Appendix 1: Crown Entities and Boards
Accounting Standards Review Board
This Board is constituted under the Financial Reporting Act 1993, which empowers the Board to approve financial reporting standards. Such standards have the force of law. The Act specifically recognises that the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants are to develop standards, and this role is performed by the Financial Reporting Standards Board, which is an Institute committee. The Review and Standards Boards are both actively involved in international financial reporting harmonisation activities. The External Reporting Bill, if implemented, would increase the Board's functions and powers.
Commerce Commission
The Commission is a Crown entity established under the Commerce Act 1986. Its overriding purpose is to promote market efficiency by enforcing and fostering:
- healthy competition amongst businesses
- informed choice by consumers
- sound economic regulation
The Commission achieves this objective by providing public enforcement, adjudication and litigation services, providing reports to the Minister, and providing information to the public. The Commission provides these services in accordance with performance measures agreed with the Responsible Minister and Purchasing Ministers in an annual output agreement. The Responsible Minister may also formally communicate government statements of economic policy to the Commission from time to time, to which the Commission must have regard in exercising its statutory functions.
The Commerce Amendment Act 2001 introduced new prohibitions for abuse of market power and anticompetitive mergers that saw the Commission assume new regulatory and enforcement responsibilities. Other recent legislation has required the Commission to set up new enforcement regimes for the telecommunications, electricity, and dairy industries. Workloads in telecommunications and electricity, in particular, are developing rapidly.
The Commission is also responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. The Fair Trading Act covers misleading and deceptive conduct and product safety and consumer information standards (in particular, the motor vehicle supplier information notice). The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act has provisions relating to buy-backs and consumer credit contracts.
Ownership Relationship with the Commerce Commission
The Minister of Commerce, as responsible Minister for the Commission, is responsible for its overall ownership performance. The Minister of Commerce is also the primary purchasing Minister for Commission activities under Vote: Commerce, in his/her own capacity and on behalf of the Ministers of Consumer Affairs and Agriculture. The Minister of Commerce also purchases enforcement and adjudication activities under the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998 on behalf of the Minister of Energy. The Ministers of Energy and Communications are also purchasing Ministers.
Securities Commission
The Securities Commission is a Crown entity established under the Securities Act 1978. Its role is to operate the disclosure-based regime for securities offerings, enforce securities trading law and to provide a supervisory role for securities and futures exchanges. Its activities in securities law include a range of enforcement responsibilities on offerings of securities and advertisements, granting of exemption applications and authorisations, supervising activities and providing advice to the Minister on securities exchanges, cooperating with overseas regulators and public education. It also has a limited law reform function and provides secretariat services to the Takeovers Panel.
The Securities Commission has only had the power to take insider trading actions from 2002, and it is currently undertaking some large profile insider trading cases. The Ministry is maintaining close contact as part of its purchase advice role, so that we can advise Ministers on how the Commission's litigation fund is coping with the demands of its new functions.
If the Securities Legislation Bill is enacted, the Commission will also assume a range of increased enforcement functions (for example, the ability to apply to the Court for civil pecuniary penalties and enforce market manipulation law) and will have a new role in relation to investment adviser disclosure.
Takeovers Panel
The Takeovers Panel is a Crown entity established by the Takeovers Act 1993. The Takeovers Code came into effect on 1 July 2001. The Panel is responsible for implementing the Code and carrying out the enforcement functions outlined in the Act. These functions include:
- making amendments to the Code as the Panel thinks fit
- for that purpose, monitoring practices relating to takeovers of companies subject to the Code
- investigating any act or omission or practice for the purpose of exercising its enforcement powers under the Act
- making determinations and orders and applications to the Court in accordance with the Act
- promoting public understanding of the law and practice relating to takeovers
The Panel will also have additional functions if the Securities Legislation Bill is enacted. This includes an increased role in enforcing market manipulation prohibitions relating to takeovers and some other additional enforcement powers.
Standards Council
The Standards Council is a Crown entity trading under the name of Standards New Zealand. Its primary functions are to develop and facilitate the use of standards with the objectives of:
- improving the quality of goods and services
- promoting standardisation
- encouraging industrial development and trade
- promoting safety, health and welfare
Testing Laboratory Registration Council
The Testing Laboratory Registration Council is a user-funded Crown entity whose primary functions are to:
- promote the development and maintenance of good laboratory practice in testing
- establish and maintain a scheme for registering testing laboratories
- promote the development and maintenance of good-quality assurance practice in the supply of goods and services
Trans-Tasman Initiatives: The Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand
This body was established in 1991 by treaty between Australia and New Zealand. Its functions are to:
- provide accreditation to conformity assessment bodies in New Zealand and Australia undertaking primarily quality management systems certification
- assist exporters to third countries to get certificates of conformity internationally recognised
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