Strategic Direction

Sectoral Context

New Zealand’s economic prosperity, safety, and security rely on the collective efforts of government, industry, and New Zealanders. Customs is one of several agencies contributing to these broader goals, and does so by working within two government sectors – the external sector and the border sector.

Customs is placed within the external sector with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Ministry of Defence, and the New Zealand Defence Force to both advance and protect New Zealand’s security and prosperity interests - while ensuring New Zealand’s voice is heard abroad.

Customs works closely with MFAT to advance New Zealand’s trade agreements, and works with the defence forces to protect New Zealand from major external threats, particularly in the maritime domain. Some of this work contributes to New Zealand’s interests in the Pacific region more broadly – including capacity building support to Pacific nations – by working with NZAID within MFAT, and other organisations such as the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Oceania Customs Organisation, and the World Customs Organisation. Customs has staff in five locations overseas to ensure New Zealand continues to have a voice, particularly on border security, trade, and customs affairs.⁴

Customs, along with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Labour, Ministry of Transport, Food Safety Authority, and the Department of Internal Affairs compose New Zealand’s border sector. Border sector agencies share a vision, outcomes, and priorities for the next three years. The border sector outcomes are Protection, Facilitation and Partnerships and Responsibility. These outcomes are sought to improve our service delivery at the border, provide more efficient and effective border management through better risk management, and more integrated processes and systems.

The Partnerships and Responsibility outcome recognises that managing the border effectively requires border agencies to work more collaboratively. This outcome also involves working more closely with industry in order to meet the trade objectives of industry and the Government.

Customs is responsible for major elements of New Zealand’s border infrastructure that are relied on by many other agencies to meet their objectives at the border. This includes CusMod – the main border management system. Customs’ presence, and the infrastructure support, and capability provided by Customs at the border, means we are a significant contributor to the border sector and New Zealand’s border management.

Customs outcomes
Customs priorities

⁴ Customs is located overseas in Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels, Canberra, and Washington D.C.