Information from the State Service Commission's 2018 Our People, Public Service Workforce Data shows that the Ministry of Justice has the lowest annual salary for a department.
The average salary of a Ministry of Justice employee in 2018 was $67,800. This was up 1.4% on the ministry's average salary in 2017.
The highest average salary for a public service department in 2018 was $141,200 for the Pike River Recovery Agency. This was followed by the State Services Commission, with an average salary of $138,200. The Pike River Recovery Agency was not in existence in 2017. The State Services Commission average 2018 salary was up 2.6% on its 2017 average salary.
The average salaries do not include chief executives. The average annual salary for the public service in 2018 was $77,900, which was an increase of 3.3% from the previous year.
The State Services Commission says departments that have a higher proportion of staff in operational and service delivery jobs tend to have a lower average salary.
Other justice sector departments in this category were the Department of Corrections (average 2018 salary of $69,300, up 5.0% on 2017 average). The department had the third-lowest average salary.
The Crown Law Office had an average 2018 salary of $99,600, giving it the 12th-highest average salary. The Crown Law average salary was up 1.1% on its 2017 average.
The Serious Fraud Office was sixth-highest in average salaries, at $113,200 in 2018. This was up 1.5% on 2017.
The State Services Commission says that in the year to June 2018, there was an increase of 1.4% in wages or salaries in the public sector and 2.1% in the private sector. Within the public sector, the public service showed an increase of 1.3%. General inflation, as measured by the CPI, increased by 1.5%.
In 2018, the average base salary for the public service workforce as a group increased by 3.3%, with non-management staff up 2.9% and management staff up 3.4%.
Women in the justice sector departments
The report contains information on the proportion of women in each department, the proportion in senior management roles (tier 2 and 3 senior managers) and the gender pay gap (measured with guidance from Statistics New Zealand).
| Department | FTE employees | % Women | % Women in Snr Mgt | Gender Pay Gap |
| Crown Law Office | 179 | 69.7% | 44.4% | 31.5% |
| Dept of Corrections | 8,990 | 46.9% | 43.3% | 1.7% |
| Ministry of Justice | 3,780 | 68.3% | 54.9% | 13.2% |
| Serious Fraud Office | 45 | 47.9% | 40.0% | 8.2% |
| Whole Public Service | 49,730 | 60.9% | 48.8% | 12.2% |
Ethinic diversity in the justice sector departments
| Department | % Asian | % European | % Māori | % Pacific |
| Crown Law Office | 6.9% | 71.3% | 7.4% | 1.6% |
| Dept of Corrections | 8.1% | 71.2% | 21.4% | 11.4% |
| Ministry of Justice | 10.8% | 68.9% | 17.5% | 12.3% |
| Serious Fraud Office | 10.4% | 81.3% | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Whole Public Service | 10.1% | 69.2% | 16.0% | 9.1% |
Age and employment indicators in the justice sector departments
| Department | Ave age (years) |
Ave leave balance (days) |
Ave tenure (years) |
Unplanned turnover |
| Crown Law Office | 38.1 | 15 | 5.1 | 22.3% |
| Dept of Corrections | 46.8 | 22 | 8.4 | 9.2% |
| Ministry of Justice | 42.8 | 11 | 7.4 | 15.1% |
| Serious Fraud Office | 43.2 | 6 | 5.4 | 23.4% |
| Whole Public Service | 44.6 | 16 | 9.0 | 12.1% |