Foreword

In the three and a half years since the initial launch, we have seen tremendous change in New Zealand, both in the public sector and in wider society. Technology continues to advance and government agencies’ business needs continue to evolve in response to the changes in technology and society. The challenges and opportunities these changes present continue to demand innovative and collaborative solutions from government agencies.

Since 2002, the e-GIF has proved to be a significant tool for enabling agencies to work together and for all-of-government initiatives. By promoting collaboration and the efficient use of resources, the e-GIF contributes to the State Services Development Goals of Networked, Coordinated and Accessible State Services.

The e-GIF has formed the foundation of a number of important e-government initiatives. The framework has assisted collaboration between government agencies, resulting in better integration of services for New Zealanders. For example:

• Customers can now register for a company IRD number online at the same time as incorporating a company. The service eliminates the need for new companies to deal with the Companies Office and Inland Revenue separately. It makes the registration process faster by eliminating duplication of information between agencies and also the need to provide paper based IRD number applications.
• SEEMail, the Secure Electronic Environment Mail standard, assists the secure exchange of email and attachments using the Internet, and is now used by 51 government agencies.
• www.govt.nz, the all-of-government web portal, uses e-GIF standards to collect information about government services from a wide range of government agencies and provides an online single point of access for New Zealanders.

These online services and resources have been made possible by the e-GIF, and by the people from across government who have worked together on this version, and all the earlier versions, of the framework.

Over the coming years standards will continue to be added to the e-GIF, and the framework will grow to accommodate them.

We welcome the publication of the latest version and acknowledge the amount of collaborative effort across government to achieve this. We are also confident that this valuable resource will continue to provide the foundation for future e-government initiatives across the State Services.

Laurence Millar | Warren Tucker