Sir Brian Roche says digital delivery system needs reset

New Zealand's Public Service Commissioner has released a rapid review of digital delivery across government that calls for a reset of how technology projects are prioritised, funded and governed, after finding duplication, weak system coordination and limited central oversight across agencies.

The review says digital investment is fragmented and that the current model is failing to direct money and resources to the highest-value projects. It also says the Government Digital Delivery Agency, or GDDA, has limited influence over major decisions on funding, design and procurement, despite being the government's central digital function.

The findings come as responsibility for the GDDA and the Government Chief Digital Officer function has shifted to the Public Service Commission. The review was led by Adrian Littlewood, former chief executive of Auckland Airport, Justin Gray, former managing director of Datacom, and Matt Crockett, who has led large-scale transformation programmes.

System gaps

The review identifies three core problems: weak prioritisation across government, a GDDA with a broad but low-impact mandate, and wider system settings that slow delivery and undermine all-of-government outcomes. It says there is no shared view of where digital investment creates the most value, which has left agencies developing projects in siloes, competing for funding and skills, and duplicating common capabilities. It says major enabling projects such as digital identity, data exchange and AI capability are drifting without clear strategy or delivery support.

The report also says the GDDA's role has become blurred. It describes the agency as having limited influence over funding, procurement and design decisions, and says it is often seen as a cost manager rather than a source of expert advice or system leadership.

Funding strain

A major issue identified by the review is the funding model for digital work. It says approval processes are built around large capital programmes rather than modern technology projects, which are often smaller, more iterative and operational in nature. Agencies can struggle to secure timely funding for incremental improvements or legacy system renewal, pushing them towards larger business cases, hidden spending in operating budgets, or delays that increase technology debt.

The report says the system is also poorly informed about the value and performance of technology spending across agencies. It notes that the central digital function costs about NZD $42 million a year to operate and has around 170 full-time equivalent staff, yet basic metrics on technology investment performance are difficult to obtain. It also says reporting has focused more on spend and activity than on value created or service outcomes delivered.

Examples cited in the review include agencies pursuing separate payments systems instead of reusing existing platforms, multiple agencies advancing digital identity work with limited coordination, and related agencies tendering for service delivery modules independently before intervention stopped the process.

Reset plan

The review recommends a three-part reset. The first is to run an urgent diagnostic of digital projects, operations and baseline technology spend, then reallocate resources to the highest-value programmes while pausing or retiring low-value projects. The second is to narrow the GDDA's mandate to strategy, standards, architecture, assurance, strategic procurement and system capability, with project delivery shifted to lead agencies. The third is broader reform of business case approvals, funding processes, risk settings, accountability models and overlapping mandates across government.

The report also says New Zealand has underdelivered on foundational digital public infrastructure such as payments, trusted data exchange and digital identity, while public sector AI work remains fragmented compared with peer countries including Australia, Singapore and the UK.

"This review gives us a clear picture of what's working and what's not," said Sir Brian Roche, Public Service Commissioner, Public Service Commission.

"I commissioned this work to assess digital delivery across government. It's not about individuals – it's about how the system is set up, and how we can make it work better.

"We need the Government Digital Delivery Agency to be fit for purpose because it has an integral role in the work we are doing to transform the Public Service, and the broader service delivery model," said Roche.