Ref: OI/19/01462
Level 9, 44 The Terrace
PO Box 27048
19 December 2019
Wellington, New Zealand 6141
P +64 4 462 5200
John Luke
www.tec.govt.nz
[FYI request #11730 email]
Tēnā koe John
Thank you for your request, received on 25 November 2019, for the following information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
I would like to request a list of vacancy (ministerial appointment only, e.g. board
member, Lay member, Trustee etc) that the nomination period has been closed but
still under consideration by the Minister or Department. In your list, can you please
included the date that vacancy been advertised and when the vacancy been closed as
well.
Also, I would like to know if you have any future opening in 2020. e.g. the position
that will call for nomination in the year of 2020.
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) does not manage any boards. The TEC is governed by a
Board of Commissioners, and the Minister of Education is responsible for appointing commissioners
to the TEC’s Board. The Ministry of Education provides advice to the Minister and manages the
process of appointment of commissioners to the TEC’s Board. Information about this process can be
found on the Ministry of Education’s website a
t: www.education.govt.nz/our-work/our-role-and-our-
people/what-we-do/crown-appointments/
The Minister of Education is also responsible for appointing council members to tertiary education
institution (TEIs) councils: universities, wananga, institutes of technology and polytechnics. The TEC’s
role is to provide advice to the Minister of Education and administer the Ministerial appointment
process.
The Minister generally appoints four members to the councils of TEIs. Each council makes the
remainder of the appointments. For information about council-made appointments, any prospective
candidate should contact the Council Secretary of the relevant TEI for further information. The
secretary’s contact details will be on the website of the relevant institution.
As at 4 December 2019 there are currently two vacancies for Ministerial appointment. One at the
University of Canterbury and the other is at Lincoln University where a vacancy arose in July 2019.
I expect these appointments to be made by the Minister early in the New Year.
In making appointments, the Minister follows the statutory requirement for consultation with the
Chancellor or Chair of each council and, in the case of the present Government, the Minister also
consults his Coalition colleagues. The Minister’s colleagues often make nominations and nominations
are received from other government agencies such as, Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry for Women, The
Ministry for Pacific Peoples, the Office of Ethnic Affairs and others government agencies.
All candidates are assessed against a framework for selection and the particular skills needs of a
council at the time of the vacancy. The Minister makes appointments for up to a four-year term and
each year some of those terms of appointment will expire.
Although we do not normally advertise individual appointments, the TEC website provides
information about the skills and experience we are seeking:
https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Forms-
templates-and-guides/212624ac63/TEI-council-members-Framework-for-selection-2016.pdf The website also provides information about the appointment process and invites anyone interested
in appointment to contact the Minister’s Office or the T
EC: https://www.tec.govt.nz/teo/working-
with-teos/tei/governance/become-a-council-member/
More information about the nomination process and how the general public can submit their
interest in being appointed to a TEI council can be found on the TEC’s website at
https://www.tec.govt.nz/teo/working-with-teos/tei/governance/ .
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Gillian Dudgeon
Acting Chief Executive
Tertiary Education Commission
