The Ministry for Ethnic Communities was established in July 2021. It is the Government’s Chief Advisor on ethnic communities, the ethnic diversity therein and the inclusion of ethnic communities in wider New Zealand society.
Our history
The Ministry’s 27-year evolution from the Office of Ethnic Affairs to one of the youngest Ministries in the public sector is set out in Appendix A.
Our governance arrangement
The Ministry is a departmental agency. This means that the Ministry is an operationally autonomous government department, hosted by DIA. The Ministry is headed by our Chief Executive who is directly responsible to you as the Minister for our clearly identified, ring- fenced activities and performance.
The relationship between a departmental agency chief executive and its minister operates in the same way as the relationship between a departmental chief executive and its minister. Our Chief Executive is responsible for the day-to-day functions of the Ministry and is responsible to you as the appropriate Minister, who in turn is answerable in the House of Representatives.
Our Chief Executive is responsible for Ministry staff through deemed delegation (DIA is the employing entity). The Chief Executive of the Ministry is responsible for the decisions in relation to individual employees, such as appointment, removal, and discipline. Our Chief Executive is responsible under other legislation that relates to individual employees, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and Privacy Act 2020.
DIA provides the Ministry with strategy, corporate policy and finance services, manages the Ministry’s assets and liabilities, and administers our appropriation (‘Supporting Ethnic Communities Multi-Category Appropriation’) as appropriation administrator within Vote Internal Affairs. The Ministry is functionally independent, including being responsible for managing its risk and assurance, Health, Safety and Wellbeing obligations.
Our budget arrangements
Details of our appropriations in financial year 2023 are set out in Appendix B.
Our approach to working
The Ministry is a small and young agency with currently 69 permanent roles, with a mandate to increase the visibility of the needs and aspirations of approximately one million people from New Zealand’s total population in the Government’s work programme. In addition, the Ministry has 16 graduates in its Graduate Programme who are seconded to various agencies.
We have one main office in Wellington with smaller offices in both Auckland and Christchurch. In addition, we have 5 staff accommodated in DIA offices in Hamilton, Napier, New Plymouth and Dunedin. All our staff are hosted within the DIA offices or buildings it rents.
We work in an environment where other central government agencies, not-for-profit and the private sector hold many of the levers to effect change or deliver better outcomes for ethnic communities. Our role is to support them to increase their ability to meet the needs of diverse ethnic people.
We also work in the context and complexity of a growing population of ethnic communities which will make up over a quarter of New Zealand’s population in 10 years’ time. The paucity of disaggregated data about different communities poses a challenge in identifying the size and scale of the need and improve the targeting of resources and intervention.
When communities are “invisible” in the collection of evidence, it poses a challenge to responding to issues of transparency, accessibility, fairness, and equity, and ensuring our infrastructures are future proofed and resilient to our growing diversity. Our work is to catalyse visibility in order to systematically link population needs to effective service delivery.
Our work programme can therefore cross the full ambit of the Government’s business and other agendas that communities themselves would like to see.
These factors necessitate a disciplined and strategic approach. Meeting and reacting to emerging, immediate needs inevitably shape some aspects of the Ministry’s work, for example supporting our communities during emergencies (such as after the North Island weather events), geo-political events (such as Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine conflicts) and local events (such as the LynnMall attack). This is balanced with prioritising strategic approaches and goals when dealing with complex issues such as public services being experienced as not responsive and accessible to all, addressing racism (such as those experienced by ethnic learners in the education system) and lack of cultural understanding (e.g., awareness of the five articles of the Sikh faith), to produce enduring positive outcomes for ethnic people in the long-term.
The Ministry has a disciplined and deliberate approach to prioritise the areas it should work on and acting as a catalyst for agencies and stakeholders who have the levers to deliver the best outcomes for ethnic communities. This includes our communities who have levers to create the solutions needed as strong civil society participants.
We are also working on connecting across population agencies and the Social Wellbeing Agency to ensure we are forming collaborative approaches to better achieve the wider agenda of the Government.
Such an approach requires us to be clear and transparent with our stakeholders and communities on the constraints within the system and what the Ministry can feasibly achieve. The strong relationships we have built in the community will enable us to take people along on the journey with us. We look forward to discussing our work with you and seek your guidance on the matters where you would like us to invest our efforts.
Our organisational structure and functions
The Ministry has three business units and the Chief Executive’s Office. Our business units are Policy and Analytics, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships and System Capability and Programmes.
