Our people and structure

Each division is headed by a member of the Strategic Leadership Team.

The Capability Delivery Division is responsible for the delivery of major military capability projects (procuring military equipment) across the land, air, maritime, and information domains.  

The Division is responsible for source selection, contract negotiation and management, project management, and liaising with defence industry. It leads the multi-disciplinary Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) that define, develop and deliver military capability for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) which meet the Government’s policy objectives. IPTs incorporate personnel from both the Ministry and the NZDF. 

The Policy and Planning Division works in close partnership with the NZDF, and with other agencies, to deliver defence policy and planning. The Division has three branches:  

• Policy Branch assesses our strategic environment and advises on defence policy settings to shape and respond to it.  
• Development Branch then defines capability and force structure to deliver on these settings.
• International Branch advises on international defence engagements and deployments. 

The Ministry’s Strategy Management and Assessment Division has two branches: the Strategy Management Office and Audit and Assessment. The Strategy Management Office works with NZDF to regularly measure the performance of the Defence system against high-level policy and strategy.

It is helping lift the Ministry’s data capability to ensure that Defence decisions and assessments are visibly evidence-based. Audit and Assessment supports the Ministry’s statutory function under the Defence Act to “arrange for the assessment and audit of the NZDF in relation to any function, duty, or project” as required by the Minister. 

The Finance Division provides financial services and advice to ensure prudent fiscal management and efficiency of Ministry operations. This includes financial management and support to the project teams purchasing major capital military equipment, and manages the cash position and foreign currency funds to minimise the foreign exchange risk.

The Governance, People and Executive Services Division undertakes a range of activities to ensure the Ministry is an effective and accountable civilian adviser, and is well-run, sustainable and resilient. There are four branches: Governance and Assurance; Ministerial and Executive Services; Human Resources; and Business Solutions.

The Division supports Ministry staff to work effectively and in strong partnership with the NZDF and other security sector agencies.