Introduction
In 2005 a set of key official statistics were identified as performance measures of New Zealand. These statistics, known as Tier 1 statistics, are important in their own right, and need to be produced, analysed and released to high statistical standards.
The work of agencies that produce official statistics is guided by the Statistics Act 1975, as well as by other legislation. This includes the Privacy Act 1993, the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records Act 2005. The United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics is another key source of guidance.
This statement of the key principles and protocols embodies the key aspects of the Statistics Act and United Nations principles and the high-level standards. They apply to all Tier 1 statistics. Other statistics have a role in the Official Statistics System and the application of the principles to all official statistics is encouraged.
The development of these principles and protocols has been coordinated by Statistics New Zealand in consultation with Tier 1 producing agencies.
Principles and Protocols for Producers of Tier 1 statistics (PDF, 778KB)
About official statistics
Official statistics are all statistics produced by government departments. They are the cornerstones of good government, and support public confidence in good government. They provide a window to the work and performance of government by showing the scale of activity in areas of public policy, and by allowing citizens to assess the impact of public policies and actions. It is a government responsibility to provide such statistics and to maintain their long-term sustainability.
Official statistics can be collected through surveys or compiled from administrative records collected by government agencies in their daily work. The majority of official statistics are produced by Statistics NZ although many other government agencies produce information that is also highly valued.
Official statistics are defined in section 2 of the Statistics Act 1975. They are statistics derived by government departments from:
- statistical surveys
- administrative and registration records and other forms and papers that are published regularly, or planned to be published regularly, or could be published regularly.
Statistical survey is defined in the Statistics Act as: “a survey of undertakings, or of the public of New Zealand, whereby information is collected from all persons in a field of inquiry or from a sample, by a Government Department with the authority of this Act or any other Act, for the purpose of processing and summarising by appropriate statistical procedures and publishing the results of the survey in some statistical form”.
Administrative records are generally for operational purposes and not primarily for statistical reasons. However, when administrative data records are transformed into aggregate statistics, the principles and protocols apply in the production of those statistics.
Tier 1 statistics
The Review of the Official Statistics System recommended the identification of a set of key official statistics that are performance measures of New Zealand, to be known as Tier 1 statistics.
Tier 1 statistics:
- are essential to central government decision making
- are of high public interest
- need to meet public expectations of impartiality and high statistical quality
- require long-term continuity of data
- provide international comparability in a global environment or meet international statistical obligations
- align with the Tier 1 statistics principles and protocols.