[1] On 29 November it was revealed that Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall would hold the finance and health portfolios, with the remainder to be announced the following day.

[6] On 20 February 2024, Grant Robertson (spokesperson for finance and racing) announced that he would be resigning the following month to take up the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago.

The other MPs who gained new portfolios were Damien O'Connor (land information), Tangi Utikere (racing portfolios), Ginny Andersen (Treaty of Waitangi negotiations), Peeni Henare Māori–Crown Relations), Halbert (Auckland and rainbow issues), McLellan (corrections and associate health) and Bennett (economic development and associate energy).

[9] In February 2024, Labour reversed its previous support for New Zealand entering the non-nuclear component of the AUKUS, with Associate Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Phil Twyford describing it as an "offensive warfighting alliance against China.

During the 2023 general election, Labour had campaigned on inviting a Palestinian representative to become an ambassador to New Zealand but had canceled it following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October 2023.