The Ministry’s purpose, outcomes and role

Purpose and principles

In April 2013, we launched the Ministry’s new purpose and principles to guide the way we will work in the future. These form the foundation of the organisational culture we need to achieve to deliver on our large, complex reform agenda as well as on the Government’s expectations of us.

Our principles are that Ministry people:

• all own what we all do
• understand our role in the big picture, who can help us and who we can help
• take responsibility for what we do
• navigate ambiguity and the opportunity it brings to create better ways of doing things
• act with integrity, courage and transparency
• celebrate our achievements and those of our clients.

Ministry Outcomes for 2012/2013

In 2012, the Government set 10 challenging results for the public sector to achieve over the following five years, within five theme areas. In response to this challenge, we have developed eight Ministry Outcomes. They are:

• fewer children are vulnerable
• more people get into work and out of welfare dependency
• more young people are in education, training or work
• more young people contribute positively to their communities
• fewer children and young people commit crime
• fewer people commit fraud and the system is fair and sustainable
• more efficient and effective allocation of government resources to meet community needs
• more people interact with the Ministry in a digital environment.

Our role

Our core business is to provide services to help build successful individuals, strong healthy families and thriving communities.

We do this by having a presence in almost every town. Our staff have connections to every community. At some point we touch the lives of most New Zealanders. We do this through:

• the statutory care and protection of children and young people, youth justice services, adoption services
• delivering funding to community social service providers
• employment and income support services, New Zealand Superannuation and the administration of New Zealand’s international welfare portability arrangements
• family services, which include support, information and advice for families and communities
• campaigns that challenge antisocial attitudes and behaviours
• allowances and loans to help students to meet the costs of tertiary study
• providing access to affordable health care for older people, families and lower-income New Zealanders
• services to uphold the integrity of the welfare system and to minimise the levels of debt our clients have
• providing access to concessions and discounts for senior citizens and people with low incomes
• leadership across the social sector
• the monitoring of four Crown entities – the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, the Families Commission, the New Zealand Artificial Limb Board and the Social Workers Registration Board
• providing support to statutory tribunals, advisory committees and boards including the Social Security Appeal Authority, the Student Allowance Appeal Authority, the Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal, the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families, the Work and Income Board, and Child, Youth and Family Residence Grievance Panels.