New Zealand’s Service Modernisation Roadmap: A Unified Approach to Digital Government

The Service Modernisation Roadmap, launched by Te Tari Taiwhenua – Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), sets out a clear path for improving digital government services in New Zealand. Led by Paul James, Chief Executive at DIA and Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO), the roadmap is designed to ensure a consistent and seamless online experience when people interact with government agencies.

With digital transformation progressing globally, New Zealand has kept pace with countries like the UK, Australia, and Canada. However, a key challenge remains—the disjointed nature of digital government services, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent customer experiences. This roadmap is a crucial step toward modernising service delivery, improving productivity, and ensuring a more citizen-centric approach.

Key Priorities of the Service Modernisation Roadmap

The roadmap focuses on four key layers that are essential for driving progress in digital government:

Enhancing Customer Service Experience

• The goal is to create a unified and seamless digital experience across government agencies.
• Ensuring New Zealanders can access services easily, without the frustration of inconsistent interfaces or fragmented systems.

Reusable Digital Components

• Moving away from agency-specific, one-off digital solutions toward shared, reusable components that improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• Encouraging government agencies to collaborate and leverage common digital assets rather than working in silos.

Strengthening Digital, Data, and Security Foundations

• Establishing robust cybersecurity measures and data governance frameworks to ensure the privacy and security of citizens' data.
• Developing infrastructure that allows secure and efficient data sharing across agencies.

 Doing Digital Well

• Implementing best practices for digital transformation, ensuring that agencies work together and adopt consistent digital standards.
• Moving towards a whole-of-government approach, where digital investment decisions consider the broader needs of the public service rather than just individual agencies.

The Need for a Collaborative Approach

One of the biggest shifts required for effective digital transformation is cross-agency collaboration. Historically, digital investments have been made independently by individual agencies, leading to inefficiencies, duplication, and limited system-wide benefits.

The Service Modernisation Roadmap aims to change this by:
✔ Encouraging agencies to work together as the default approach.
✔ Ensuring that digital investments create reusable solutions that benefit multiple agencies.
✔ Optimising resources to deliver better services at lower costs.

Economic Benefits of a More Efficient Digital Government

A well-designed digital government service not only improves user experience but also delivers significant economic benefits.

• Treasury’s CBAx cost-benefit analysis estimates that saving 15 minutes of compliance time per user is valued at NZD $8.
• Research suggests that online transactions save around 30 minutes per interaction.
• Scaling this across millions of transactions, the potential savings and productivity gains for both citizens and government are substantial.

A More Strategic Approach to Digital Investment

The first phase of the Service Modernisation Roadmap (FY 2024/2025) is fully funded and will focus on high-impact, already-funded initiatives. However, siloed investment approaches have historically hindered progress.

To accelerate modernisation, the government will need to:

• Reprioritise digital funding to maximise system-wide benefits.
• Adopt a more strategic, long-term approach to digital investment.
• Ensure oversight and coordination through the Digital Executive Board, which includes the Public Service Commission, Government Chief Data Steward, and Government Chief Information Security Officer.

A Call for Collective Action

The Service Modernisation Roadmap is a bold step towards a more unified, efficient, and citizen-centric digital government. While progress has been made, working in silos is no longer an option.

New Zealand’s digital transformation must be built on collaboration, shared resources, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Agencies are expected to get on board and actively contribute to this collective vision, ensuring better services for all New Zealanders.

Find the full roadmap here: