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Our Organisation
What We Do
Governance
Structure
Vision and Purpose
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What We Do
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The Department of Internal Affairs is home to a range of services supporting government, communities and citizenship.
The Department provides policy advice to its Ministers in the areas of local government, gambling, racing, fire, citizenship, identity and censorship. It also advises a number of other Ministers, including the Minister responsible for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and Associate Ministers as the need arises. The Department monitors the performance of a range of Crown entities and has developed and implemented a Crown entity governance framework.
The Identity Services Group is the primary source of information on personal identity and key life events. It registers birth, death, marriage and civil union details, issues passports, manages citizenship applications, and maintains a human assisted reproduction technology register.
The Executive Government Support Group provides Ministers with a range of services that assist in the smooth operation of New Zealand's executive government, facilitates visits by guests of government, provides a translation service that is available to Ministers and the general public, publishes the New Zealand Gazette and administers commissions of inquiry as and when required.
The Local Government and Community Branch promotes the building of strong communities by providing advisory services, information, Lottery Grants, community organisation grant schemes (COGS) and other grants, which develop community capacity to address local issues. It supports the local government system through administration of aspects of the statutory framework and provision of information, provides policy advice on local government, community and voluntary sector issues, and administers CommunityNet Aotearoa (www.community.net.nz) which provides information and encourages information sharing by community and voluntary organisations, hapu iwi and whanau. The Branch services the Local Government Commission, administers the Rates Rebate Scheme, appoints the Harbourmaster of Lake Taupo and administers a number of offshore islands through its Local Government Services unit.
The Regulation and Compliance Branch ensures that gaming is fair, honest and lawful, and upholds community standards of censorship. It licenses gaming activities, inspects and monitors gambling, and regulates the possession and supply of objectionable material and the public display of publications through its Censorship Compliance Unit. It also maintains an Anti-Spam Compliance Unit to enforce the Unsolicited Messages Act. The Branch is responsible for policy advice on gambling, racing, identity, fire and censorship issues.
Information Communications and Technologies provides information and communications technology (ICT) services to the Department, manages the Department's projects and programmes, and provides shared ICT services to all of government.
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management provides policy advice to the Government on emergency management and civil defence. It provides leadership through the development of an integrated risk-based approach to emergency management in New Zealand, including Emergency Management Groups at local authority level.
The Office of Ethnic Affairs gives ethnic people a point of contact with the New Zealand Government, and advice and information on matters affecting their communities.
The Department of Internal Affairs provides a range of corporate services and support to the business groups enabling them to excel in their areas of expertise. These are delivered from three business groups - Information Communications and Technologies (above), the Office of the Chief Executive, which includes strategic development & planning, risk & audit, legal services and effectiveness for Maori, and the Business Services Branch, which includes finance, strategic human resources, strategic communications, facilities and research & evaluation.
The Department is committed to providing high quality policy advice and services in support of the Government's key goals for the public sector, including strengthening national identity and upholding the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, growing an inclusive, innovative economy for the benefit of all, restoring trust in government, providing strong social services, and protecting and enhancing the environment.
Operationally, we are committed to providing high quality, cost effective services to citizens, including innovative means of improving access through electronic government while maintaining face to face services.
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