Today we published our second long-term insights briefing which aims to help the public and decision-makers think about the future of Public Service integrity in New Zealand.
Long-term insights briefings are designed to be ‘think pieces’ on the future, providing information about medium and long-term trends, risks and opportunities that may affect Aotearoa New Zealand. They are a tool to help the public service fulfil its stewardship responsibility.
‘The Future of Public Service Integrity’ is our second long-term insights briefing. Its development included public consultations on possible topics in September/October 2024 and on the draft briefing in July/August 2025 and workshops with internal and external expert stakeholders. Thank you to everyone who provided comments on the scope and content of their briefing across all stages of its development.
Integrity is at the heart of what the Public Service does and what it means to be a public servant. It is central to building and maintaining trust in government, and supports the legitimacy and functioning of our democracy. New Zealanders expect integrity from their Public Service, and it also delivers significant economic benefits by protecting against corruption.
Integrity ensures that when the power of the state and public resources are used, the public interest is protected. That is why we cannot risk losing it and why it is a critical part of the work we do at the Public Service Commission.
In our final briefing we cover:
Current integrity approach and performance
The briefing outlines New Zealand’s approach to Public Service integrity and how this has changed over time. It then looks at external assessments of New Zealand’s current performance, including its rankings on international integrity and anti-corruption indices. To give context to our current approach and performance, this section then outlines current activities that support public integrity with reference to the 2017 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Integrity.
Trends and drivers
Through our external engagements, internal workshops, and research, we identified groups of trends and drivers that might impact Public Service integrity in 2040. The briefing discusses risks and opportunities for New Zealand’s Public Service integrity that might result from social, technological, economic and environmental, and political trends. We also think about how the trends might interact over the next 15 years to 2040, and explore what this would mean for Public Service integrity in three different ‘outlooks’ or stories.
Desired future state of Public Service integrity and options to get there
We look at how we can strengthen the current approach to reach desired long-term outcomes. Key considerations for reaching these goals are in striking the right balance between a values-based and compliance-based approach, reinforced by the appropriate standards, monitoring, and consequences.
Read the full briefing here:
