Supreme Court Justice Sir William Young will chair the royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch terrorist attack, the Prime Minister says.
The March 15 attack left 50 people dead after a shooting at two mosques.
The Prime Minister said the inquiry plays a "critical role" to understand the lead up to the terrorist attack "and to ensure such an attack never happens again".
Supreme Court Justice Sir William young will head the wide ranging inquiry. (Source: Other)
Ms Ardern said Sir William's role as a Supreme Court judge reinforces independence.
"The Government will ensure no stone is left unturned as we examine as quickly as possible how the March 15 attack happened, what could have been done to stop it and how we can keep New Zealanders safe," Jacinda Ardern said.
"The Royal Commission plays a critical role in our ongoing response to fully understand what happened in the lead up to the attack and to ensure such an attack never happens again.
The commission will engage with the Muslim community, and will delve into the accused gunman's background - including social media use, travel, how he obtained weapons - as well as whether he was known to relevant state-sector agencies.
It will report back on December 10, and has a $8.2 million budget.
The Commission is set to look at the individual’s activities before the attack, what state sector agencies knew before the attack and what actions they took in light of that knowledge, and will also cover whether there was "any inappropriate concentration or priority setting of counter terrorism resources by relevant state sector agencies prior to this attack".
Last month, Ms Ardern said the inquiry will look into the accessibility of semi-automatic weapons, social media and security services .
"The inquiry will look at what could have or should have been done to prevent the attack," she said at the time.
"It will inquire into the individual and his activities before the terrorist attack, including a look at agencies. It will look into the actions of the SIS, the GCSB, police, customs, immigration and any other relevant departments or agencies.
She said there would be a focus on if the intelligence community "was concentrating its resources appropriately and whether there were any reports that could of or should of alerted them to this attack".
"It is important no stone is left unturned."
The royal commission is appointed by and reported to the Governor-General, and is then presented in Parliament.
National Party leader Simon Bridges said in March he supported an investigation into New Zealand's security and intelligence agencies.
Australian Brenton Tarrant is facing 50 murder charges and 39 of attempted murder over the March 15 shootings.
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