Published on the 19/01/2011 | Written by Newsdesk

Gaining the public’s confidence in information security management has proved a priority to the New Zealand Government…

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) hopes to seal a deal with New Zealand Post to improve governmental online services.

DIA integrity and identity programmes manager Andrea Gray says the negotiations follow a competitive tender put out early last year.

Any partnership would aim to give the public greater confidence in the Government’s ability to securely manage their personal information.

“We asked a number of commercial organisations to identify how a partnership could lead to faster uptake of igovt services, provide support for the issuance of igovt IDs and help us efficiently deliver our services,” Gray says.

“The desired result is the private and public sectors working together to give the public a convenient, safe and accurate way to prove and manage their identity online.”

It is envisaged that the service will enable the transfer of a users’ personal data between Government departments at the user’s request. Faster decision making processes internally is another desired outcome.

Two igovt applications are already in use. Logons give access to online services while an identification verification system can be used across various governmental sites. Users must register in person at a designated location.

Gray says agencies will reduce delivery costs through igovt services.

“Their clients no longer need to repeatedly submit documents to prove who they are.”

The Government won a global Identity Deployment of the Year award in 2007 for its igovt concept.