1.4 Presenting the annual report to the House
Statutory requirement: Section 44(1) of the PFA
A Responsible Minister must present a department’s annual report to the House of Representatives -
(a) no later than 15 working days after the audit report is provided under section 45D, or
(b) if Parliament is not in session, as soon as possible after the commencement of the next session of Parliament.
Responsible ministers must table the annual report in the House no later than 15 working days from the time the audit report is signed. The PFA defines a working day as weekdays, excluding public holidays, Wellington anniversary, and the Christmas period, so this requirement allows departments essentially three weeks from the date of the audit report until it must be presented to the House.
Reports may be presented to the House on any working day, whether or not the House is sitting at the time. The only time when papers cannot be presented is if the House is not in session. In recent times, a single session tends to last the life of a Parliament, and ends only when Parliament is dissolved preceding a general election. Any questions on the presentation of reports should be directed to the Office of the Clerk (Bills Office), which manages the process of presentation.
Once the annual reports of departments and Offices of Parliament have been presented to the House of Representatives, they are treated as Parliamentary papers and ordered to be published by the House. Hence they must conform to the requirements promulgated by the Office of the Clerk for Parliamentary papers outlined in the Office of the Clerk circular "Presentation of Papers to the House" from 19 June 2013. The circular covers requirements such as the size, number of copies and delivery requirements for papers presented to the House, and can be found at New Zealand Parliament - Presentation of Papers to the House, or by contacting the Office of the Clerk.
Under current requirements, Parliamentary papers must be produced in A4 size and include the appropriate shoulder number in the top right corner of the cover and title page. Shoulder numbers are issued by the Office of the Clerk (Bills Office). Departments should provide an electronic version to the Bills Office.
The title page should include the formal name of the department and the financial year to which the annual report relates. It should also indicate that it is presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to section 44(1) of the Public Finance Act 1989.
