New Zealand order of precedence

The Order of precedence in New Zealand is a guide to the relative seniority of constitutional office holders and certain others, to be followed, as appropriate at State and official functions. The previous order of precedence (approved^[1] and amended^[2]) is revoked and Her Majesty The Queen approved the following Order of Precedence in New Zealand effective 8 September 2022:

1. The King of New Zealand.^[3][4]
   • His Majesty King Charles III (8 September 2022)
2. The Governor-General or, while acting in the place of the Governor-General, the officer administering the Government^[5]
   • Her Excellency The Rt Hon. Dame Cindy Kiro GNZM QSO DStJ (21 October 2021)
3. The Prime Minister
   • The Rt Hon. Chris Hipkins MP (25 January 2023)
4. The Speaker of the House of Representatives
   • The Rt Hon. Adrian Rurawhe MP (24 August 2022)
5. The Chief Justice
   • The Rt Hon. Dame Helen Winkelmann GNZM (14 March 2019)
6. The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
   • His Excellency Ahmad Salem Alwehaib of Kuwait (13 September 2022)^[6]
7. The Deputy Prime Minister
   • The Hon. Carmel Sepuloni MP (25 January 2023)
8. Ministers of the Crown (ordered by ministerial rank; list as of 1 February 2023)^[7][8]
   • The Hon. Kelvin Davis MP
   • The Hon. Grant Robertson MP
   • The Hon. Dr Megan Woods MP
   • The Hon. Jan Tinetti MP
   • The Hon. Michael Wood MP
   • The Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall MP
   • The Hon. Willie Jackson MP
   • The Hon. Kiri Allan MP
   • The Hon. Stuart Nash MP
   • The Hon. Damien O'Connor MP
   • The Hon. Andrew Little MP
   • The Hon. David Parker MP
   • The Hon. Peeni Henare MP
   • The Hon. Nanaia Mahuta MP
   • The Hon. Priyanca Radhakrishnan MP
   • The Hon. Kieran McAnulty MP
   • The Hon. Ginny Andersen MP
   • The Hon. Barbara Edmonds MP
   • Ministers Outside of Cabinet
     • The Hon. Meka Whaitiri MP
     • The Hon. Duncan Webb MP
     • The Hon. Willow-Jean Prime MP
     • The Hon. Rino Tirikatene MP
     • The Hon. Deborah Russell MP
   • Support Party Ministers
     • The Hon. Marama Davidson MP
     • The Hon. James Shaw MP
9. Former Governors-General
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys GNZM GCMG QSO KStJ (1996–2001)
   • The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright ONZ PCNZM DBE QSO DStJ (2001–2006)
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM QSO KStJ (2006–2011)
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM QSO KStJ (2011–2016)
   • The Rt Hon. Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM CVO QSO DStJ (2016–2021)
10. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in New Zealand and Chargés d’Affaires accredited to New Zealand.^[9]
11. The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives
    • Christopher Luxon MP (30 November 2021)
12. Leaders, including co-leaders and joint leaders, of political parties represented in the House of Representatives, other than Ministers of the Crown.
    • David Seymour MP – Leader, ACT New Zealand (4 October 2014)
    • Debbie Ngarewa-Packer MP – Co-leader, Māori Party (15 April 2020)
    • Rawiri Waititi MP – Co-leader, Māori Party (28 October 2020)
13. Members of the House of Representatives. There is no established order of precedence over members of parliament in general, although each party has its internal ranking.
14. Judges of the Supreme Court of New Zealand,^[10] the Court of Appeal^[11] and the High Court of New Zealand.^[12][13]
15. Former Prime Ministers, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, former Chief Justices, and members of the Privy Council.

    Until 1999 it was traditional for the Prime Minister, senior and long-serving Ministers of the Crown, the Chief Justice and Judges of the Court of Appeal to be appointed to the Privy Council. No appointments were made from 2000, and in 2010 steps were taken to discontinue such appointments.^[14]

