11.1 What are Council Organisations (COs) and Council-controlled Organisations?

 

  1. Council-controlled organisations (CCOs) perform a vital role in helping the council achieve its strategic goals, delivering a range of services to residents and visitors on behalf of the council. Taken together, their activities make a significant contribution to community wellbeing. The council has a collaborative and cooperative relationship with its CCOs as partners in the delivery of the council’s objectives and priorities for Tāmaki Makaurau.
  2. Councils in New Zealand can provide services to their communities in a number of different ways:

    • via their own in-house staff and operations

    • by contracting a third party or organisation

    • through an entity that is council-controlled but is governed, managed and operated at arm’s-length through an independent board of directors.

  3. Councils can hold or control any proportion of rights to appoint directors in a range of organisations [1], including:

    • Council Organisation (COs) - An entity is a CO when the council has the right to appoint fewer than 50 per cent of its directors [2]. Currently, Auckland Council has more than 70 COs.

    • CCO - Entities in which the council has the right to appoint 50 percent or more of the directors are CCOs.

    • Substantive CCOs - Substantive CCOs are wholly-owned council entities responsible for delivering a significant service or activity on behalf of the council or owning or managing assets with a value of more than $10 million [3]. A substantive CCO is only a concept in Auckland local government.

    • Council-controlled Trading Organisations -The council can also have a stake in organisations which trade with the purpose of making a profit. These CCOs are known as Council-controlled Trading Organisations (CCTO). Auckland Council currently has only one CCTO, a joint venture called Waste Disposal Services.

 

 

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