Go to the Contents                          View or download the PDF version                          Go to the next section 

2. Progress on Strategic Intentions

In this section:

• Our Outcomes Framework
• Outcome: New Zealand is a well-functioning democracy across central and local government
• Outcome: People can easily access the services and information they need
• Outcome: People’s sense of belonging and collective memory builds an inclusive New Zealand
• Outcome: Iwi, hapū and communities across New Zealand are safe, resilient and thriving
• Outcome: Oranga hapū, iwi and Māori is improved through an enduring, equitable and positive Māori-Crown relationship

Our Outcomes Framework

Our Strategic Intentions 2024–2028[1] describes our Outcomes Framework. We continue to develop and refine our organisational strategy, Ā Mātou Mahi. This strategy includes our purpose, five outcomes and our priorities for making a difference over time for people and society. Our outcomes are encompassed by the following statement, which reinforces our commitment to and encourages better understanding and capability of te ao Māori.

Whāia te hīnātore o te mauri atua, hei oranga mō te mauri tāngata
The pursuit of environmental sustenance and potential enhances the wellbeing
and life essence of people and place.

 We have five outcomes to achieve our purpose, which support and bolster each other.

 

New Zealand is a well-functioning democracy across central and local government

 

 

People can easily access the services and information they need

 

 

People's sense of belonging and collective memory builds an inclusive New Zealand

 

 

Iwi, hapū and communities across New Zealand are safe, resilient and thriving

   

 

Oranga hapū, iwi and Māori is improved through an enduring, equitable and positive Māori-Crown relationship

 

Outcome indicators and performance measures

The Department uses outcome indicators to demonstrate the impact of the work we do to benefit New Zealand and those who live here. We use statistical surveys and other research from local and international sources to see whether trends over time represent good progress towards achieving the outcomes. We consider the trend of results over the medium and long term (five or more years) to be more informative than minor changes from one year to the next. Indicators can only illustrate an aspect of an outcome and the partial influence of Te Tari Taiwhenua.

To the extent that we can, we show the trend in movement. We use the following legend to indicate whether the outcome indicator trend is increasing, being maintained or decreasing.

Legend for outcome indicators

Trend is increasing (positive). 

 

Trend is being maintained. Result is within 5% of the historical average over the medium to long term (five to 10 years).

Trend is decreasing (negative). 

 

Our performance measures are reported in Section 3 - Assessment of operations - Year-end performance information on Appropriations. These performance measures assess whether we have achieved specific services or functions that collectively support the overall achievement of our outcomes.

A summary of results is below:

Performance measures status		Actual 2023/24	Percentage 2023/24	Actual 2024/25	Percentage 2024/25
	Standard has been met	127	87%	123	88%
	Standard has not been met	18	12%	17	12%
	Standard is on-track to be met	1	1%	-	-
	Total	146²		140³

Identity Check service success for customers

As of September 2024, over 75,000 people have successfully used the Identity Check service, following three successful years of trial and implementation.

Identity Check uses facial recognition, a type of biometric technology. While biometric technology offers security and efficiency benefits, concerns have been raised around fairness or bias in the system. In response to these concerns, the Department commissioned the Identity Check bias evaluation[13] in 2024 to ensure that our technology works fairly for everyone

This is the first time a government biometric system has been tested for bias using a representative sample of New Zealanders. The results show no evidence of significant bias and showed reliable performance across all demographic groups.

The Department will continue to monitor the performance of the Identity Check service and adjust and improve the technology to ensure it remains fair for all users.

Te Ara Manaaki - delivered enhancements to our citizenship by grant service

Te Ara Manaaki is making it easier and safer for people to use our services, connect with government – and have more control over their personal information.

In March 2025, we upgraded citizenship by grant systems (technology and processes), including new functions such as an identity proofing service, automated processes, improved workflow and case management. By 30 June 2025, this had decreased the average number of working days between application submission and allocation for assessment by 94 days.

We applied lessons from other system changes to avoid significant service disruption and our approach was successful.

Guidance for safe use of AI in the public sector

The Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) leads the work programme to support safe and trusted uptake of AI technology across the public service.

