New Zealand Moves a Step Closer to Single App for All Government Functions

New Zealand’s Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins has unveiled the prototype of an app that she hopes will bring together all government services into a single interface.

While the media wasn’t given a preview of its functionality, Collins’ office issued an official photograph of the minister holding a mobile phone with what appears to be an app on the screen.

“Great to see the first prototypes of the New Zealand Government App this week,” Collins posted on X.

“This app will provide a secure way for people to access government services, such as education enrolment, registering a birth, or accessing their tax information.”

Collins said that the app would also hold digital credentials like a digital driver’s license, and it will make it easier for New Zealanders to prove who they are, “whether online or in person.”

She added that the app is inspired by international examples but has been adapted locally.

“Don’t worry—you’ll still be able to do everything the traditional way if that’s what you prefer. It’s an exciting step forward in making services you need to use simpler and more accessible for everyone,” Collins said.

Australia only launched its national digital ID service last year aimed at consolidating physical identification documents into one online ID that can then be used to access major government services.

Some MPs did express privacy concerns, however, including regionally-based Nationals MP Pat Conaghan who said voters were worried about their privacy.

“They have concerns about privacy, government intervention and their freedoms. Just because I’m out the back of the bush in halls and in the corners of pubs doesn’t mean that it’s the tinfoil-hat brigade coming to see me to raise their concerns,” he said in Parliament.

When the New Zealand idea was first launched, the government said the app would have three functions: a secure way for agencies to communicate with New Zealanders; a safe digital wallet to hold accredited digital credentials; and a direct way to access government services and make payments.

It absorbed the work initiated by the NZ Transport Authority (NZTA) to develop a digital driver’s licence that people could carry on their phones.

Collins said in March last year, after attending the first Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting in Sydney, that she had been “impressed by the innovation shown in Australia to enable customers to engage and transact with government through digital channels.”

However, there are doubts over just how affordable Collins’ vision will be to implement.

It’s likely the app displayed will be loaded with demonstration data, as the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has reported government agencies would need to spend $12.5 billion on digital services over the next five years, including over $5 billion on cloud adoption, both of which would be necessary to populate the app with genuine, real-time information.

According to the government’s chief digital officer, Paul James, eight agencies are currently working on 51 cross-government data initiatives.

They are the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the Ministries of Education, Justice, and Social Development, the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD), NZTA, Health NZ, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Monica O’Shea contributed to this article.