The purpose of the Ministerial letter of expectations is to support clarity of roles and responsibilities, and strategic alignment between the responsible Minister and the Chair of a health statutory entity.
The letters usually focus on the coming financial year but can be issued at any time. A letter of expectations is typically sent to the Chair of the Board before the Board starts its strategic planning for the coming year. The entity reflects the Minister’s expectations in their Statement of Performance Expectations and Statement of Intent.
The letter is intended to help the Board as it develops its strategic plan and is a reference document that a board can consult regularly as it considers its plans and activities to ensure they align with Minister’s expectations.
The letter of expectations to health entities includes expectations that are the same for all entities as well as content that is specific to each entity, such as the delivery of major work programmes or the need to address performance issues.
Letters of expectations for 2025/26
Hon Simeon Brown is responsible for:
- Health New Zealand (PDF, 351 KB) – 27 November 2025
- Health New Zealand letter for incoming Board (PDF, 427 KB)
- Health New Zealand (PDF, 438 KB) – 7 March 2025
- Health New Zealand Urgent and After-Hours care (PDF, 899 KB)
- Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC) (PDF, 950 KB)
- Health Research Council (HRC) (PDF, 946 KB)
- Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) (PDF, 942 KB)
- New Zealand Blood and Organ Service (NZBOS) - initial (16 April 2025) (PDF, 831 KB)
- New Zealand Blood and Organ Service (NZBOS) - revised (28 July 2025) (PDF, 962 KB)
Hon Matt Doocey is responsible for:
Hon David Seymour is responsible for:
- Pharmac (the Letter of Expectations can be found on the Pharmac website)
Ministers Brown and Seymour also provided a joint letter of expectations regarding medical device procurement.
Letters of expectations for 2024/25
Hon Simeon Brown is responsible for:
- Health New Zealand (pdf, 164 KB)
- Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC) (pdf, 168 KB)
- Health Research Council (HRC) (pdf, 179 KB)
- Health and Disability Commissioner (pdf, 143 KB)
- New Zealand Blood and Organ Service (NZBOS) (pdf, 129 KB)
- Health New Zealand Infrastructure (pdf, 164 KB)
Hon David Seymour is responsible for:
- Pharmac
Hon Matt Doocey is responsible for:
A transition letter (pdf, 75 KB) was also provided to the Māori Health Authority – Te Aka Whai Ora.