Our Policy and Analytics business unit can support you by:
Providing you with high quality ministerial support
This function exists to satisfy the public accountability interest in the Ministry’s activities and support yours.
Our Ministerial Services function consists of 5 roles. Its focus is on:
- providing your office with a Private Secretary to support and manage secretariat business.
- providing support services to meet both the Ministry’s and your legislative, and ministerial accountability requirements. This includes responses to Official Information Act requests, Privacy Act requests, Parliamentary questions, and correspondence.
Building the availability and visibility of data and insights about ethnic communities
Our Analytics function consists of 4 roles and has been established nearly a year ago (in October 2022).
There is paucity of data and insights at the disaggregated level about diverse ethnic communities. This means we don’t have good evidence to target interventions to those affected and when best to do so.
This function exists to act as a catalyst to strengthen the evidence base across the public sector on the needs and contribution of ethnic communities in Aotearoa New Zealand by:
- developing an insights report that will form a baseline for tracking the progress towards achieving better outcomes for ethnic communities.
- building a robust evidence base that enables all policy makers to draw on evaluative insights on what works to improve outcomes for ethnic communities.
- collaborating with government agencies to improve the accessibility and consistency of data and address the lack of disaggregated ethnicity and religious data within the system. Examples of this role include:
- working with Stats NZ on a new data standard for ethnicity that will improve the consistency of data about ethnicity collected across Government.
- collaborating with agencies to produce new disaggregated ethnicity data products, such as MBIE Asian Labour Market Statistics Snapshot, which was produced in the June 2023 quarter for the first time.
- strengthening relationships between researchers and government advisors to promote the stronger use of ethnic research and evaluation evidence in policy development. For example, in September 2023, we co-hosted the inaugural Ethnic Research Hui with the theme of “How to better embrace ethnic voices and evidence in public policy?”. The Hui invited participants and perspectives from government agencies, academic researchers, evaluators, and practitioners from various sectors.
Building understanding of foreign interference and supporting community resilience to it
Aotearoa New Zealand’s strength lies in our open economy and democratic society, but this can be exploited. Globally, foreign interference is increasing, and Aotearoa New Zealand is not immune.
Our Security and Resilience function has recently been established. It currently consists of 5 roles and, by the end of year, will have a full establishment of no more than 8 roles. This function will lead a community engagement programme with ethnic communities over the next four years.
The details of the function’s work programme are still being developed. Its goal is to enable the Government to better understand how foreign interference affects our communities, whilst building awareness, community resilience and government-community relationships to mitigate the risks of foreign interference.
Influencing policy development in government agencies with primary policy responsibility
Policy is the foundation of effective government decision making. If the impact of policies on diverse ethnic communities are not actively considered, then it is unclear how policy interventions and investments address the issues and aspirations of diverse communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This function exists to provide policy advice on improving outcomes. It supports policy development to consider implications and ensure responses meet the needs and aspirations of ethnic communities. It is there to support communities with equitable access to government services that are effective and relevant.
Our Policy function consists of 9 roles. This function focuses on:
- developing policy initiatives to support you, as the Minister for Ethnic Communities, to achieve your portfolio priorities. An example includes planning for the development of a policy tool that can guide government agencies in designing and delivering more equitable outcomes for ethnic communities.
- providing second opinion advice on policies that are led by other decision makers in Government, on critical issues that affect ethnic communities. An example includes advising respective agencies on an inclusive social sector recovery approach that considers the needs of ethnic communities, following the North Island weather events.
Our Strategic Engagement and Partnerships business unit can support you by:
Providing insights into community needs and aspirations, creating opportunities for communities to come together, and brokering complex engagements.
Our largest function is the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships function with 19 roles. It is regionally based, reporting into two main hubs -‘Central-Southern’ and ‘Northern’ regions.
Communities have asked for a voice in government processes, for strengthening their ability to be civil society participants in playing a critical role in Aotearoa New Zealand’s development, and for the need to deepen the relationship between ethnic communities and the Government, and with wider society. This function focuses on:
- providing effective means to connect ethnic communities with each other, with Māori, and with central and local government. Examples include:
- hosting the first EthnicBiz Forum in May 2023 to unlock the Potential of New Zealand’s Ethnic businesses, following a Ministerial Roundtable with heads of business councils and ethnic business owners to discuss the future of ethnic businesses.
