NZAID

FAQs

About NZAID

The FAQs area has been designed to be a helpful resource for people who are looking for quick reference information on NZAID work and wider development issues.

FAQs on this page are about our corporate structure, our budget and how it compares to other countries, working at NZAID, how to contact individual people, and getting help with study projects.

What is NZAID?

NZAID is the New Zealand government's international aid and development agency. The agency is responsible for delivering New Zealand's Official Development Assistance (ODA) - the government's aid programme - and for advising the government on international development policy and issues.

Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti - "the paddles that bring growth from afar" - is the Māori name for NZAID. This evocative name reflects New Zealand's Pacific heritage and the partnership principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Reflecting the Government's commitment to be a good international citizen and neighbour, NZAID's focus is on eliminating poverty through development partnerships. Our geographic focus is the Pacific region where we have close historic and human links. We are also working in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and with a range of international organisations and non government organisations (NGOs).

NZAID is 100 percent Government funded.

How many people work for NZAID?

We have around 120 people working in our Wellington office and approximately 80 staff overseas at New Zealand's embassies and high commissions, mostly in key countries in the Pacific and Asia.

How can I get a job with NZAID?

You will find details of all current vacancies including job descriptions in the vacancies section. You can also keep an eye on the government jobs website and in the print media.

Due to the large number of enquiries we receive from people wishing to work at NZAID, unsolicited emails and/or CVs will not be acknowledged.

If you wish to find out more about development as a career choice, please visit the Development Resource Centre (Dev-Zone) website.

How do I contact someone at NZAID?

The email address format for staff at NZAID is firstname.lastname@nzaid.govt.nz

Our address is:

NZAID
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18-901
Wellington
New Zealand
Phone: +64 4 439 8200
Fax: +64 4 439 8515

General enquiries can be sent to enquiries@nzaid.govt.nz

You can also go to our contacts page for more information.

Where does New Zealand's assistance go?

New Zealand's aid is delivered through many channels, including bilateral aid programmes in Pacific and Asia and supporting the work of New Zealand and overseas NGOs and regional as well as international organisations.

Visit the Where do we work page for further information on particular countries NZAID works and supports.

Why should New Zealand give aid?

There are many reasons why New Zealand should give aid. These include strengthening ties with other countries, helping those in need, and being good global citizens.

Extreme or absolute poverty represents a denial of people's basic rights to food, water, shelter and education and health services. New Zealand has a moral obligation to help reduce such poverty.

Poverty also helps undermine the stability and security needed for the sustainable growth of the world economy, on which New Zealand's economy depends.

The fight against poverty is a global concern.

What is New Zealand's aid budget?

The total NZAID programme budget for 2007/2008 is $400.6 million. The amount spent on Pacific Island country programmes is $205.6 million. Global programmes, which include Asia, Latin America, Africa and emergency relief, have an allocated amount of $92.8 million. The remaining $102.2 million is spent on New Zealand voluntary agencies and international agencies such as the United Nations.

Visit the aid budget page to see the breakdown of how the funding is allocated.

How does New Zealand's aid budget compare to those of other countries?

New Zealand will contribute 0.3% of its Gross National Income (GNI) to support development in poor countries in 2008. With funding increases committed over the next three years, this will increase to 0.35 per cent by 2010/11.

New Zealand is one of 30 countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 22 are members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Within the OECD, the average country ODA effort is currently 0.46% of GNI. In 2006 New Zealand ranked 17th out of the 22 OECD DAC countries (provisional figures).

New Zealand ranks 5th out of 21 countries in the latest Commitment to Development Index. The index is a report published annually by the Center for Global Development and takes into account the wide areas of policy which can affect developing countries including aid, trade, investment, security, environment and technology sharing contributions. You can read more about New Zealand's Commitment to Development Index results online or download a pdf at the Center for Global Development web site.

Why don't we give 0.7 percent of our Gross National Income (GNI) like Bob Geldof and Bono want us to?

Celebrity campaigners like Bob Geldof and Bono have given prominence to the amount of aid each country gives.

In September 2000 a United Nations summit of 189 countries, including New Zealand, discussed ways to reduce poverty by 2015, and identified eight goals which became known as the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Declaration reconfirmed an earlier UN agreement that wealthy countries should aim to be giving 0.7 percent of their Gross National Income (GNI) in aid and set a target of achieving this by 2015.

As a signatory to the declaration New Zealand has agreed, as resources permit, to try to meet this target.

In 2008 NZAID's share of the GNI will be 0.30 per cent and with further funding increases committed over the next three years this will increase to 0.35 per cent by 2010/11. On current figures, that will see the aid budget reach $601 million.

I'm doing a school project. Can NZAID help with my research?

You should be able to find answers to most questions about New Zealand's overseas aid programme here on the NZAID web site.

A good place to start is the NZAID factsheet and check out "Where do we work?" for information on a particular country or region.

The Global Education Centre provides training and resources to teachers, community groups and people researching development. It has a lending library, a quarterly magazine, school resource kits and other training material.

Dev-Zone and the Global Education Centre are both part of the Development Resource Centre (DRC) which is an independent New Zealand based resource centre on international development and global issues.

Page Last Reviewed: 22 August, 2006

Document URL: http://www.nzaid.govt.nz/faqs/about-nzaid.html