First-time importers

Return to The People

Their Stories

Six users' stories were selected for inclusion in this report:

• Returning New Zealander
• First-time importers
• Person who used mental health services
• Parent of youth at risk
• Participant in local democracy
• Genealogist

Skip to Common Themes

First-time importers

Each story is represented pictorially, underscoring salient features and bringing into relief both the positive and negative experiences of using government services. The accompanying narrative, incorporating the user’s own words, highlights key points and possible implications.

David and his daughter Jude run a small importing business from home. The family business was originally a roofing company, but they wanted to reshape it into a wood products importing business so that they would be less reliant on labour and incur lower compliance costs. They operated from a converted home office, with a double garage acting as a warehouse. They decided to import wood products from China, because Jude had close contacts in China who were helping investigate export issues on her behalf while she and David dealt with the import issues from New Zealand.

Through setting up the family business, and the later transition from roofing to importing, they had to gather a wide range of information to meet various needs. They gained business-specific knowledge through attending courses, informal business networks and mentors, and web sites (such as the IRD and business.govt.nz). When they decided to import wood products from China, they also needed a lot of specific information about importing regulations and procedures.

As business people, David and Jude expected and desired efficiency and timeliness from the State Services they used. They found the processes complex, and decided to use intermediaries, such as private customs brokers and a logistics company which provided "everything in a package", to help them interface with the government border agencies. However, not even the intermediaries could fully anticipate the nature of the obstacles they would face and the issues they were not aware of as first-time importers – in spite of their efforts to seek information. For example, upon arrival in New Zealand the wood products had to be quarantined and fumigated and a levy was charged, before they could be released to David and Jude.

Key points

• lack of information about requirements:
  Despite their early efforts to learn all they could about importing, David and Jude did not have sufficient understanding of the processes and rules that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry would impose on them when they began to import natural wood products. This meant they faced unexpected delays, paid unanticipated duties, and suffered damage to their products when they had to be fumigated.
• intermediary helpful but not sufficient:
  David and Jude relied on the services of a private customs broker to help them navigate their way through complex government rules and requirements. Although they found the broker extremely helpful, there were many matters that the broker’s service did not cover – and they did not learn about them until after the goods had been imported. They would have preferred to have been able to obtain better advice about the range of matters they could expect to face.
• repetition of the same information:
  David and Jude needed to liaise with the IRD from time to time, and they had to retell their story every time they spoke to a new person.
• searchable information:
  David and Jude found the customs codes issued by New Zealand Customs Service to be complex and difficult to navigate. The PDF file in which the codes were presented was huge, not web friendly, and not searchable.
• difficult to find advice:
  David and Jude sought advice from many sources, seeking types of information and tacit knowledge that were not readily or overtly available. They expended significant effort in accessing many and various types of information source (mentors, courses, etc.), yet the advice they received was often not helpful.
• “hard” regulatory attitudes vs “soft” customer orientation:
  David and Jude felt that even though regulatory agencies have every reason to be stringent, a more user-friendly approach in certain circumstances could make government appear less “faceless”.
• lack of documentation for quarantined goods:
  David and Jude claimed that the wood products had been damaged while they were quarantined, but there was no documentation on the state of the goods prior to quarantine. Without further evidence their claim was difficult to substantiate.

Possible implications

• information for first-time importers:
  David and Jude were experienced business people, but they had limited knowledge of importing. They found government services such as business.govt.nz very helpful, but their advice too general for their specific importing requirements. This suggests that they could have benefited from receiving a package of information targeted for first-time importers from the parties they contacted when seeking information. Their access to information associated with government regulations could also have been enhanced through the use of the Internet and other ICT.
• role of intermediaries:
  Although David and Jude found intermediaries such as the private customs brokers and logistics company very helpful, they could not meet all of their needs for information and support. David and Jude did not realise this until they had experienced a number of problems. This suggests that their problems might have been mitigated if they had had access to information about the extent to which intermediaries can assist.
• tailored mix of channels:
  David and Jude were Internet savvy and tended to obtain information online unless ongoing liaison with an agency was specifically required, in which case they preferred a sustained face-to-face relationship with the same person at the agency. This suggests that to best meet a user's needs – even if that person usually prefers to use the Internet – it might be necessary to provide a mix of channels. Such channels need to accommodate a range of user preferences and enable access at different times and for different purposes.