- hosting the Ethnic Advantage Conferences that bring together ethnic communities, service provides and government agencies to discuss practical tools and solutions.
- using trusted connections to navigate complexities and sensitivities when intersectional topics surface, often with religious and cultural characteristics. Examples include working jointly with communities to respond to the release of controversial movies including ‘The Kerala Story’ and ‘The Kashmir Files’, and supporting ethnic LGBTQIA+ communities. A recent example is engaging with impacted and interested ethnic communities in New Zealand during the Israel- Palestine conflict to catalyse opportunities for communities to come together to maintain social cohesion and complement the work of other agencies such as New Zealand Police and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC).
- brokering relationships between government agencies and ethnic This enables the building and maintenance of relationships of trust. Examples of this role include supporting the Government’s work and policies during the COVID-19 pandemic to contribute to vaccination targets, reduce vaccination hesitancy and distribute funds to ethnic communities to enable communication on COVID 19.
- gathering or supporting others to collate information from ethnic communities to inform Government decision-making on policy, service design and Examples include capturing the insights of ethnic service providers and faith organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting Manatū Hauora - Ministry of Health engage on the development of the Health Strategy, and encouraging better participation of ethnic communities in Census 2023.
The Ministry has over 200 community organisations registered in its Community Directory. It also has enduring stakeholder relationships with large national ethnic organisations, established faith leaders and emerging as well as smaller communities in the regions. We can work with you to engage with a range of ethnic communities.
Our Systems Capability and Programmes business unit can support you by:
Leading the identification, design and implementation of tools to build the intercultural capability and capacity of the public sector.
Our Talent and Capability function consists of 4 roles. Its focus on supporting the public sector aims to reduce bias and discrimination, minimise ethnic pay gaps and help address the lack of diversity in public service leadership. Its main activities include:
- building the intercultural capability of the public For example, we developed and published comprehensive guidance to assist government agencies in understanding translation processes, making informed decisions about language selections, and improving communications with culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- running the Ethnic Communities Graduate Programme. There have been three intakes of the Ethnic Graduates, with 53 graduates across 15 host Many graduates who have completed the first two intakes have subsequently secured a role in the public sector.
- supporting ethnic communities being appointed to governance This includes managing a database of candidates, nominating candidates, and collaborating with other nominating agencies to deliver governance capability training and improve the understanding of the appointments process. From 2021/22 to 2022/23, nominations of ethnic people increased from 142 to 239.
Empowering ethnic communities through funding support
Our Ethnic Communities Development Fund (ECDF) is one of our core functions. It consists of 4 roles and manages a $4.2 million-a-year fund. The ECDF supports a wide range of projects that help ethnic communities to build their own capability, grow a sense of belonging and express their cultural identity. The fund plays a vital role in enabling communities to grow their skills, celebrate their culture and take part in society.
During the 2022/23 financial year, $4.2 million of funding was distributed across over 408 projects. Funded initiatives include local cultural festivals, ethnic radio programmes and podcasts, programmes to help people build skills in areas such as employment, leadership, language, parenting, and supporting different cohorts such as business communities, elders, youth, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community. An example is the Women’s Development Programme in Christchurch. This initiative focused on enhancing the wellbeing and personal growth of ethnic women. It offered diverse free weekly programmes and activities, to foster social connections and intergenerational and intercultural dialogue and empower women to participate actively in their communities.
We have recently redeveloped the ECDF Hub on our website which provides information for communities who wish to apply for an ECDF grant. It also highlights examples of how ECDF funding supports ethnic communities who have received funds.
The Deputy Chief Executive System Capability and Programmes (or delegate) is the final funding decision maker for the ECDF. A five-person Advisory Panel (representing ethnic communities) is appointed for a three-year term to assist with decision-making. The Advisory Panel convenes every month to make recommendations on which grant requests to fund and to what level. After final decisions are made and notified to the applicants, the Ministry will inform you of the successful applicants.
In addition to the above functions, the Ministry also has 6.5 roles focused on activities including communications, compliance, risk, reporting, human resources, health and safety, evaluation, planning and reporting, and governance. In terms of our communications function, there are 1300 subscribers to our monthly e-newsletter and over 7,000 and 8,000 followers on our Facebook and LinkedIn social media pages respectively.
Our Leadership Team
Details about the Ministry Executive Leadership team, their responsible functions and contact details are attached in Appendix C.