Authoritative Land Information: Current Situation & Key Issues

New Zealand enjoys world-class status for digital management of land information relating to property rights (cadastral and title information) as well as other land and seabed information. These systems are yet to fully mature and the users of these services are starting to appreciate the real potential for the application and accessibility of this digital information to support a wide range of activities.

This maturing process includes improving our understanding of how our land and seabed information is being processed and applied, and how effective the application is. Significant progress has already been made in developing effective relationships with key information users in the primary area of impact (see outcome area diagram, page 14). However, within the secondary impact area it is not clear whether information is being processed or applied within the intended purpose, thereby enabling the desired outcomes in the best way.

Land and seabed information requires ongoing quality improvement to meet ever-increasing user expectations of accuracy, timeliness and integration allowed by advances in technology. An example is demonstrated with the current proliferation of the varied global positioning systems (GPS) into many aspects of everyday life. This development over the last decade has raised expectations about the certainty of locations. As these expectations are met, further potential is developed. Each advance offers potential economic, social or environmental benefit that must be balanced against the cost to ensure the information is fit for purpose and not just‘nice to have’.

General expectations are that LINZ land and seabed information should evolve in line with contemporary information-age developments. This may mean faster delivery, 24/7 access, close to real-time currency, completeness, and a format that enables core information to be easily used and integrated. Current LINZ systems and processes have been improved over recent years but will need to be enhanced to meet future expectations. When upgrading large and complex information technology systems, the implementation lags behind the commercial availability of that technology. While this is a reality of necessary procurement, test and implementation processes, this lag can cause frustrations for customers with expectations of far quicker changes. However, it remains critical that our systems continue to meet their primary purpose through careful risk management.