Hon Anne Tolley

Minister for Social Development

Hon Peter Dunne

Minister of Internal Affairs
28 February 2017
SmartStart - making life easier for kiwi parents

SmartStart, an initiative born out of a commitment to make it easier for New Zealanders to access and use government services online, has proved very popular with new and expectant parents. SmartStart is the first successful integrated digital service across multiple agencies including the Ministry of Social Development, Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Inland Revenue, Plunket and NZ Midwives.

“SmartStart helps babies get off to the best start by having step-by-step information and help all in one place.

“The online tool features a personalised timeline and checklist based on the baby’s due date, making it easy for parents to keep track of progress and see what they need to do before and after baby arrives.

“SmartStart enables new parents to advise MSD of the birth, request an IRD number for their baby and update their Working for Families application, all from the birth registration process,” said Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

Since 5 December last year, well over 1,000 parents have chosen to notify MSD of the birth of their child without the need to purchase a birth certificate, saving them $26.50 each

Partner agencies benefit from people getting quick and easy access to their information and tools through SmartStart.

“We know there are key times in people’s lives when they need to interact with Government so when new and expectant parents are really busy with other things it’s a big help to be able to get them faster and easier access to helpful information.

“SmartStart is a great example of making sure New Zealanders have services designed around them for when they need them.

“It is one of the many services the Government provides and a reason why New Zealand was asked to become a founding member of the ‘D5 Group’ of countries. The ‘D5’ is a progressive group of the most digitally advanced governments in the world that have developed digital platforms to encourage, simply and assist citizens in their daily engagement with government and to more easily access the services it provides,” said Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

https://smartstart.services.govt.nz

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