Parliament passes Public Service Amendment Bill 2026

The Legislative Assembly of Tonga today passed the third reading of the Public Service Amendment Bill 2026, after being introduced and considered as an Emergency Bill.

The Bill was presented in Parliament by the Hon. Prime Minister and Acting Minister for Finance, Lord Fakafanua.

The proposed amendments seek to update the names of several Government Ministries to reflect changes approved by Cabinet and to align with recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Finance and Public Accounts during its scrutiny of the Budget Estimates.

Among the key changes, the Ministry of Tourism will be formally recognised as a separate Ministry following its separation from the Ministry of Infrastructure in 2019. The two Ministries have operated separately since then, however, this change has not been reflected in the Public Service Act.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources will be renamed the Ministry of Lands, Survey, Spatial Planning and Natural Resources.

The amendments will also remove “National Planning” from the title of the Ministry of Finance, as the National Planning Division was transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office in 2019.

In addition, the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development will revert to its former name, the Ministry of Commerce, Consumer, Trade, Innovation and Labour, restoring the name it held prior to its name change in 2019.

The amendments further recognise the separation of the Ministry of Fisheries from the Ministry of Agriculture. The two Ministries have operated separately since 2016, however, the corresponding amendments to the Public Service Act have not yet been made.

The Prime Minister and Acting Minister for Finance, Lord Fakafanua, expressed his appreciation to Members of Parliament for passing the Public Service Amendment Bill 2026.

Deliberations on the Budget Estimates are continuing in the Whole House Committee.