Defence Act 1990

Defence Act 1990
New Zealand Parliament
Long title An Act— (a) to continue to authorise the raising and maintaining of armed forces for certain purposes; and (b) to constitute the New Zealand Defence Force, comprising— (i) the Armed Forces under the command of the Chief of Defence Force; and (ii) the Civil Staff under the control of the Chief of Defence Force; and (c) to reaffirm that the Armed Forces are under Ministerial authority; and (d) to define the respective roles and relationships of the Minister of Defence, the Secretary of Defence, and the Chief of Defence Force; and (e) to redefine the relationship of the Chief of Defence Force to the Chiefs of Service; and (f) to make provision generally in respect of the establishment, control, and activities of the New Zealand Defence Force, and related matters
Citation	1990 No 28
Enacted by	House of Representatives
Royal assent	1 April 1990
Commenced	1 April 1990
Administered by	Ministry of Defence
Status: Current legislation

The Defence Act 1990 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand which establishes the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and defines the respective roles of, and relationships between, the minister of defence, the chief of defence force and the secretary of defence.

Background

Under previous legislation, the three services—New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force—were part of the Ministry of Defence. Post-1990, the Ministry of Defence is a separate, policy-making body under a secretary of defence; the chief of defence force and secretary of defence have both separate and shared responsibilities.