New Zealand plots course for centralized digital government modeled on NSW

New Zealand continues to digitize its government, with a reshuffling of how the public sector undertakes digital investment and procurement, and a promise to have mobile drivers licenses (mDL) available by the end of 2025.

A government release on the shift to a “centralized approach to digital investment and procurement” says the move could save up to 3.9 billion dollars (about 2.8 billion U.S.) over the next five years.

Minister for Digitizing Government and the Public Service Judith Collins says “siloed, bespoke technology solutions will be a thing of the past.”

“Our target is a citizen-focused, digital-first public service like we see in other leading digital nations. Countries such as Estonia achieve significant, ongoing savings and productivity benefits thanks to their efficient digitized public services; our changes will set New Zealand up to emulate those successes.”

Collins says the digitization project also includes the NZ Government App, which will send secure government notifications and allow people to store digital identity documents, including the New Zealand digital drivers license.

Wellington news outlet The Post says Collins is determined to get the app and mDL tech out the door – but not until she’s sure it’s ready. “The main thing,” she says, “is not to stuff it up.”

There’s a lot riding on it. The app is intended as a central digital hub for access to government services. Describing the project as a brick-by-brick approach, Collins says that over time the goal is to have the app host documentation and processes for car registrations, tolls, Inland Revenue and taxes, government benefits payments, birth and deaths certificates, marriage licenses, and parking fines.

Success of Service NSW provides model for NZ

The system is reportedly modeled on the digital service of New South Wales in Australia, Service NSW, which has supported mDLs since 2019. Per the report, over 80 percent of NSW drivers now use the mDL in the app. Victor Dominello, who spearheaded the NSW mDL’s launch, recently claimed that Australia’s digital IDs and national data-sharing platform could boost the economy by between AU$19 and AU$32 billion ($12.6 to $21.3 billion) thanks to boosts in productivity.

“The vast majority of people don’t even want to be on a laptop now,” Collins says. “They just do it all on their phones. I do everything I can on my phone, banking – anything I can do. And if you think about it again, I come back to banking. If the banks can do it, then why the hell can’t we do it?”

The pace of digital transformation in New Zealand is swift. Earlier this year, it launched the NZ Verify app for interoperable digital identity verification using foreign documents. The product, which was developed by local digital infrastructure company Mattr, also features a proof of age credential.

In July, the government published the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Rules 2024 governing accredited digital identity services. Meanwhile, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is planning to develop a Reference Architecture for the country’s digital identity system in collaboration with the business community, and has just closed a tender for a Trust Framework Register to manage a list of services and technologies accredited under the framework.

The new Biometric Processing Privacy Code comes into force on November 3, 2025 – right around the time the contract is expected to begin, leading up to the February deadline for the Register going live.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  New Zealand  |  procurement