In March 2023, the Informatics for Social Services and Wellbeing Programme, Te Rourou Tātaritanga, and the Social Wellbeing Agency hosted a two-day symposium in Wellington on New Zealand’s data assets. Recognising the world-leading status of New Zealand’s public data, the symposium brought together national and international data providers, users, experts, and authorities to discuss how the value of the data system can be fully realised and built upon. The symposium was opened by the Minister for Statistics Hon Deborah Russell.

Te Rourou Tātaritanga with Victoria University of Wellington, the University of Auckland, and the Social Wellbeing Agency organised a workshop on Data Ethics, Privacy, and Governance. The online workshop was held on 4 April with participants from government agencies, industry, and academia. These themes will inform a symposium planned for early 2023. Key themes that emerged: Issues were discussed in relation to the current system including wide variability in how and when data ethics are considered in relation to collection, use, and sharing of population data; across a range of users (e.