Smart online Govt services to make it easier for public

Online passport applications and a single customer number for businesses are among plans to improve the way government interacts with companies and the public, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain say.

As part of the Government’s Better Public Services initiative, the Ministers today released action plans for the Government’s planned one-stop online shop for businesses (Result Area 9) and for New Zealanders to complete transactions with Government easily online (Result Area 10).

Mr Joyce says the Result 9 Action Plan, which is being led by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, includes working on creating a unique customer number that businesses can use when dealing with government agencies.

“This will make life easier for businesses by reducing the number of times they need to enter their details when dealing with the different parts of Government. It will also allow a greater degree of information sharing between agencies,” Mr Joyce says.

“The point of the one-stop shop is to make the interaction with Government quick, seamless and user-friendly. The New Zealand public and businesses increasingly expect to be able to access Government services online without the need for dealing with multiple agencies.

“The Government wants to see a 25 per cent reduction in business costs from dealing with Government by 2017 and better integration of services that remove confusion and save firms time and money will help us achieve that.”

Mr Tremain says the Result 10 Action Plan is about delivering smarter, faster and more convenient online public services that can be easily accessed anytime from devices such as smartphones and iPads.

“The Department of Internal Affairs is working closely with Government agencies to deliver a wide range of digital services such as paying for vehicle licenses and applying for overseas visas. It is expected that later this year renewing an adult passport can be done online,” Mr Tremain says.

“The Government’s target is that by 2017 an average of 70 per cent of commonly used transactions with Government will be completed online.

“Our goal is to ensure all New Zealanders have access to high quality public services no matter whether they are at home, work or on the go.”

Result 9 Action Plan: www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/better-public-services

Result 10 Action Plan: http://www.dia.govt.nz/Better-Public-Services