Back to Departments

Ministry for Ethnic Communities Te Tare Mātāwaka

Public Service DepartmentCentral Government

The Government's chief advisor on ethnic diversity and inclusion. Established 1 July 2021 in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry following the Christchurch mosque attacks (March 2019). Operates as a departmental agency hosted within the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). CE: Mervin Singham (since Jul 2021). Ministers: Mark Mitchell (from 2025); Melissa Lee (2023-2025). 58.7 FTE (60 staff). Serves NZ's 1.1 million ethnic community members. Key programmes: Ethnic Communities Development Fund ($4.2M/yr, 408 grants in 2024/25), Ethnic Evidence report, Ethnic Advantage conference, RIECE regional forums, foreign interference resources (24 languages). Baseline reduced $1.244M in Budget 2024. Unplanned turnover 20.9%.

Current Chief Executive

Mervin Singham

Taxpayer Value

79B

Good Value

KPIs Met (30%)
100
Cost Efficiency (20%)
70
Productivity (15%)
60
Budget Discipline (10%)
95
Contractor Control (10%)
95
Staff Retention (10%)
15
View methodology

AI Potential

47Moderate

Est. addressable spend: $69K

Contractors (25%)
30
Admin Overhead (25%)
50
Labour Intensity (20%)
75
Service Type (15%)
50
Digital Maturity (15%)
30
View methodology

Financial Performance

Total Revenue

$13.8M

-10.6% vs prior year

Total Expenses

$17.9M

-6.4% vs prior year

Net Surplus

$82K

KPIs Met

100%

7/7 measures

58.7

FTE Staff

20.9%

Turnover

-0.9%

Gender Pay Gap

5/5

Minister Satisfaction

408

Grants Awarded

Metric2024/252023/24
Revenue ($000)$13,769$15,400
Expenses ($000)$17,919$19,151
Net Surplus / (Deficit) ($000)$82$478
FTE58.7-
Unplanned Turnover20.9%23.2%
Contractor Spend ($000)$146$192
Grants Distributed ($000)$4,232$4,229
Source: Annual Report 2024/25

Consultant & Contractor Spending

$146K

$146K

2024/25

$192K

2023/24

CE Remuneration History

Financial YearChief ExecutiveRemunerationPeriodNotes
2024/25Mervin Singham$387KFull Year-
2023/24Mervin Singham$381KFull Year-
2022/23Mervin Singham$370KFull Year-

All Chief Executives

Mervin Singham

Unknown – Present

$387K

2024/25

Connections & Funding Flows

(3 relationships)

Funding & Contracts (1)

Ethnic Communities (408 recipients)
ecdf_grantEthnic Communities Development Fund2024/25
$4.2M

408 grants

Current Leadership & Board (1)

Mervin Singham(Chief Executive)

Governance

hostsDepartment of Internal AffairsMEC operates as a departmental agency within DIA since 1 July 2021

Data Source

Remuneration data sourced from Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission. Board appointment data from NZ Gazette