The key risks LINZ faces

As LINZ repositions our strategic direction, the way we identify and manage risk will require careful attention. We already proactively manage the risks associated with our e-focused interventions, industry self-compliance and decision-making processes. As we continue to undergo more change and develop new and more innovative ways of achieving our outcomes, the level and complexity of risk associated with that change needs to be identified and managed.

Below are the key risks LINZ needs to carefully manage, along with the relevant mitigating strategies. By analysing risk we can better understand what is within our control, what is outside that control, and how we can manage those complexities to drive the type of interventions that will best achieve our outcomes.

As we move forward, LINZ will need to ensure we can anticipate and understand the impact of any emerging risks.

Land market leadership

To have a clear understanding of emerging issues and ensure that relevant indicators are identified and monitored, our key risk is the availability of robust and accurate information on trends. Similarly, the availability of robust and accurate information on industry holds an inherent risk for our understanding of the strategic context for developing policy and identifying weak signals before they become an issue.

In determining LINZ's role within government outcomes, and in developing a clear articulation of the environmental impacts on land information markets, we need to provide robust policy advice that will provide confidence to ministers that agency contributions are aligned across government.

These and other risks related to 'land market leadership' outputs are managed through:

• providing regular briefings to the Minister for Land Information on key aspects of policy advice
• taking a leadership role in initiating policy discussions with other agencies, and
• collaboration with other agencies that contribute to our outcomes.

Optimal regulation

The level of industry co-operation required to move to the 'optimal' level of regulation may require a dramatic shift away from the current paradigms in which each industry operates. For instance, our aim to move industries from prescriptive to outcome-focused standards can be expected to result in professions having to take greater ownership of technical development.

These and other risks related to our regulatory outputs are managed through:

• ongoing review (including consultation) of standards and rules to ensure an optimal level of intervention
• regular audits to ensure compliance with standards through a regulatory quality assurance function, and
• collaboratively establishing a strategic context with each industry group as the basis for transitioning from the current state to a desired future state, demonstrating a clear case for change.

e-delivery excellence

In an environment of 100% electronic lodgement, our survey and conveyancing customers are dependent on the stability and performance of Landonline. This issue is being constantly monitored. LINZ has a programme in place to support 100% electronic lodgement and manage system stability.

LINZ's current review of the appropriateness of our IT architecture for the future will provide an additional mitigation against the risks inherent with system dependency.

The maintenance of technical capability in an environment of electronic delivery and self-regulation is a key risk for LINZ. We are developing a strategy that will include options such as targeted recruitment and industry secondments.

Associated with e-delivery is a risk of a loss of knowledge about LINZ core paper records, combined with the requirement to move records due to the closure of LINZ offices. The implementation of our strategy for these core paper records aims to ensure continued and improved access, safe and efficient storage, and the preservation of records.

These and other risks related to our e-delivery outputs are managed through:

• external review and reporting of progress to the Chief Executive on the 100% e-lodgement initiative
• ongoing relationship management and consultation with stakeholders to proactively identify and manage customer needs
• standardised, risk-based validation procedures to ensure data complies with standards
• management of all new initiatives as projects within robust project management frameworks that identify and report on risks through appropriate governance mechanisms
• regular audit and review of progress against milestones in project plans, and
• encouraging industry capability to ensure smooth transition to an electronic delivery environment.

Expert decision-making

LINZ's ability to meet Government's expectations, and work collaboratively across government, requires willing co-operation from other agencies. We will continue to work with other agencies to translate policy into operational terms, manage ongoing relationships, and work to influence positive outcomes.

To provide relevant information in a timely and constructive manner for making decisions that balance competing outcomes, the Overseas Investment Office requires willing stakeholder co-operation. Our processes mitigate the possibility of not receiving this co-operation by:

• identifying the single point of contact within each agency
• clarifying expectations of each agency's roles, and
• agreeing on protocols with each agency and monitoring adherence to them.

The quality of decision-making for tenure review is managed through a joint LINZ and Department of Conservation Tenure Review Quality Assurance Board.

Finally, our statutory decision-making relies on expert judgement, which in turn relies on our ability to provide assurance that the decisions made are clear and transparent, underpinned by sound, documented processes and reasoning, and provide a collective crossagency view. We have developed a compliance role to ensure we have the relevant expertise for evaluating the quality of decisions made across all statutory areas of decision-making.

Co-ordinated all-of-government approach³

The most significant risk to LINZ acting as a hub agency is developing the appropriate capabilities for working across agencies, which requires strong relationship management and strategic thinking. These capabilities will add to LINZ's credibility.

Co-production between private and public sectors to deliver public value⁴

The key risks to co-production are:

• the need to understand the needs of our key industry sectors in the long term and the players within those sectors, and
• the inability of co-producers to provide all the capabilities complementary to LINZ's that are required for growth.

To mitigate these risks, LINZ plans to consult and collaborate with third parties who have knowledge of, and relationships with, markets of interest.

The environment that LINZ operates in helps to shape and inform our future direction-setting and the decisions we make. To understand the issues and challenges the environment poses, LINZ undertakes regular environmental scans. This enables us to be more responsive to changing circumstances that the future will present to New Zealand.