The following Cabinet paper, briefings and minutes of decision outline key decisions regarding the approach to modernising the census, and concern Cabinet's endorsement of the in-principle decision of the Government Statistician on the future of the census.
The following papers have been approved for proactive release by the Minister of Statistics, Hon Dr Shane Reti:
- Cabinet Economic Policy Committee Minute of Decision: Modernising and Transforming the 2028 Census: Public Consultation document (ECO-24-MIN-0060), 1 May 2024
- MM2826: Approach to future census and next steps, 25 October 2024
- MM2863: Next Census - Cabinet and Legislative approach, 29 January 2025
- Cabinet paper: Modernising the census by taking an administrative data-first approach
- Regulatory Impact Statement: Modernising the census
- Cabinet Expenditure and Regulatory Review Committee Minute of Decision: Modernising the Census by Taking an Administrative Data-first Approach: Approval of Policy Decisions (EXP-25-MIN-0048), 6 May 2025
- Cabinet Minute of Decision: Report of the Cabinet Expenditure and Regulatory Review Committee: Period ended 9 May 2025 (CAB-25-MIN-0157), 12 May 2025
Please note that some content has been withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Official Information Act 1982. Content out of scope has also been redacted.
Additional decision-making documents
You can find a range of papers, reports and other outputs related to Stats NZ's work to modernise the census, and which guided the Government Statistician's in-principle decision, available on our website [LINK].
This includes:
- Government Statistician decision paper: Approach to the manner of taking the next census
- Future Census Independent Evaluation Panel report: Evaluation of New Zealand's Future Census Options for 2028 and Beyond
- Stats NZ response to the Independent Evaluation Panel's report
- Public consultation and engagement summaries
- Research papers and other outputs produced as part of Stats NZ's census transformation research programme
