Their subsidiary High Performance Sport New Zealand deals with elite athletes.

As a Crown entity, it is responsible to the Minister of Sport and Recreation via its board of directors.

Section 8 of the Act sets out the functions of Sport New Zealand as the following:[1] In 2022, Sport NZ introduced its "Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport" to regulate the participation of transgender people in competitive sports.

In October 2024, Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop instructed Sport NZ to review its 2022 Guiding Principles, emphasising that they were supposed to be voluntary rather than mandatory.

[2] High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) is the subsidiary of Sport New Zealand responsible for governing New Zealand's high performance sport programme.