The future of digital government services in NZ

Historically, Aotearoa New Zealand has proven we are capable of leading the charge when it comes to digital innovation. As examples, New Zealand was one of the first nations to roll out ultra-fast broadband. And our relatively simple banking regulations enabled EFTPOS to be implemented quickly and successfully in comparison to other similar jurisdictions.

More recent years have found us struggling to keep up with our earlier progress, and in the OECD’s 2025 digital government rankings, New Zealand ranked 35 out of 42. Poor performance in these rankings can negatively affect other relevant measurables like foreign investment, talent retention, and economic performance.

The Government has acknowledged that we need to do better and has stated that it is addressing issues with silos and fragmentation through a major overhaul of its digital governance. This includes the establishment of the Government Digital Delivery Agency (formally the Government Chief Digital Office) on 1 April 2026.

The challenge ahead for the Government is tricky but is not unique. There are many lessons that we can adopt from similar jurisdictions like Australia, UK and Canada to support our digital transformation and pull us back up the rankings.

The recently released KPMG Global tech report 2026 – government and public sector cut provides insight into what other jurisdictions are doing to be successful in the transformation of digital government services. It reveals that globally, government executives have a desire to rapidly transform their operations and service delivery through technology. Yet they admit they are facing some significant roadblocks, both technical and cultural. The report summarises that to support digital transformation, governments should:

Partnering for progress

Put the customer at the centre:

government leaders should think about how technology transformation can deliver better outcomes and services for their customers, over focusing on processes and systems.
Focus on data:

access to integrated and high-quality data, and having the right data security, governance and capabilities in place is key to driving technology transformation and delivering value.
Partner for transformation:

governments should build partnerships and collaborate with others in their ecosystem to collectively tap into the expertise they need to achieve their transformation goals.
Find commonality:

governments can get the best value and customer engagement out of investment in new technology by intentionally breaking down the silos between government functions, departments and public and private sectors.
Be bold:

government leaders will need to be bold, and to encourage experimentation and ambition in a risk-appropriate way to deliver on their transformation objectives.

Of course, for the Government to improve digital services and to achieve its target state; the ‘digital government target state’, will not come without its challenges.

Arguably, the biggest challenges are not technology-related, but people and change-related. Government organisations will need to balance technology transformation projects with internal priorities and objectives. And to be mindful of the context of ongoing disruption for central government employees involving many rounds of restructuring. To effectively manage this change it will be important to remember that the public sector consists of individuals.

The 2026 Government budget policy statement promises to address New Zealand’s longer-term productivity challenges and to support the delivery of core public services. A focus on uplifting New Zealand’s digital government services and bringing public servants on the journey will be crucial to achieving this.

KPMG is the sapphire sponsor of the Public Sector Network Government Innovation Showcase, taking place at Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre on 12 May.

Register now to hear Tony Evans speak more on the themes of this article which contributes to the overall theme of the PSN event: ‘Readying Aotearoa for next-gen service delivery and collaboration’

Register now