The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) (Māori: Te Tari Taiwhenua) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, deaths, marriages and civil unions; supplying support services to ministers; and advising the government on a range of relevant policies and issues.
Other services provided by the department include a translation service, publication of the New Zealand Gazette (the official government newspaper), a flag hire service, management of VIP visits to New Zealand, running the Lake Taupō harbourmaster's office (under a special agreement with the local iwi) and the administration of offshore islands.
History
19th century
The Department of Internal Affairs traces its roots back to the Colonial Secretary's Office, which from the time New Zealand became a British colony, in 1840, was responsible for almost all central government duties. The department was the first government department to be established in New Zealand, and it became the home for a diverse range of government functions providing services to New Zealanders and advice to Ministers of the Crown.[3] A former Minister of Internal Affairs, Michael Bassett, wrote a history of the department, The Mother of All Departments, the title of which reflects this status.[4] The department's role has changed over time as new departments and ministries have been formed.[3]
The Colonial Secretary was the chief aide of the governor of New Zealand. Until 1848 his office dealt with all correspondence between the governor and his employees, and between officials and the public. Other early functions included inspecting sheep, running prisons, supervising government printing, licensing auctioneers, registering births, deaths and marriages, collecting statistics, and responsibility for gambling, fire brigades, constitutional matters (including running elections) and citizenship.[3] Some of these functions are still duties of the modern department, which gained its present name in 1907, but other functions eventually grew into standalone government agencies. As the department's functions have changed over time, there has become a growing acknowledgement that it carries responsibility for all government functions which are not substantial enough to justify a standalone organisation or do not fit well into any other existing departments.[3]
From 1853 the Colonial Secretary's Office coordinated the relationship between central government and provincial government and, when the provinces were abolished in 1876, took on responsibility for the new system of local government.[3]
20th century
Over the twentieth century the department's functions would include cultural affairs, civil defence, a translation service, conservation, tourism, sport and recreation, support for ethnic communities, and support services for government ministers.[3] Several new government departments have been formed by establishing new agencies around former Internal Affairs services. The electoral office moved to the Department of Justice in 1950 before becoming an independent Electoral Commission in 2010. The Ministry of Industries and Commerce took over the statistics function in 1931;[5] an independent Department of Statistics was created in 1957. The Department of Conservation was established in 1987 by merging the department's wildlife service with other smaller entities.[6]
In December 2021, Parliament passed the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 2021 (BDMR) . As a result of this bill, on June 15, 2023, the ability of people to change their sex on their birth certificate changed.[17] Previously people were required to go through the Family Courts in order to do this, and provide information alongside their application with the Court that they had taken medical treatment that aligned with the sex they wished to change on their birth certificate.[18] With the BDMR bill, the process moved under the Department of Internal Affairs. It now only requires a statutory declaration in front of a qualified individual, and either a photo ID or an identity referee declaration, which is then sent to the Registrar-General and given approval. Children 16-17 can also apply, with their guardians consent, or alternatively a letter from a third party. Those under 16 need a guardian or parent to apply on their behalf.[19]
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationship Registration Act 2021 also added the option of a 'non-binary' marker for birth certificates, so non-binary individuals do not have to identify themselves as male or female.[19]
In mid-April 2024, the department experienced a backlog in processing New Zealand passport applications due to the installation of computer system upgrades in March 2024 and increased seasonal demand. Standard passport processing took eight weeks while urgent passport processing took three days. The number of passports processed dropped from 38,000 in February 2024 to half that number in March 2024.[20] On 14 May 2024, the department apologised for delays in wait times for processing passport applications.[21]
Structure
The head of the department holds concurrent roles as Chief Executive, Secretary for Internal Affairs, Secretary for Local Government and Government Chief Digital Officer.
Commissions of Inquiry and ad hoc bodies such as the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Historic Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions
The Library and Information Advisory Commission, Ngā Kaiwhakamārama i ngā Kohikohinga Kōrero
The Public Lending Right Advisory Group
The Guardians Kaitiaki of the Alexander Turnbull Library
The department serves 7 portfolios and 5 ministers. In addition, the department also has responsibilities to the Minister of Finance in relation to community trusts and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in relation to the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust and the Pacific Development Conservation Trust.[25]
