Some specific provisions in the Political Neutrality section of the draft revised Code need further work with wording more explicitly designed to avoid ambiguity or conflict with the professional obligations of medical practitioners working in the public sector.
The Public Service Commission undertook targeted consultation on a draft revised Code of Conduct (Cde) for Public Servants (the Code). This revision is significant for doctors because the Code was referenced in the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill issued July 2025 . The Bill proposed “Health New Zealand, its employees, board members, the chief executive, contractors and secondees” be required to “uphold the public service principles, including political neutrality, when carrying out its functions”. RACS, CMC, and other colleges submitted the proposal was a ‘silencing’ mechanism, contravening the professional and ethical standards which require doctors to serve and advocate for patients and the public. Our submission to Parliament’s Health Committee was this introduced the risk of doctors who speak out on inadequacies in the health system, or the impact of policy proposals on patient safety being seen as making a political statement. This would be in breach of the Code and the Public Service Act 2020.
CMC and the Medical Protection Society met with the Public Service Commission, which indicated such ‘silencing’ was not as intended. The Code of Conduct, already under review, would make the situation clear.
Our submission to the Public Service Commission on 17 October 2025 supported the need for the Code and for clarifying its application of the Code to doctors. It is essential the Code recognises and accommodates the professional obligations of medical practitioners and other regulated health professionals working in the public sector. It is also vital the Code recognises vocationally registered health professionals must also abide by their college Code of Conduct and consider the interface between these Codes. Health advocacy is a central competency of a surgeon, and a core value of this College. Surgeons must not be constrained from professional advocacy in relation to the impact of policy proposals and organisational change that may impact on the safety of patients, whānau//families, carers, the health workforce, and the healthcare system, or on achieving better health outcomes for the diverse communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. We said some specific provisions in the Political Neutrality section of the draft revised Code need further work. Wording should be more explicitly designed to avoid ambiguity or conflict with the professional obligations of medical practitioners working in the public sector.