RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/ACC/NZL/9  
 
13 November 2013  
(13-6285)  Page: 1/10  
Committee on Government Procurement  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF NEW ZEALAND TO THE  
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
COMMUNICATION FROM NEW ZEALAND 
Second Revised Offer 
The following communication, dated 13 November 2013, has been received from the Delegation of 
New Zealand. 
 
 
_______________ 
 
 
This document comprises New Zealand's second revised Appendix 1 Offer relating to its accession to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement  (GPA). It remains New Zealand's intention to 
complete its accession with reference to the revi sed text of the GPA adopted by the Parties on 
30 March 2012 (as contained in GPA/113 of 2 April 2012).  
In this revised offer, New Zealand has made further improvements to the commercially and 
systemically meaningful offer that we tabled in September 2013.  Key revisions include: 
 
 Inclusion of 2 additional entities in Annex 2;  
 Inclusion of 1 additional entity in Annex 3; 
 Reduction of the threshold in Annex 3; and 
 Amendments to the General Notes. 
Additions to New Zealand's revised offer are indicated in bold and deletions to the revised offer 
are indicated in strikethrough. 
 
This offer is made on a provisional basis, and is circulated for discussion purposes only. New Zealand reserves the right to revise this offer at any time, including to correct any error, 
omission or inaccuracy. 
 In tabling this second revised offer, New Zealand would like to reiterate some key points in respect 
of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and local government entities, which address why 
New Zealand has been unable to commit these entities.  
State-Owned Enterprises 
 With a total of 16 SOEs in New Zealand, they do not dominate the economy. The fundamental 
principle in the New Zealand model of SOEs is the separation and maintenance of a clear division 
between the Government's ownership, pu rchasing and regulatory interests. 
While SOEs are owned, wholly or in part, by the Crown, the principle objective of every SOE is to 
operate as a commercial business. This requirement is established by law. They operate in GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  competition with private companies, including wher e they themselves provide goods or services to 
government entities. SOEs are required to earn sufficient revenues to conduct their operations as well as return a profit to the Crown. They do not receive a Crown appropriation (funding) or Crown subsidies. As a consequence, SOEs make independent procurement decisions, shielded from 
government direction as to how and from whom they purchase. 
 The governance structure of SOEs is as follows: 
 
 Every SOE has a board of directors that takes full responsibility for running the business. 
Directors of SOEs are subject to a number of duties under the Companies Act, including the duty to act in the best interest of the company. 
 The role of the shareholding Ministers is pr escribed by the State-Owned Enterprises Act 
1986. Their functions are to appoint directors, set dividend levels, monitor performance, and present to Parliament the statement of corporate intent and annual report. They do 
not set prices, determine quality, appoint employees or otherwise influence the 
operation of the business. 
As a consequence of these legal and structural characteristics, procurement by SOEs is not 
controlled or influenced by the New Zealand Government, nor does the Government participate in 
the business decisions or operations of SOEs beyond the normal regulatory oversight of the 
relevant industries. Accordingly, given the particular characteristics of our system, the New Zealand Government does not have control or influence over the procurement of SOEs. It is 
for these reasons that New Zealand has not committed SOEs. 
 Local government 
 
Local government operates autonomously from central government. The Local Government Act 2002 is the statute that establishes the system of local government and defines the powers and 
responsibilities of local authorities. This Act states that the purpose of local government is to 
enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for 
households and businesses. 
 Councils can and do differ widely in relation to activities they undertake, as long as they have 
consulted their communities in making their decisions. As a result, there is considerable diversity 
in the range of activities that councils provide, reflecting the different circumstances that cities, towns and communities find themselves in. In general terms, local governments provide a range of 
local services including local roads, water reticulati on, refuse collection, libraries, parks, recreation 
services, enforcement of local re gulations, and town planning. 
 The central government has limited powers in this sphere, which are mainly in the nature of taking 
remedial action where a local authority has mismanaged its affairs. In addition, central 
government, in particular the entities covered in Annex 1, has responsibility for many types of procurements that other GPA Parties might normally conduct at a sub-central level – including 
procurement relating to roads, prisons, courts, hospitals, and social housing. 
 Local government exists for the benefit of the members of communities who elect councils and 
provides funding for the services these councils pr ovide. Funding comes mainly from taxes (rates) 
levied on property and businesses located in the area. As such, the accountability of local 
governments is principally to the community, rath er than to central government. As has already 
been indicated to Parties, OECD data has confirmed that in New Zealand, around 90% of 
expenditure occurs at the level of central government, with only 10% incurred at a local level. This 
is a significantly lower proportion of expenditure at the level of local government than other OECD 
members.
1 It is for these reasons that New Zealand has not committed local government entities. 
                                               
1 OECD (2011), "Expenditures structure by level of  government", in Government at a Glance 2011, 
OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2011-12-en . GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  SECOND REVISED APPENDIX I OFFER OF NEW ZEALAND 
(Authentic in the English Language) 
ANNEX 1 
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES 
Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement covers procurement by entities listed in this Annex, 
subject to the following thresholds: 
 
Thresholds: 
 