    • Former Prime Ministers
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC KC (8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990)
      • The Rt Hon. Jim Bolger ONZ (2 November 1990 – 8 December 1997)
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Jenny Shipley DNZM (8 December 1997 – 10 December 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Helen Clark ONZ SSI (10 December 1999 – 19 November 2008)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir John Key GNZM AC (19 November 2008 – 12 December 2016)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill English KNZM (12 December 2016 – 26 October 2017)
      • The Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern MP (26 October 2017 – 25 January 2023)
    • Former Speakers of the House of Representatives
      • The Hon. Sir Kerry Burke (16 September 1987 – 28 November 1990)
      • The Hon. Sir Doug Kidd KNZM (12 December 1996 – 20 December 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (20 December 1999 – 3 March 2005)
      • The Hon. Margaret Wilson DCNZM (3 March 2005 – 8 December 2008)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM (8 December 2008 – 31 January 2013)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir David Carter KNZM (31 January 2013 – 7 November 2017)
      • The Rt Hon. Trevor Mallard (7 November 2017 – 24 August 2022)
    • Former Chief Justices
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias GNZM KC (17 May 1999 – 13 March 2019)
    • Members of the Privy Council
      • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (1 November 1989) (former Speaker of the House of Representatives, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys (1 November 1989) (former Governor-General, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Don McKinnon ONZ GCVO (8 April 1992)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill Birch GNZM (8 April 1992)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir John Henry KNZM KC (19 November 1996)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Ted Thomas KNZM KC (19 November 1996)
      • The Rt Hon. Winston Peters (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Doug Graham KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE KC (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Andrew Tipping KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Wyatt Creech CNZM (24 November 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias (24 November 1999) (Former Chief Justice, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Simon Upton (14 December 1999)
16. Mayors of territorial authorities and chairpersons of regional councils, while in their own cities, districts and regions. In 1989, boroughs and counties were amalgamated into district councils. District mayors, and the Chatham Islands mayor could expect to be accorded this same precedence.
17. The Public Service Commissioner, Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, and Officers of Parliament (The Controller and Auditor-General, Chief Ombudsman, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment).
    • The Public Service Commissioner – Peter Hughes CNZM (4 July 2016)^[15]
    • Chief of Defence Force – Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short (1 July 2018)
    • Commissioner of Police – Andrew Coster (3 April 2020)^[16]
    • Officers of Parliament
      • Controller and Auditor-General – John Ryan (2 July 2018)^[17]
      • Chief Ombudsman – Peter Boshier (10 December 2015)^[18]
      • The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment – Rt Hon. Simon Upton (16 October 2017) (Member of the Privy Council, see above)
18. The Solicitor-General, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Clerk of the Executive Council when attending a function involving the exercise of the position’s specific responsibilities.
    • The Solicitor-General – Una Jagose KC (16 February 2016)^[19]
    • The Clerk of the Parliament of New Zealand – David Wilson (6 July 2015)^[20]
    • The Clerk of the Executive Council – Rachel Hayward (2 November 2022)^[21]
19. Chief executives of public service and non-public service departments.^[22]
20. The Vice Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force, and other statutory office holders.
    • Vice Chief of Defence Force Air Vice Marshal Tony Davies MNZM (10 September 2018)
    • Chief of Navy – Rear Admiral David Proctor (29 November 2018)
    • Chief of Army – Major General John Boswell DSD (1 September 2018)
    • Chief of Air Force – Air Vice Marshal Andrew Clark (10 September 2018)
21. Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation in New Zealand.
22. Members of New Zealand and British orders, and holders of decorations and medals in accordance with the Order of Wear in New Zealand.^[23]

The then-Prime Minister (Jacinda Ardern), Governor-General (Dame Cindy Kiro) and Speaker of the House (Adrian Rurawhe), on 24 August 2022

References

1. "Order of Precedence in New Zealand Approved" (10 January 1974) 1 New Zealand Gazette 1 at 5.
2. "Order of Precedence in New Zealand" (17 September 1981) New Zealand Gazette 2575
3. The precedence of the Sovereign is absolute.
4. Members of the Royal Family are accorded precedence appropriate to the occasion.
5. In the absence of the Sovereign, the precedence of the Governor-General (or Administrator) is absolute.
6. "Farewell reception for the Samoa High Commissioner and Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Switzerland and Ambassador of Thailand". Samoa High Commission. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
7. Ministers of the Crown/Members of the Executive Council take precedence according to their relative seniority as may be prescribed by the Prime Minister from time to time.
8. "New Cabinet focused on bread and butter issues". New Zealand Government. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
9. "Order of Precedence". Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
10. "The Judges of the Supreme Court". Courts of New Zealand. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
11. "The Judges of the Court of Appeal". Courts of New Zealand. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
12. "The Judges of the High Court". Courts of New Zealand. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
13. All Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal are Judges of the High Court of New Zealand. Apart from the Chief Justice, the seniority of the Judges of the High Court (including Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal) is determined by the seniority of the Court to which they are permanently appointed, and their seniority within that Court.
14. "Privy Council". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
15. "State Services Commissioner appointed". State Services Commission. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
16. "New Commissioner of Police appointed". New Zealand Government. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
17. "John Ryan". Office of the Auditor-General. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
18. "Appointment of Chief Ombudsman" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette (135). 3 December 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
19. "Profile: Una Jagose, Solicitor-General". ILANZ. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
20. "Appointment of Clerk of the House of Representatives". New Zealand Gazette (135). 8 May 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
21. "Appointment of new Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
22. Public service departments are those defined in Schedule 1 of the State Sector Act 1988. Non-public service departments are the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Police, New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, Parliamentary Counsel Office, and Parliamentary Service.
23. Members of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand Order of Merit and Queen’s Service Order, and the various British Orders, and holders of New Zealand and British decorations take precedence in accordance with the Order of Wear.