Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE; Māori: Hīkina Whakatutuki) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation to support business growth".
History
Formed on 1 July 2012, MBIE is a merger of the Department of Building and Housing (DBH), the Department of Labour (DoL), the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MSI).
The Ministry was responsible for the Pike River Recovery Agency from 31 January 2018 to 1 July 2022.
In October 2018, the newly created Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assumed several of MBIE's housing policy, funding and regulatory functions including the KiwiBuild programme, the Community Housing Regulatory Authority, and administration of funding for the HomeStart, Welcome Home Loans, the legacy Social Housing Fund and Community Group Housing programmes.
On 14 July 2020, the Ministry assumed responsibility for running the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) programme. The last four MIQ facilities closed in June 2022.
In October 2023, RNZ reported that MBIE had a secret intelligence unit focusing on immigration, intelligence and operational matters. It drew criticism from the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand for using tools from Israeli surveillance firm Cobwebs Technologies to scour the social media accounts of prospective immigrants. In April 2024, the Ministry chose not to renew its contract with Cobwebs for undisclosed reasons.
By April 2024, MBIE had laid off 286 employees as part of Government cost cutting measures in the public sector. 111 resigned in the first wave of voluntary redundancies while 175 full-time roles were disestablished between December 2023 and March 2024.
In mid-February 2025, the Crown Research Institute Callaghan Innovation announced that its funding and grant services and the Health Tech Activator would be transferred to MBIE. The New Zealand Government had earlier in January 2025 announced plans to dissolve Callaghan Innovation and replace the various Crown Research Institutes with four new Public Research Organisations by 1 July 2025.
Structure
Senior Leadership
- Chief Executive and Secretary (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) Deputy Secretary – Labour, Science and Enterprise Deputy Secretary – Corporate and Digital Shared Services Deputy Secretary – Immigration Deputy Secretary – Regional Development and Commercial Services Deputy Secretary – Strategy and Assurance Deputy Secretary – Building, Resources and Markets Deputy Secretary – Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery Chief Advisor to the Secretary
Operational functions
The Ministry manages a number of operational services, including:
- Building Practitioners Board
- Building Systems Performance
- Business.govt.nz
- Companies Office, which also manages registers for: motor-vehicle traders financial-service providers societies and trusts personal-property securities
- Consumer Protection (formerly the Ministry of Consumer Affairs)
- Electrical Workers Registration Board
- Government procurement
- Immigration Advisers Authority
- Immigration New Zealand
- Insolvency and Trustee Service
- Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
- Major events
- Māori Economic Development, including partnership with the independent Māori Economic Development Panel and partnering in He kai kei aku ringa (HKKAR – providing the food you need with your own hands) – the Māori Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan
- "MI": a secret intelligence unit focusing on immigration, intelligence and operational matters.
- Motor Vehicle Traders Register
- New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals
- Natural Hazards Research Platform (NHRP)
- New Zealand Cycle Trail
- New Zealand Space Agency
- Personal Property Securities Register
- Provincial Growth Fund
- Radio Spectrum Management
- Registrar of Unions
- Resolution Services
- Standards New Zealand
- State Housing Appeals Authority
- Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF)
- Tenancy Services
- Trading Services
- Vision Mātauranga (indigenous knowledge policy)
- Weathertight Services
Monitoring functions
The ministry is the monitor of the following Crown entities, Crown research institutes, statutory boards and non-listed companies.
| Name | Entity type |
|---|---|
| Accident Compensation Corporation | Crown entity |
| Accreditation Council | Crown entity |
| AgResearch Limited | Crown research institute |
| Building Practitioners Board | Statutory body |
| Callaghan Innovation | Crown entity |
| Chartered Professional Engineers Council | Statutory body |
| Commerce Commission | Independent Crown entity |
| Crown Infrastructure Partners Limited | Public Finance Act 1989 Schedule 4A non-listed company |
| Education New Zealand | Crown entity |
| Electrical Workers Registration Board | Statutory body |
| Electricity Authority | Independent Crown entity |
| Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority | Crown entity |
| Engineering Associates Registration Board | Statutory body |
| Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited | Crown research institute |
| External Reporting Board | Independent Crown entity |
| Financial Markets Authority | Crown entity |
| Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science Limited (GNS Science) | Crown research institute |
| Landcare Research New Zealand Limited (Manaaki Whenua) | Crown research institute |
| National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Limited (NIWA) | Crown research institute |
| New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited | Crown research institute |
| New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited (Scion) | Crown research institute |
| New Zealand Registered Architects Board | Statutory body |
| New Zealand Tourism Board | Crown entity |
| New Zealand Trade and Enterprise | Crown entity |
| New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (formerly New Zealand Venture Investment Fund) | Crown entity company |
| Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board | Statutory body |
| REANNZ (Research & Education Advanced Network NZ Ltd) | Crown entity |
| Takeovers Panel | Independent Crown entity |
| Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission | Crown entity |
| Tertiary Education Commission | Crown entity |
| WorkSafe New Zealand | Crown entity |
Ministers
The Ministry serves 21 portfolios, 17 ministers and 2 parliamentary under-secretaries.