Source: New Zealand Government
Good morning, everyone.
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government here at the Digital Identity New Zealand Hui Taumata 2025.
Last year you had to settle for a recording of me, so it’s a big upgrade to be here in person this time!
I would like to thank the organisers, and in particular Andy Higgs as the new Executive Director of Digital Identity New Zealand, and Maria Robertson as the newly appointed President.
I would also like to acknowledge my Ministerial Colleague, the Honourable Scott Simpson, who is leading important work on the consumer data right and who is equally passionate about improving the way New Zealanders access services, whether public or private.
This audience is well aware of the potential of digital identity to transform how New Zealanders share trusted information, whether online or in person.
I don’t need to convince you that a modern system using biometrics, verifiable credentials, and digital wallets is not only more user-friendly, but also more secure and private.
Our government is committed to delivering this and ensuring all New Zealanders have the tools to fully participate in a modern digital identity environment.
I’d be surprised if anyone here is feeling sentimental about the plastic cards still hiding in your wallets.
Over the past twelve months the government has made significant steps towards turning digital identity into a reality.
This time last year we were celebrating that the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework legislation was in force and that we had a regulatory regime ready to go.
But a regulatory framework was only the first step.
We have been hard at work to ensure that all Government agencies are ready and able to issue digital credentials, and that our statute books are enabling, not restricting.
For example, the New Zealand Transport Agency is actively working on the design and development of a digital driver licence, the Department of Internal Affairs has developed a proof of concept for a digital photo ID, and Immigration New Zealand is exploring opportunities for a digital visa ID.
These are just some of the many digital credential opportunities that agencies are looking at.
This work is well underway and I look forward to being able to share more on the progress we’re making in the near future.
However, it’s not enough to just create some credentials, we need to be able to use them as well. Right now, that means making it easier to prove who you are when you sign up for a new bank account or other financial service.
Who here has ever had to run to the bank on their lunch break, just to show them their passport or some other piece of paper?
Who here would like it if they never had to do that again?
That’s why we will propose updates to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Identity Verification Code of Practice to put accredited credentials and services at the heart of New Zealand’s banking and financial sector.
We’ll be consulting on this in the coming months, so, when the Department of Internal Affairs, Reserve Bank, and Financial Markets Authority come to you, I strongly encourage you to say “yes!” to digital identity and to provide your practical experience to help make it work.
We’re also working to develop regulations that define levels of assurance for digital credentials. While it’s obvious that a passport and a tennis club membership carry different levels of trust, clear regulation will help make those distinctions explicit for both users and relying parties.
And finally, I am continuing to work across Cabinet to make sure accredited digital identity credentials and services can be widely used.
Updating the law is important, but we also need the right tools and underlying technology in place.
With that in mind, we’ve been busy.
We started the year with the launch of NZ Verify – a great app that you can download to your iPhone or Android to verify digital credentials. Currently, that’s digital driver licences from Australia and the United States, but in the future that’ll include all kinds of different credentials that we issue right here in New Zealand.
Even more importantly, we have our Government App which is under development as we speak. This will improve the way people interact with the government, providing a secure way for agencies to communicate with New Zealanders and a digital wallet to hold their accredited digital credentials.
The secure digital wallet will be key to making New Zealand’s modern digital identity system accessible to everyone.
Two great New Zealand companies, Dave Clark NZ and MATTR, are working with the Department of Internal Affairs to make this a reality – and we’re committed to putting it in your hands before the end of the year.
Finally, DIA are out in the market now for a shared issuance platform so that government agencies can issue their own digital credentials faster, cheaper, and with less complexity.
I’m proud of what we have achieved in just the past 12 months but there’s a lot more work to do.
Having world-leading rules, great technology, digital wallets, credentials, and verifiers is great, but people need to know how to use it all!
Now, I’m not an expert. But I know that the people in this room are, and that’s exactly why we need your help.
You’ll soon hear from our Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer, Myles Ward about exciting work that DIA wants to launch alongside you, the industry, to develop a Reference Architecture.
DIA will be inviting you to help shape cheat sheets and practical guidance on how to implement and use digital identity services, so that we have a system that truly works for all New Zealanders.
While there’s a role for government, we need you to step up too.
We’ve seen amazing progress from the private sector. I particularly want to mention Hospitality NZ who have said they want to be the first privately issued digital credential in the market.
That could be world leading and a great example of the public and private sectors working together.
But what about the rest of this room?
This event has been running for years and each time we’ve discussed what we’d like to happen and how it could work.
We now have everything we need to put it in action.
So, I challenge you to think about your organisations.
Are you ready for digital credentials? Can you receive them at your front counter yet? Can you receive them on your website? Are you ready to issue your own credentials?
I want you to identify what is standing in your way and address it.
Because this time next year at the Hui Taumata 2026, provided Andy invites me back, we are going to be talking about how New Zealand is leading the world with our digital identity services.
We are not going to be complaining about how the stars aren’t quite aligned enough!
The opportunity for New Zealand to be a world leader is right before us. We can once again show the world what a small country with the right people, the right knowledge, and the right attitude can achieve.
The benefits of Digital Identity are ready to be realised. So let’s get on with it.
