The department is also charged with centrally leading New Zealand's "national security planning, which includes civil defence.
"[2] The department's overall area of responsibility is in helping to provide, at an administrative level, the "constitutional and institutional glue" within New Zealand's parliamentary democracy.
[4] The department serves the Executive branch of government (the governor-general, the prime minister and the Cabinet) through the provision of impartial advice and support services.
The department supports the prime minister's twin roles as leader of the government and chair of Cabinet, and provides three kinds of direct support to the prime minister: The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently, King Charles III.
The Governor-General performs various ceremonial, constitutional, and diplomatic duties on behalf of the monarch, and is considered the highest-ranking public official in the country.
The position is largely ceremonial, with the Governor-General performing various duties such as opening and closing parliamentary sessions, signing bills into law, and granting royal assent.
The Governor-General also has a number of other ceremonial and diplomatic functions, such as hosting visiting dignitaries and representing New Zealand at international events.
Prior to this, New Zealand had a simple Westminster-style parliament with a two-party monopoly, which made the structural changes easier to implement.
[8] According to the DPMC website, the department was officially established on 1 January 1990 after the recommendation of providing two separate sources of advice to the prime minister.
The 2013 Review of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)[10] reports that the direct accountability of agencies involved has been acknowledged as a respected part of New Zealand Public Services.
New Zealand has an ‘unwritten’ constitution which is characterised by its reliance on disparate pieces of legislation, norms, and structures that underpin the distribution of governmental power.
By August 2022, the coordination of COVID-19 response functions began to transition from the DPMC to (mainly health sector) agencies .
In November 2021, cabinet developed an approach to monitoring the Government’s response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attacks.
It previously led and coordinated the central government's ongoing role in the recovery and regeneration of greater Christchurch following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.
[19] In February 2018 the Child Wellbeing and Poverty Reduction Group became a business unit of the DPMC to support the then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in her role as Minister for Child Poverty Reduction and to support the development of New Zealand’s Wellbeing Strategy for children and young people.
The most recent addition to the department’s portfolio of business units is the Implementation Unit which began operating in June 2021 with the goal of supporting the implementation of selected priority programmes and ensuring that key relevant figures and agencies are kept regularly and accurately informed on the progress of these programmes.
[22] The Head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has a "unified purpose to advance an ambitious, resilient and well-governed New Zealand".
The main point of contact between the Ministerial Department and the public service represented by the DPMC is the chief executive.
[25] The Chief Executive regularly holds meetings with the prime minister to discuss issues that are relevant to the DPMC.
This aids the government to act early, deliberately, and in partnership to protect and promote its national security interests.
[28] The project aims to build a high performing policy system to support good government decision making.