Compulsory ID numbers for interacting with Government

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith have welcomed the introduction of legislation that will extend the New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) to all business entities.

The NZBN is part of the Government’s Better Public Services for business (Result 9) programme, which aims to simplify interaction with government. All key government agencies that work regularly with businesses will be required to recognise and use the NZBN by the end of 2017.

“The New Zealand Business Number is a unique identifier for each business to use in all their interactions with government agencies and each other,” Mr Joyce says.

“In December 2013, we allocated 1.1 million NZBNs to registered companies in a first step towards making it easier for businesses to work with government. The New Zealand Business Number Bill will extend the benefits of the NZBN to the other half of businesses that are not companies, such as sole traders, partnerships and trusts.
“Businesses will no longer have to keep updating their data with a myriad of different government databases, and the NZBN will enable all sorts of innovative time-saving administration solutions between businesses, their suppliers and government, giving them more time to grow their business.”
Extending the NZBN to businesses beyond companies means those businesses will also benefit from having to share their key information with government agencies only once, Mr Goldsmith says.
The Bill sets up a NZBN register where core business information will be held and where it will be publicly viewable and searchable.

“We are always looking at ways to make starting and running a business simpler,” Mr Goldsmith says. “The NZBN will free up valuable business time, allowing business owners to focus their effort on productivity, growth and exporting.”

For NZBN-related information go to:
http://www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/better-for-business/nzbn