In July 2024, the GCDO published Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance for the public sector. This guidance supports leaders, decision-makers and those in the New Zealand public service working or planning to work with Generative AI (GenAI).

It helps accelerate AI use in the public sector by providing agencies with the information and confidence to use AI to improve productivity and service delivery in ways that are safe, transparent, and responsible.

The opportunity for the use of AI in the public service is substantial and will help drive efficiencies and improve service delivery. AI systems are evolving rapidly and we will continue to review government policies, guidance, and use cases to adapt to these advancements, maintain public trust and minimise harm to communities.

---

Delivery snapshots

59,865 births registered

19,902 marriages registered

410,122 passports issued

9,086 official documents translated

45,820 new citizens

3,719,950 words translated

90.44% of passport applications submitted electronically

44.5 million successful RealMe customer logins

The back-office Digital Transformation Service will deliver standardised back-office systems, saving the Government an estimated $160 million over 10 years.

Mana Ōrite Relationship Agreement - Creation of a digital future that strengthens te oranga whānui (the wellbeing of Aotearoa), making a positive difference for iwi,  hapū and whānau.

What are our outcome indicators telling us?

▶ Ease of getting passport services is maintained or increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	90%	89%	89%	86%	91%

Source: DIA Customer Experience Survey [14].  For the 2024/25 survey a total of 5,973 customers were interviewed, 41,197 were invited, with a 14% response rate.

▶ Ease of getting birth, death and marriage services is maintained or increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	91%	92%	90%	89%	91%

Source: DIA Customer Experience Survey [15] For the 2024/25 survey a total of 2,791 customers were interviewed, 22,683 were invited, with a 12% response rate.

▶ Ease of getting citizenship services is maintained or increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2023/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	89%	86%	89%	87%	89%

Source: DIA Customer Experience Survey [15]  For the 2024/25 survey a total of 1,018 customers were interviewed, 5,768 were invited, with a 18% response rate.

▶ People’s trust and confidence in digital identity is improved [15] 

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	93%	88%	87%	85%	89%

Source: DIA Customer Experience Survey [15]. For the 2024/25 survey a total of 9,782 customers were interviewed, 69,648 were invited, with a 14% response rate.

Our indicators continue to show high levels of satisfaction with ease of access to or use of key services from the Department. These services include issuing of passports, birth, death and marriage registration and the processing of citizenship applications. The overall trend shows that ease is being maintained. While trust and confidence in digital channels remain high, the long-term trend indicates a gradual decline. However, this year saw a positive shift, with a 4% increase from the previous year, bringing overall trust and confidence to 89%. Trust and confidence levels were 85% for births, deaths, and marriages services, and 91% for both citizenship and passport services.

---

Notes

13.  https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Identity-Check/$file/Identity-Check-Bias-Evaluation-Test-Report.pdf

14.  The DIA Customer Satisfaction Survey is run annually by NielsenIQ on behalf of Te Tari Taiwhenua using a sample of customers who have used services in the previous 12 months. For the 2024/25 survey a total of 13,576 customers were interviewed (across all services being surveyed) between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025. Further information on this survey can be found at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Customer-Experience-Survey

15. This indicator measures trust and confidence from customers using the Department’s digital channels for births, deaths, and marriages, citizenship, and passports services. It uses the following question from the DIA Customer Experience Survey: The following are some questions about the service you recently received from the Department of Internal Affairs. First of all, if you had to rate your trust and confidence in the Department, on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 means ‘no trust and confidence at all’ and 10 means ‘full trust and confidence’, how would you rate it?

   

Outcome: People's sense of belonging and collective memory builds an inclusive New Zealand

About this outcome

A strong sense of belonging is important for New Zealand to be a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone.

Many factors influence people’s sense of belonging and connection. When people lack a sense of belonging and feel excluded there are high social costs for individuals, communities and society.

A collective memory contributes to a sense of belonging through knowledge and understanding of our history and culture. A vibrant cultural and national identity also helps to give a collective sense of belonging. People benefit from the social capital that documentary heritage, symbols of national identity, national events and culture provide.

