One agency alone accounted for more than 200 agreements in five years
New Zealand’s public service has paid out at least $7.5 million in workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination settlements since 2020, with nearly all agreements kept confidential.
Official Information Act requests sent to a dozen government agencies revealed widespread use of confidentiality clauses across the public sector, obscuring the true scale of the problem from public view. Legal fees added millions more to the taxpayer cost.
Health New Zealand recorded the highest costs, with 205 settlements totalling $4.08 million between January 2020 and December 2025, according to an investigation by The Post. Most payments ranged from $10,000 to $50,000, though 18 exceeded $50,000. The agency also spent at least $624,310 on external legal advice for these claims, with internal legal costs not tracked per case. About 99% of settlements included confidentiality clauses.
The Ministry of Social Development reported the most settlements at 245 over five years but refused to disclose costs or specific details, citing operational concerns. The ministry told The Post analysing the data would “impair the Ministry’s ability to continue standard operations,” despite taking 13 weeks to respond.
Police paid out $1.64 million across 83 settlements, spending more than $630,000 in external legal fees. In 12 cases, payments went to the subject of the complaint, often linked to unsubstantiated allegations or relationship breakdowns.
Customs finalised 10 settlements totalling $372,955, with legal costs of $212,194. One case alone incurred up to $129,000 in legal fees. The agency said no policy changes resulted from these settlements.
Other agencies reported similar patterns. The Ministry of Justice recorded 12 settlements worth $158,850 plus $92,410 in legal costs. ACC paid out $231,048 across 13 settlements. Internal Affairs spent $212,353 on eight settlements and $208,951 on legal fees.
Several agencies, including the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, told The Post that settlement data could not be easily retrieved because records lacked specific categorisation.
Policy response and complaint standards
In late 2025, the Public Service Commission and Government moved to strengthen complaint handling in the public sector. Updated Speaking Up model standards were released in September, accompanied by a new resource titled Your Complaint, Your Rights, which sets out complainants’ expectations and agency responsibilities for handling reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
The guidance reflects feedback from the 2025 Public Service Census, which found that 12.1% of public servants had experienced bullying or harassment in the past 12 months and that more than a third of those affected did not report it. The standards emphasise the right to raise concerns without fear of reprisal and require clearer communication and support for complainants.
Public service minister Judith Collins said the revised standards aimed to ensure “anyone who raises a complaint is treated with the dignity, respect, and fairness that they deserve,” including clearer options to escalate concerns outside their agency and, under certain circumstances, legal support.
Legal limits of confidentiality clauses
The legal reach of confidentiality in workplace dispute settlements has been highlighted by past cases in other sectors. In 2022, anti-workplace bullying advocate Allan Halse and his company, CultureSafe NZ, were each fined $9,000 by the Employment Relations Authority for breaching a confidentiality agreement with a city council by posting critical comments on social media, despite his contention that he sought to expose workplace bullying. The case underlined that non-disclosure clauses can carry enforceable penalties and restrict public criticism even when complainants argue they act in the wider public interest.
Fleur Fitzsimons, national secretary of the Public Service Association, said confidentiality clauses were appropriate for protecting victims “but should not be used to protect perpetrators.”
“There should be full transparency of this use of public money at each agency including because this helps incentivize prevention of bullying and harassment,” Fitzsimons told The Post.
The Public Service Commission confirmed no standards exist for how agencies must record or report settlement costs.
