The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing

passports A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

; administering applications for

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

grants; enforcing

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

laws; registering

births Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the ...

deaths Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

marriages Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and civil unions; supplying support services to

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

; and advising the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

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 ''New Zealand Gazette'' ( mi, Te Kāhiti o Aotearoa), commonly referred to as ''Gazette'', is the official newspaper of record (Government gazette) of the New Zealand Government. Published since 1840, it is the longest-running publication i ...

'' (the official government newspaper), a flag hire service, management of VIP visits to New Zealand, running the

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

harbourmaster's office (under a special agreement with the local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

) and the administration of offshore islands.

History

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 modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

, 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. A former Minister of Internal Affairs,

Michael Bassett Michael Edward Rainton Bassett (born 28 August 1938) is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government. He is also a noted New Zealand historian, and ha ...

, wrote a history of the department, ''The Mother of All Departments'', the title of which reflects this status. The department's role has changed over time as new departments and ministries have been formed. The Colonial Secretary was the chief aide of the

governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...

. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

before becoming an independent

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

in 2010. The Ministry of Industries and Commerce took over the statistics function in 1931; an independent Department of Statistics was created in 1957. The

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

was established in 1987 by merging the department's wildlife service with other smaller entities. The

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

and

Archives New Zealand Archives New Zealand (Māori: ''Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga'') is New Zealand's national archive and the official guardian of its public archives. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 and ...

were separated from the department in the late 1990s but merged back in 2011. A standalone Ministry of Cultural Affairs (now the

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

, which in the present day also has responsibility for the sport and recreation portfolio) was established in 1991. The department briefly held responsibility for tourism from 1998 until 2000, when this was combined with other former

Ministry of Commerce A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and M ...

functions in the new Ministry of Economic Development, now the

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE; mi, Hīkina Whakatutuki) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic p ...

. The National Emergency Management Agency, which had been a business unit within the department since before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, was transferred to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2009. The Office of Ethnic Communities, originally a single part-time position within the department, became the new

Ministry for Ethnic Communities The Ministry for Ethnic Communities (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Tari Mātāwaka'') is an advisory agency to the government on ethnic diversity and inclusion in New Zealand society. The agency provides information, advice and services to ethnic c ...

in 2021. The department has also gained responsibilities that previously belonged to other agencies. In 2009 the department took responsibility for government technology services from the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; Māori: ''Te Kawa Mataaho''), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the ...

. The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector was transferred to the department from the Ministry of Social Development in 2011.

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.

Business groups

As at 7 July 2022: * Toi Hiranga – Regulation and Policy * Te Haumi – Enterprise Partnerships * Kāwai ki te Iwi – Service Delivery and Operations * Ue te Hīnatore – Local Government * Te Kōuti Whitiwhiti – Digital Public Service * He Pou Aronui – Organisational Capability and Services * Te Urungi – Organisational Strategy and Performance * Office of the Chief Executive

Related organisations

The department provides secretariat support for several entities including: * The Gambling Commission * The Local Government Commission * 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 Archives Council * The

Film and Literature Board of Review The Film and Literature Board of Review is the appeals body for New Zealand's print and media censorship system, set up by the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. It reviews decisions made by the Office of Film and Literature ...

* The Confidential Listening and Assistance Service

Ministers

The department serves 7 portfolios and 6 ministers. In addition, the department also has responsibilities to the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in relation to community trusts and to the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in relation to the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust and the Pacific Development Conservation Trust.

Bibliography

* Bassett, Michael ''The Mother of All Departments'' (1997, Auckland University Press, Auckland)

References

External links

*
Local Government Commission

Ministry of Civil Defence

Office of Ethnic Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department Of Internal Affairs (New Zealand) Internal affairs Society of New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Ministries established in 1840 Financial regulatory authorities of New Zealand 1840 establishments in New Zealand