Contributing to the achievement of this outcome we have five intermediate outcomes that represent more specifically the impact we will have:

• Collective memory is enhanced by New Zealand’s documentary heritage
• A culture of reading enhances literacy and knowledge
• New Zealand’s national and cultural identity is fostered and respected
• Trusted citizenship and identity documents contribute to a sense of belonging
• Taonga tuku iho is preserved and valued.

For information on what our indicators are telling us for this outcome see outcome indicators below, and for further information on performance results see Section 3 - Assessment of operations - Year-end performance information on Appropriations.

Completion of the Utaina digitisation project

The Utaina project [16], to preserve obsolete format audiovisual (AV) material, was successfully completed in June 2025.

The largest AV digitisation project in the world saw Archives New Zealand, National Library and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision work in partnership over four years to rapidly digitise and preserve over 400,000 AV items into formats the public can access and use. This included music, oral histories, live recordings of community events, broadcast news and current affairs, documentaries, TV series, films, and more. This would have taken the institutions more than 100 years each without the project.

The vast scale, coupled with limited time, was a challenge as more than 95 percent of at-risk content could have been lost in less than a decade, if not digitised.

The project needed to design new processes and customise tools; develop a detailed logistics plan; and work closely with digitisation partner, Memnon. It provides valuable lessons for the sector on digitising at scale.

Helping survivors access records about time in care

The Survivor Experiences Service records service was established in August 2024 to help survivors understand what records may exist about their time in care.

To help locate records with greater precision, we built an internal database that tracks historic institutional name changes to help us direct survivors to the right place. We have ensured inclusive access to records by developing tailored pathways for people with learning disabilities, neurodiversity, and cognitive impairments. Through coordination across Crown and faith-based organisations, we’ve reconnected over 100 survivors with their records. This has helped validate experiences and fill memory gaps.

We are committed to working closely with agencies to complete records requests and remove access barriers. We understand the urgency: with an average age of mortality for survivors at just 46, timely access to records is critical. We remain focused on the outcome: helping survivors get access to their personal records and providing insights into the challenges.

Delivery snapshots

400,000 items preserved over four years from National Library and Archives New Zealand

During 2024-2025, Reading Ambassador Alan Dingley engaged more than 20,000 students, educators and librarians.

Care Records’ Disposal Authorisations are being reviewed to enable alignment with Abuse in Care recommendations.

What are our outcome indicators telling us?

▶ Satisfaction with citizenship services is maintained or increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	90%	90%	84%	87%	90%

Source: DIA Customer Experience Survey [17]

▶ People’s sense of belonging to New Zealand increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	Date not available	88% [18]	Date not available	Date not available	83% [19]

Source: General Social Survey – Stats NZ [18]

Citizenship is an important marker of people’s sense belonging in New Zealand. The high level of satisfaction with citizenship services shows that we are making the process as positive and engaging as possible for people acquiring citizenship. Over the past year we have maintained the satisfaction with citizenship services most likely due to efforts in decreasing processing timeframes, improving clarity for customers, reducing manual work for staff and enhancing our automated checks. Stats NZ reports that people’s sense of belonging to New Zealand is, 8.2 out of 10, down from 8.6 in 2021.

---

Notes:

16. View the projects details on https://natlib.govt.nz/about-us/collaborative-projects/utaina-audiovisual-digital- preservation-project

17. The DIA Customer Satisfaction Survey is run annually by NielsenIQ on behalf of Te Tari Taiwhenua using a sample of customers who have used services in the previous 12 months. For the 2024/25 survey a total of 13,576 customers were interviewed (across all services being surveyed) between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025. Further information on this survey can be found at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Customer-Experience-Survey.

18. The 2021/22 result was provided by Stats NZ as a customised data set from the Stats NZ 2021 General Social Survey covering the survey period 1 April 2021 to 17 August 2021. This measure is based on a scale where 0 is no sense of belonging and 10 is a very strong sense of belonging. The 2016/17 and 2021/22 results are based on the percentage of people aged 15 years and over who reported their sense of belonging to New Zealand at 7 or higher.

