A Crown entity (from the Commonwealth term Crown) is an organisation that forms part of New Zealand's state sector established under the Crown Entities Act 2004,[1] a unique umbrella governance and accountability statute.
The Crown Entities Act is based on the corporate model where the governance of the organisation is split from the management of the organisation.
Crown entities come under the following types: Crown entities can be contrasted with other New Zealand public sector organisational forms: departments of state, state-owned enterprises, offices of Parliament and sui generis organisations like the Reserve Bank.
Crown entity boards should also facilitate clear and transparent monitoring, for example, by providing the minister and monitoring department with good information on which to make judgements about performance.
[2] This table is based on one from the State Services Commission.