What external legal costs, if any, were incurred by any department or entity for which the Minister is responsible in each financial year since 2020/21, broken down by department or entity and by the nature of the legal work (litigation, commercial advice, employment matters, Treaty matters, or other)?

Answer

In my capacity as the Prime Minister, I am the responsible minister for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was a departmental agency hosted by DPMC until 25 September 2025. The Cyclone Recovery Chief Executive was a functional Chief Executive appointed under the Public Service Act 2020 in March 2023 and disestablished with effect from 1 July 2025. I am advised that for the current (YTD 8 February 2026) and previous five financial years external legal costs paid by DPMC, NEMA (to 25 September 2025) and Chief Executive Cyclone Recovery (30 June 2025) are set out below. Financial Year 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 (8 February 2026 DPMC 673,442.40 512,692.11 192,047.88 143,377.76 383,066.17 40,916.87 Cyclone Recovery - - 18,589.63 151,491.25 267,435.95 - NEMA 13,587.42 14,453.23 11,671.07 29,116.66 560,222.19 91,053.62 I am advised that due to legal privilege the nature of the legal work cannot be disclosed.