Goods  (specified in Annex 4)       SDR 130,000  
 
Services  (specified in Annex 5)       SDR 130,000 
 
Construction Services  (specified in Annex 6)   SDR 5,000,000  
 
 
List of Entities:  1. Ministry for Primary Industries 
2. Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority 
3. Department of Conservation 4. Department of Corrections 
5. Crown Law Office 
6. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 7. Ministry for Culture and Heritage 
8. Ministry of Defence 
9. Ministry of Education 10. Education Review Office 11. Ministry for the Environment 
12. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
13. Government Communications Security Bureau 14. Ministry of Health 
15. Inland Revenue Department 
16. Department of Internal Affairs 17. Ministry of Justice 
18. Land Information New Zealand 
19. Ministry of M āori Development 
20. New Zealand Customs Service 21. Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs 
22. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 
23. Serious Fraud Office 24. Ministry of Social Development  
25. State Services Commission 
26. Statistics New Zealand 27. Ministry of Transport 
28. The Treasury 
29. Ministry of Women's Affairs 30. New Zealand Defence Force 31. New Zealand Police 
 
 
                                               
 In English only. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  Note to Annex 1 
 
All agencies subordinate to the above listed central government entities are covered, provided that 
such agency does not have a separate legal personality. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 2 
SUB-CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES 
Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement covers procurement by entities listed in this Annex, 
subject to the following thresholds: 
 
Thresholds: 
 
Goods (specified in Annex 4)       SDR 200,000  
 
Services (specified in Annex 5)       SDR 200,000 
 
Construction Services (specified in Annex 6)    SDR 5,000,000  
 
 List of entities: 
 
1. Auckland District Health Board 
2. Canterbury District Health Board 
3. Capital and Coast District Health Board 4. Counties Manukau District Health Board 
5. Hutt District Health Board 
6. MidCentral District Health Board 7. South Canterbury District Health Board 8. Waikato District Health Board 
9. Waitemata District Health Board 
10. Bay of Plenty District Health Board 11. Southern District Health Board GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 3 
OTHER ENTITIES 
Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement covers procurement by entities listed in this Annex, 
subject to the following thresholds:  
 
Thresholds:  
Goods (specified in Annex 4)       SDR 450,000  400,000  
 
Services (specified in Annex 5)       SDR 450,000  400,000  
 
Construction Services (specified in Annex 6)    SDR 5,000,000  
  
List of entities: 
 1. Accident Compensation Corporation 
2. Careers New Zealand 
3. Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand 4. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority 5. Housing New Zealand Corporation 
6. Maritime New Zealand 
7. New Zealand Antarctic Institute 8. New Zealand Fire Service Commission 
9. New Zealand Qualifications Authority 
10. New Zealand Tourism Board 11. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise 
12. New Zealand Transport Agency 
13. Sport New Zealand 14. Tertiary Education Commission 15. Education New Zealand 
 
 Note to Annex 3 
 
Sport New Zealand: The Agreement does not appl y to the procurement of goods and services 
containing confidential information related to enhancing competitive sport performance. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 4 
GOODS 
Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement covers pr ocurement of all goods by the entities listed in 
Annexes 1 through 3. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 5 
SERVICES 
1.  Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement cove rs procurement of all services by the entities 
listed in Annexes 1 through 3. 
2.  This Agreement does not cover any of the foll owing services as identified in accordance with 
the Provisional Central Product Classification (CPC) as set out in document MTN.GNS/W/120: 
a. procurement of research and development services (CPC 851-853); 
b. procurement of public health services  (CPC 931, including 9311, 9312 and 9319); 
c. procurement of education services (CPC 921, 922, 923, 924, and 929); 
d. procurement of welfare servic es (CPC 933 and 913); and 
e. procurements listed in Annex 7. 
3.  This Agreement does not cover procur ement of pension fund management, public 
insurance and fund placements, investments an d financial services related to securities 
or trading on an exchange. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 6 
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES 
Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement covers procurement of all construction services in 
Division 51 of the Provisional Central Product Classification (CPC) as set out in document 
MTN.GNS/W/120. GPA/ACC/NZL/9 
 
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  ANNEX 7 
GENERAL NOTES 
The following General Notes apply without exception to this Agreement, including to Annexes 1 
through 6. 
 
This Agreement does not cover: 
 
1.  for greater certainty, governmental provision of goods and services to persons or 
governmental authorities not specifically co vered under the Annexes to this Agreement; 
2.  procurement of goods or services in respec t of contracts for construction, refurbishment or 
furnishing of chanceries abroad; 
3.  procurement of goods or services outside th e territory of New Zealand for consumption outside 
the territory of New Zealand; 
4.  for greater certainty under Article II:3(b), commercial sponsorship arrangements; 
5.  any procurement made by an entity covered under this Appendix on behalf of an organisation 
that is not an entity covered under this Appendix; 
6.  procurement by an entity covered under this Appendix from another entity covered under this 
Appendix , except where tenders are called, in which case, this Agreement shall apply ; 
7.  pension fund management, public insurance and fund placements, investments and financial 
services related to securities or trading on an exchange; 
8.  unsolicited unique proposals; 
9.  services that are purchased under exclusive rights; 
10.  any procurement for the purposes of developing, protecting or preserving national treasures 
of artistic, historic, archaeological value of cultural heritage; and 
11.  procurement of storage or hosting of government data and related services. For greater certainty, a procuring entity ma y apply limited tendering procedures under 
Article XIII:1(b) (ii) and (iii) in relation to unsolicited unique proposals.
2 
 Provided that such measures are not used as a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination against persons of the other Members or as a disguised restriction on trade in goods and services, 
nothing shall preclude the adoption by New Zealand of measures it deems necessary to accord 
more favourable treatment to M āori in respect of matters covered by this Agreement including in 
fulfilment of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. 
 
The interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, includ ing as to the nature of the rights and obligations 
arising under it, shall not be subject to the di spute settlement provisions of this Agreement. 
 
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2 As defined and handled according to the New Zealand government guidance document, 
"Unsolicited Unique Proposals – How to deal with uninvited bids" (May 2013), updated from time to time.