Comparing how Kiwis prefer to deal with government departments

Unisys has recently completed a study over 5,000 people in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore asking how they feel about the way their governments interact with them. The results show that Kiwis are more willing to interact digitally with their government than citizens in the other nations.

Rationale
Governments want to use digital technologies to enhance service delivery to citizens and improve internal efficiency. But that only works if citizens accept digital delivery of services.

Key findings
• New Zealand and the Philippines recorded the highest level of support (63%) for sharing common citizen data, such as address, birthdate or tax number, being shared between government agencies
• New Zealand is the only country of the five surveyed where citizens prefer interaction online (39%) over in-person (28%) or phone (31%)
• Kiwis see 24x7 availability as the top benefit for interacting with government online. Speed is not seen as major benefit
• New Zealand citizens have highest level of confidence (56%) they can find the right government agency to deal with when undergoing a significant life event
• Most significant reason New Zealanders give for dealing in person or by phone: [staff] can answer questions/queries as we talk (77%)

Background
Digital transformation is not just about taking current processes and putting them online. It requires fresh thinking about how a government department’s charter can be translated into services delivered to citizens. This may involve offering services in new ways, or delivering new services or working with other agencies to streamline services and remove red tape. Underpinning all this is the concept of joined up government: where departments and agencies communicate efficiently with each other and act together for a common purpose.

Charts available

E.g. : How New Zealand citizens prefer to engage with government, by age

Methodology
An online survey fielded during 2016 in Australia, New Zealand (Via ConsumerLink -- sample size: 1,000), Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore to nationally representative samples aged 18+ years.

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