What documents show about Immigration NZ's botched $35m project
Immigration New Zealand is under investigation following the collapse of a $35 million IT project that was plagued by mismanagement and withheld information. Officials reportedly ignored ministerial directives and proceeded with funding for a project that had been effectively abandoned.
Why it matters
This case exposes significant governance failures and lack of transparency within a government department, leading to substantial taxpayer loss.
Senior Immigration New Zealand officials repeatedly ignored requests from the minister's office and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/06/16/seven-years-33m-no-results-failed-govt-it-project-misled-minister/">progressed work on a project</a> the minister hadn't agreed to extra funding for, according to new documents released to RNZ. <b>By Jo Moir of </b><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/763211/from-achievable-to-unlikely-in-nine-days-immigration-nz-s-botched-35m-project" target="_blank"><b>RNZ</b></a> The hundreds of pages of correspondence paint a picture of the processes the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), which the Immigration department sits within, used to pursue a now abandoned IT upgrade. Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche has appointed Michael Heron KC to investigate "integrity concerns" after Immigration Minister Erica Stanford revealed last month her officials "deliberately witheld" information from both her and the previous government. That and accusations of "creative accounting" were laid out in a damning review into the department's handling of the project.
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