The Government has commenced work to make the information collected by government agencies through their ordinary day-to-day interactions more useful.
The Admin Data Improvement Plan has been designed to help ensure information collected by agencies can better guide decisions in areas like education, health services, housing and infrastructure.
Administrative data – or admin data – is information collected by government agencies as part of their day-to-day interactions with people and businesses. This can include information provided when people access government services or apply for a licence or benefit.
“The Plan means agencies like the Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport can work with Stats NZ to ensure the information they collect can be used to improve the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of official statistics,” said Statistics Minister, Scott Simpson.
“More reliable data means better decision making. Government, councils businesses and communities can plan services and invest with greater confidence.”
The implementation of the Plan is underway, with agencies working alongside Stats NZ to deliver agreed improvements over the next three years.
Admin data is already used extensively to produce official data and statistics, from population estimates to measuring the economy and the cross-government plan will ensure that existing framework continues, the Minister said.
He said the Plan will ensure the improved completeness, accuracy and timeliness of information to give better insights in to such things as where people live, their occupation and ethnicity.
“This plan will greatly support Stats NZ to produce useful and meaningful official statistics.”
- Read the Admin Data Improvement Plan.
