and processes
The Ministry undertook a comprehensive review of its website accessibility. The required remediation work was subsequently completed before the latest Centralised Web Accessibility Checker (CWAC) scan conducted by the Digital Government function in June 2026.
The Ministry’s CWAC score improved from 100 to 4. This represents a substantial improvement in the accessibility performance of our websites, with lower CWAC scores indicating better performance and 0 being the best possible result.