Waka Kotahi, or the New Zealand Transport Agency, (always abbreviated as NZTA), superseded by is a New Zealand

Crown entity A Crown entity (from the Commonwealth term ''Crown'') is an organisation that forms part of New Zealand's state sector established under the Crown Entities Act 2004, a unique umbrella governance and accountability statute. The Crown Entities Act i ...

tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, and administering the

New Zealand state highway network The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency. The highways were ...

. It was established as the New Zealand Transport Agency on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008, merging

Transit New Zealand Transit New Zealand (Māori: Ararau Aotearoa), which existed from 1989 to 2008, was the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand state highway network (10,894 km, about 12% of New Zealand's roads). It ...

with

Land Transport New Zealand Land Transport New Zealand was a Crown entity in New Zealand, tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, and includes responsibilities such as driver and vehicle licensing. It was created on 1 December 2004 by the Land Transpor ...

. means 'one vessel' and is intended to convey the concept of "travelling together as one".

Public data access

The transport agency stores

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

and

warrant of fitness A Warrant of Fitness (WoF) is an official New Zealand document certifying that a light motor vehicle has passed a compulsory periodic inspection of safety and roadworthiness. Most vehicles with a gross mass under that are used on public roads ...

details for any road-registered vehicle within New Zealand, including cars, motorbikes, trailers, trucks and earthmoving or agricultural machinery. Any member of the public can query the transport agency's database by making a request using the

licence plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...

or VIN at an

NZ Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunica ...

outlet, or by using a vehicle checking website.

Road signage

Road signs in New Zealand fall under the authority of the transport agency and are prescribed in the Traffic Control Devices (TCD) Manual.

Awards

The transport agency has been recognised, alongside its partners, by industry and professional bodies for innovation and best practice. Some of the awards received include: * The transport agency's Zero Harm Reporting Tool won the award for the institute's HR technology category for 2016. * The Highway and Network Operations Environment and Urban Design team took out the 2015 New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Award for landscape publications. * The transport agency and Hamilton consultancy Bloxam, Burnett and Olliver were the winners at the 2015 Planning Institute Awards. Planning practices for the Huntly section of the

Waikato Expressway The Waikato Expressway is a dual carriageway section of (SH 1) in New Zealand's Waikato region. Constructed in stages, it forms part of the link between Auckland and Hamilton. Currently stretching from Auckland to south of Cambridge, the highw ...

saw them jointly claim the Best Practice Award for District and Regional Planning, and the overall Nancy Northcroft Supreme Best Practice Award. * Three gold Effie Awards for the Legend ('Ghost Chips') drink-driving campaign. * In 2014 the transport agency received worldwide recognition for road safety advertising, with their advertising agency, Clemenger BBDO, picking up several prestigious national and international awards for 'Mistakes' and 'Blazed' at the Cannes Lions. * The 2012 Civils Demolition award for the

Newmarket Viaduct The Newmarket Viaduct is a seven-lane state highway viaduct in Auckland, New Zealand. The 700 m long viaduct, which is up to 20 m high, carries the Southern Motorway over the Newmarket suburb. Original structure The viaduct was opened ...

. * The 2012 Excellence in Engineering for Safety award for the KiwiRAP star ratings system. * IT Project of the Year at the 2012 ITEX Computerworld Awards for the Business Continuity Programme. * Craig Soutar won Chief Information Officer of the Year in 2013. * 2012 WriteMark Plain English Awards and 2013 Public Relations Institute of NZ Awards for the changes to the give way rules campaign and the Manawatu Gorge road closure communications. * An award for 'Restoring native plant life to road corridors' at the 2012 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network awards.

Board

The initial transport agency board was criticised by the National Party-led opposition in July 2008 as being "stacked" with political appointees of the Labour Party-led government. A National Party-led government was formed after the general election later in 2008, and a number of board members were reappointed or replaced. In January 2019, three members of the board of directors resigned, about six weeks after the resignation of Chief Executive Fergus Gammie. They were Adrienne Young-Cooper, Chris Ellis and

Fran Wilde Dame Frances Helen Wilde (née Kitching, born 11 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour member of parliament, Minister of Tourism and Mayor of Wellington. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Wellingt ...

. Minister of Transport

Phil Twyford Philip Stoner Twyford (born 4 May 1963) is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū. Early years Twyford was born in 1963 in Auckland ...

said the agency had been "going through a massive change process", with its compliance work in the issuing of vehicle

Warrant of Fitness A Warrant of Fitness (WoF) is an official New Zealand document certifying that a light motor vehicle has passed a compulsory periodic inspection of safety and roadworthiness. Most vehicles with a gross mass under that are used on public roads ...

es under review. Mark Ratcliffe, former head of telco

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, was appointed Interim Chief Executive. Nicole Rosie, former CE of

WorkSafe New Zealand WorkSafe is New Zealand's primary workplace health and safety regulator. Over 550 staff based across New Zealand who are working to lift New Zealand's health and safety performance and support workers to return home healthy and safe. WorkSafe ...

, replaced him as chief executive mid-February 2020. On 26 April 2019, chairman Michael Stiassny announced his resignation. On 11 June 2019, Brian Roche commenced his second term as chairman of Waka Kotahi; Roche had previously been the inaugural chairman from 2008. Kane Patena was appointed the first Director of Land Transport for the transport agency from 1 April 2021.

References

External links

*
NZTA's education portal

NZTA's Feet First programme
{{NZ crown entities/Crown agents New Zealand Crown agents 2008 establishments in New Zealand Transport authorities in New Zealand