19. The 2024/25 results have been taken from the Stats NZ 2023 General Social Survey covering the survey period May 2023 to April 2024 which can be found at https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/wellbeing-statistics-2023/. The Stats NZ General Social Survey is generally carried out every two years.

Outcome: Iwi, hapū and communities across New Zealand are safe, resilient and thriving

About this outcome

Communities are important to people’s wellbeing. People have the best opportunity to thrive and prosper when the communities they live in are safe and resilient.

Communities can be supported to manage risks and challenges and empowered to form and realise their own aspirations, despite adversity they might face over time.

Across New Zealand there are many different communities, and we need to work with them in different and unique ways, including with iwi, hapū and Māori. The Crown can support their aspirations alongside our associated Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and settlements. While many aspirations are common among iwi Māori, we also recognise that unique needs exist and we are working in different ways to support individual iwi.

Resilient infrastructure is important to communities and their long-term wellbeing. Addressing the planning for and funding of infrastructure ensures communities have the facilities that allow our regions to thrive and prosper.

Contributing to the achievement of this outcome we have three intermediate outcomes that represent more specifically the impact we will have:

• Regulated activities minimise harm and maximise benefits to people and communities
• Māori are supported to realise their aspirations
• Communities are supported to develop and prosper.

For information on what our indicators are telling us for this outcome see outcome indicators below, and for further information on performance results see Section 3 - Assessment of operations - Year-end performance information on Appropriations.

City and Regional Deals - Q2 Action Plan

City and Regional Deals are long-term partnerships between central and local government focused on economic growth, delivery of connected and resilient infrastructure, and improving the supply of affordable, quality housing.

The first Strategic Framework for City and Regional Deals20 in New Zealand has been approved by government. A light touch proposal process was run with 18 proposals received, each with their own unique projects. The first three Memorandum of Understandings have been agreed. A monitoring and evaluation framework is being developed as part of the programme.

The timeframe to deliver a first City and Regional deal by the end of 2025 is tight and small delays risk pushing this into 2026. Risks include both local and central governance decision-making, a new untested process and programme, the timeframes for policy decision-making and local government elections happening in October 2025.

Racing Industry (Unlawful Destruction of Specified Greyhounds) Amendment Act 2024

In December 2024, Cabinet announced its in-principle decision to close commercial greyhound racing in New Zealand by August 2026. We are implementing a strategic two-Bill approach. The first Bill established urgent animal welfare protections, enabling a Ministerial Advisory Committee to develop closure advice without endangering animals. Parliament unanimously passed the legislation within 48 hours. Confidentiality protected approximately 3,000 racing dogs while enabling detailed policy work for a second Bill.

The necessary confidentiality of the first Bill created transparency concerns and affected trust among greyhound racing participants. Limited advance warning hindered industry preparation for the Ministerial Advisory Committee process, affecting consultation quality and strengthening opposition to the closure proposal.

Delivery snapshots

Developed a Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Bill that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our regulatory systems, for example, restricting the sale of all lottery products to people aged 18 and over.

Executed 49 search warrants across our Digital Messaging, Child Exploitation, and Violent Extremism teams to disrupt illegal digital content and malicious SMS campaigns – preventing real-world harm to communities across New Zealand.

In 2024, the conclusion of a four-year investigation by the Digital Child Exploitation Team uncovered a network of seven New Zealand offenders. The operation identified over 12,115 pieces of child sexual exploitation material and led to the safeguarding of a New Zealand child.

Wellington City Mission’s new Whakamaru facility opened with support from Lottery funding.

We supported Westport’s programme of flood resilience, with five initiatives completed and remaining initiatives underway.

What are our outcome indicators telling us?

Overall life satisfaction is maintained or increases

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	85%	81%	81% [21]	81% [20]	79% [22]

Source: General Social Survey – Stats NZ [23]

▶ People’s sense of purpose is maintained or increased

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	Data not available	85%	Data not available	Data not available	84% [24]

Source: General Social Survey – Stats NZ [22]

Our indicators tell us that people continue to rate their overall life satisfaction and sense of purpose highly – although the longer-term trend has declined slightly. Stats NZ reports that the majority of New Zealanders continued to rate their overall life satisfaction with 79% percent giving a rating of 7 or higher. New Zealanders also continue to rate their sense of purpose highly with 84% percent giving a rating of 7 or higher.

