By Derek Gill and Anne French
TINZ Directors
Transparency International New Zealand is revising its approach for ongoing revisions to the National Integrity System Assessment (NISA)
The traditional NISA is structural in approach; equating institutions to “pillars'' that support a nation's integrity structure. TINZ’s Integrity Plus 2013 New Zealand National Integrity System Assessment using this methodology is 372 pages long. Its production spanned two years involving over 500 person-days of mostly volunteer time and expert knowledge.
The TINZ is moving away from a full National Integrity System Assessment (NISA) providing a pillar-by-pillar assessment to a more focused approach on priority interventions for change. This will not be a full format NISA as such but more a National Integrity System (NIS) action plan.
The first stage in this process is the release of a Gap Analysis which pulls together into an integrated document existing TINZ material including the 2013 NIS, the 2018 NIS update, the research paper commissioned from Simon Chapple in 2024 and our submission to UNCAC in 2025.
The next stage of the process is to engage\ with experts on the integrity systems in a synthesis process during 2026 to develop an expert consensus on the longer-term priorities with the aim of ‘influencing the influencers’.
This will be a Delphi type process using electronic decision support software to encourage maximum possible engagement. We are grateful for the support of 1000minds who is partnering with us to provide the decision support software that will be used to engage participants.
TINZ members who are interested in finding out more about this project and/or are willing to assist in testing the beta version of the decision-support software please email admin@transparency.org.nz
In tandem with its NIS refresh, New Zealand will be taking part in the Transparency International I Pacific Corruption Barometer. New Zealand was last included in a barometer in 2013.
We plan on releasing the National Integrity System (NIS) action plan in mid-2027 in tandem with the results from the TI Corruption Barometer, These will highlight the priority areas for action under each of the pillars and functions in the table below.
| Functions | Description | NIS Traditional Pillars |
|---|
| Financial accountability | The public financial management system architecture and the arrangements for the government’s management of its overall fiscal position, including the principles of responsible fiscal management, requirements for budget and spending transparency, and audit requirements. | Supreme Audit Institution |
| Effective public administration and use of resources | Public services support constitutional and democratic government delivering high-quality, equitable and efficient public services in the long-term public interest. | Officers of Parliament |
| Public sector ethical standards | Public servants uphold principles of political neutrality, free and frank advice, merit-based appointments, and open government and stewardship. | Public Sector |
| Ethical standards of elected representatives | Elected representatives achieve high levels of integrity, within a clear framework that includes rules against and sanction against unethical behaviour. | Political Executive |
| Legislative ethics & integrity. | The arrangements that ensure legislation that is fit for purpose, constitutionally sound, and accessible to all users (may include visibility, speed of process, emergency response, regulatory review, select committee procedures, standing orders, house business). | Legislature |
| Election Integrity | New Zealand has an electoral system that voters can trust. There are checks and balances that ensure parliamentary and local government elections are fair and the results are accurate. | Electoral management |
| Political party funding and campaign finance | The funding arrangements that are effective in enabling political parties and candidates to be transparent, equitable and accountable in supporting democratic processes. Funding includes all monetary and in-kind contributions and expenditures collected and incurred by candidates, their political parties or their supporters for both election purposes and to carry out the functions of parties. | Political Parties |
| Corruption prevention & investigation/exposure | The public sector proactively responds to, and reduces the risks of, fraudulent and corrupt practices and behaviours becoming embedded in New Zealand. Financial crime is investigated and prosecuted. Victims of corruption are able to seek compensation; NZ law prohibits the facilitation of corrupt practices in related overseas dealings; NZ regulates companies, trusts and other entities to detect and prevent the use of these structures as mechanisms to avoid tax and hide corrupt gains. | Law Enforcement & Anti-Corruption Agencies |
| Rule of law and Judicial Oversight | Power exercised by the Government is based on legal authority. Judicial review is effective in making sure that government bodies and officials act within the law and not arbitrarily. | Law Enforcement & Anti-corruption |
| Public information rights | Official information regimes that enable participation in the democratic processes; promote trust and allow government to be held to account; and enable use of ethical and appropriate analysis and use of public information by those outside government. | Ombudsman |
| Complaint & whistleblowing processes | Processes are in place that enable and support people to raise concerns about unethical behaviour in the public and private sector. And that there are accountability processes that are sufficiently robust to give confidence to those who speak up, and to the general public | Ombudsman |
| Independent journalism | There is sufficient media access, media diversity and media independence that enables scrutiny, analysis and critique. | Media |
| Civil society organisation | Civil society organisations (CSOs) provide awareness-raising and prevention campaigns, and participate in the formation and monitoring of the implementation of anti-corruption strategies and legislation. CSOs are especially engaged in empowering citizens and exerting pressure on governments to address their international commitments. | Civil Society |
| Businesses publicly support anti-corruption laws and speak out against corrupt practices. | They develop and implement ethical frameworks, maintain high-levels of ethical corporate governance; apply ethical measures to supply chains to prevent exploitative practices. Business associations lead on collective action to improve transparency and accountability. | Business |
| Treaty implementation | Country profile & across each NIS traditional pillar | All |
| Management/use of resources | | Not included |
