No formal civil defence or emergency management structure existed in New Zealand until the 1930s, when the increasing threat of war prompted the formation of the Emergency Precautions Scheme, which was controlled by the
Department of Internal Affairs. In addition to war, earthquake risk was another concern of the Scheme, prompted in part by the
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. During
World War II, the name of the EPS was changed to Civil Defence. While EPS/Civil Defence did not need to respond to any invasion attempts, it was twice called upon to assist with earthquake recovery efforts in
Wellington and the
Wairarapa region in 1942.
First Minister of Civil Defence Following the war, responsibility for civil defence was assumed by the Department of Internal Affairs. A
Review of Defence white paper, issued by the
Second Labour Government amid the fear of nuclear war, proposed the establishment of a separate Ministry of Civil Defence. The first Director of Civil Defence was J.V. Meech (also the Secretary of Internal Affairs), though in practice much of the work was delegated to Andrew Sharp; the first Minister of Civil Defence in the post-war period was
Bill Anderton (also the Minister of Internal Affairs). The Civil Defence Act 1962 set out in legislation the responsibilities and duties of the Ministry. In 1964, the first full-time Director of Civil Defence was appointed:
Brigadier R.C. Queree. A new Ministry for Emergency Management was established under the
National/New Zealand First Coalition Government by Civil Defence Minister
Jack Elder on 1 July 1999, following the Review of Emergency Services. This replaced the existing Ministry of Civil Defence. Later, the department name changed again to become the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.
Transfer to Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management remained a business unit of the Department of Internal Affairs until 1 April 2014, when it was transferred to the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). This was intended to reflect DMPC's role as the government's lead agency in national security planning. Beginning 1 December 2019, the Ministry's name was changed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Its structure was also changed, with it becoming a departmental agency and the appointment of NEMA's first interim chief executive (rather than reporting through to the chief executive of DPMC). A departmental agency is an operationally autonomous agency with its own chief executive, hosted by a department of the New Zealand public service.
Transfer Back to Department of Internal Affairs On 25 September 2025, NEMA was transferred back to the Department of Internal Affairs.
Inquiry following North Island severe weather events In 2024, the Government released the findings of an inquiry into the performance of New Zealand's emergency management system. The inquiry focussed on the response to three severe weather events in the
North Island in early 2023:
Cyclone Hale (8 to 12 January),
Auckland Anniversary floods (26 January to 3 February), and
Cyclone Gabrielle (12 to 16 February). The three severe weather events caused 15 fatalities, and the estimated cost of damage was in the range $9–14.5 billion. The inquiry report concluded that: The National Emergency Management Agency conducted its own internal review and concluded that it lacked sufficient well-trained personnel and leadership to deal with the severe weather events. It also found that the facilities used by the National Crisis Management Centre and the National Co-ordination Centre were not fit for purpose and that technology used by these centres was not reliable. ==Activities==