---

 

Notes

20. View the Regional Deals Strategic Framework on https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2024-08/Regional%20 Deals%20Strategic%20Framework.pdf

21. The data for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 results were collected as part of the Stats NZ Household Economic Survey (household income and housing-cost statistics) as General Social Survey was delayed and was not available in time for inclusion in the 2023/24 Annual Report. The Household Economic Survey has differences in its collection method, and sampled population, reporting periods, among other things, that may affect comparability. This result is not able to be directly compared with results from prior years and the current year.

22. Satisfaction is determined on a 0-10 scale, where 0 is completely dissatisfied and 10 is completely satisfied.

23. The 2024/25 results have been taken from the Stats NZ 2023 General Social Survey covering the survey period May 2023 to April 2024 which can be found at https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/wellbeing- statistics-2023/. The Stats NZ General Social Survey is generally carried out every two years.

24. We use the Stats NZ General Social Society survey question Things you do in life is worthwhile for this indicator. This is rated on a 0–10 scale where 0 is not at all worthwhile and 10 is completely worthwhile.

 

Outcome: Oranga hapū, iwi and Māori is improved through an enduring, equitable and positive Māori-Crown relationship

About this outcome

The Department has Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations that require strong relationships, engagement and consultation with Māori to be effective. The Department has 67 commitments across 24 Treaty Settlements and is also party to 12 Accord Agreements.

This outcome places our relationship with hapū, iwi and Māori at the centre of our decision-making in matters relating to Māori. It requires us to build our capability in te ao Māori, te reo me ōna tikanga and Te Tiriti to help achieve improved, enduring and equitable outcomes for Māori.

The term ‘oranga’ can be translated as wellbeing but from a te ao Māori perspective it encompasses much more, including the connection between people’s health and wellbeing and the whenua (land) and taiao (environment) around them.

Contributing to the achievement of this outcome we have two intermediate outcomes that represent more specifically the impact we will have:

• Mātauranga Māori is respected and valued
• Māori, iwi and hapū aspirations, interests and rights are understood and respected.

For information on what our indicators are telling us for this outcome see outcome indicators below, and for further information on performance results see Section 3 - Assessment of operations - Year-end performance information on Appropriations.

What are our outcome indicators telling us?

Te Tari Taiwhenua has developed two foundational indicators for this outcome. The first one focuses on lifting the capacity of Māori leadership at tier 4 level and above. The second indicator shows how our Treaty commitments and obligations are understood and upheld across the organisation.

▶ Māori leaders in the Department at tier 4 level and above is maintained or increased [25]

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Trend
%	13.2% (20 people leaders)	14.3% (25 people leaders)	13.1% (24 people leaders)	14.5% (28 people leaders)	13.3% (22 people leaders)

Source: DIA

In 2024/25, 13.3% of leaders identified as Māori, consistent with the Department’s five-year average and meeting the indicator for maintaining the trend.

Trend is calculated based on percentage reported.

▶ The Department’s settlement commitments as reported in Te Haeata is maintained or increased

Metric	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/25	2023/24	Trend
%	New indicator			50% (33 out of 66)	51% (34 out of 67)

Source: Te Puni Kōkiri – Ministry of Māori Development

We monitor our Treaty settlement commitments through Te Haeata – the settlement Portal. During the financial year, the Department successfully completed an additional Treaty settlement commitment shortly after it was acquired. There was also a noticeable reduction in commitments experiencing ‘Delivery Issues’, down from 17 to 12. Correspondingly, the number of commitments classified as

‘On Track’ has more than doubled. Overall, the Department has completed 34 out of 67 settlement commitments, representing a completion rate of 51%.

The following infographic provides a progress update on our 67 Treaty of Waitangi/ settlement commitments for 2024/25:

                 

---

 

Notes

25. Tier 4 and above is defined as the top four tiers of managers and leaders that lead people within the Department with the Chief Executive being tier 1.