GPO kōrero – August 2026
Your August 2026 update on government office property news, events and developments.
In this issue, we provide an update on the Government Office Strategy and progress towards a new mandate for the government office portfolio. We also share insights from our regional portfolio planning work, invite agencies to help shape future co-location guidance, and provide updates on portfolio data, as well as recent and upcoming events.
Cabinet paper - Seeking a new mandate for the government office portfolio
In early 2026, we consulted with you on a draft Cabinet Paper seeking approval for a new mandate and the development of Government Office Rules. This paper ultimately did not make it onto the Cabinet committee agenda at that time because other papers were prioritised.
In April 2026, Hon Paul Goldsmith became the Minister for the Public Service and Digitising Government. In June, the Minister agreed that GPO should continue pursuing the direction set out in early 2026. We circulated a revised draft of the Cabinet Paper to you on 9 July and 16 July for your comment.
Following the Minister’s feedback, we made final changes to the paper. However, the final Cabinet Paper still seeks the same decisions from Cabinet around a new mandate, Government Office Rules, and strengthened reporting.
The Cabinet Paper has now undergone Ministerial consultation. The paper is expected to be considered by Cabinet in mid-August or early September, though we recognise the Government has a busy agenda as we enter the pre-election period. We will keep you updated on progress.
Government office strategy – update
The Government Office Strategy is in the final stages of approval. Informed by feedback from the Property System Leadership Group and Government Property Governance Board, the Strategy sets the long-term direction for a more resilient, efficient, coordinated, and collaborative government office portfolio. To support these objectives, the draft Strategy proposes targets of:
Space targets
- 8-12 m² per person across the portfolio
- 8-10 m² per person in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs
Workstation sharing targets
- 6-7 workstations per 10 employees across the portfolio
- 6 workstations per 10 employees in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs
These targets reflect flexible working practices, the shift towards activity-based working, and the efficient use of public resources. Agencies may continue to provide dedicated workstations where there is a clear operational, security, accessibility, health and safety, or business need.
Subject to final approval, agencies would be expected to work towards them over time through natural intervention points such as lease renewals, lease expiries, refurbishments, and other property initiatives.
We will provide a further update once the Strategy is approved.
Government Office Strategy summary:
Help shape future co-location guidance
Co-located workplaces are becoming an increasingly important part of the government office portfolio. To support agencies operating in shared workplaces, GPO is exploring the development of practical guidance, tools, templates and resources to help agencies establish and manage co-located workplaces more effectively.
We are seeking input from agencies with experience in co-location to better understand what is working well, where the key challenges lie, and what support would add the greatest value.
If your agency is a lead tenant or occupant in a co-located workplace and would like to participate in a series of workshops to help shape this work, get in contact by emailing us.
Government office portfolio insights – Publishing your data
We are continuing to improve the information and insights available about the government office portfolio. As part of this work, we are developing a suite of reporting and insights products to help agencies better understand portfolio performance, trends and opportunities. We also intend to publish a dynamic report on the GPO website that will provide portfolio-level information and insights. A static version of the report is available below:
April 2026 - Portfolio overview
Before the report is published, we encourage agencies to review their information and update any data that may be incomplete or out of date. Accurate data helps ensure the insights presented are reliable and supports informed decision-making across the portfolio.
The information published will be available to agencies and the public.
To update your information, you can:
- Log into the Property Portal and update your data directly.
- Email GPO and we can update your data for you.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the data being released, get in contact by emailing us.
Regional portfolio planning update
Over recent months, GPO has been developing regional portfolio plans to better understand future accommodation needs across the government office portfolio. This work is focused on understanding agency accommodation intentions over the next 10 years and identifying opportunities to align these, where appropriate, with the Government Office Strategy.
As part of this programme, we are visiting locations across most regions to build a deeper understanding of local portfolios, market conditions, and how office accommodation is supporting agencies. We also recently hosted a series of online regional agency kōrero and would like to thank agencies for their strong participation and valuable insights. The feedback received has helped inform our regional planning assumptions and analysis.
Throughout August, our team will be connecting with agencies to discuss emerging regional portfolio plans. These conversations will help validate our understanding of agency intentions and explore ways to deliver better outcomes across the portfolio. In some cases, this may involve discussing alternative approaches where analysis suggests there may be benefits in aligning accommodation decisions across agencies, improving portfolio efficiency, or advancing broader government property objectives.
The regional portfolio plans are intended to identify areas for further investigation rather than commit agencies to specific property outcomes. Where a potential accommodation initiative is identified, the first step will be a feasibility assessment undertaken in partnership with the relevant agency or agencies. This will ensure operational requirements, costs, risks, benefits, and wider all-of-government outcomes are fully considered before any decisions are made.
We appreciate agencies' ongoing collaboration and look forward to continuing these conversations as we work together to develop regional plans that support agency needs while delivering broader government property outcomes for New Zealanders.
Vacant space
The following office space has been identified by agencies as available for use by other government organisations.
Making use of existing government accommodation can reduce costs, improve space utilisation, and support greater collaboration across agencies.
If you are interested in exploring any of these opportunities, contact your Senior Portfolio Manager at GPO.
GPO website refresh – What’s different?
GPO has a new web address: www.gpo.govt.nz.
We have also refreshed, reorganised, and streamlined the site to make it easier to find information, tools, and resources.
As part of this refresh, some page URLs have changed. If you have bookmarked pages from the previous website, you may need to update your saved links. Some commonly accessed pages are listed below:
If you are having trouble finding something, or have ideas for further improvements, get in contact by emailing us.
Te Iho conference facilities
The Te Iho Conference Facilities are located on Level 1 of the Te Iho building at 1 Bowen Street, Wellington.
The conference suite provides a range of modern meeting and conferencing spaces suitable for government events, workshops, meetings, and collaborative sessions.
For enquiries, availability, and the latest booking information, email the conferencing team.
The Workplace Network (TWN) Conference
Last week, the GPO hosted the 2026 The Workplace Network (TWN) Conference, bringing together government property leaders from New Zealand, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea, Canada and the United States to discuss the future of government office portfolios.
Discussions focused on common challenges and opportunities facing public sector property portfolios, including shared workplaces and co-location models, funding and delivery approaches, and the growing role of data, digital tools and AI in supporting better property decision-making.
We look forward to sharing key insights and lessons from the conference at the next Agency Connect session.
Further details are provided below.
Agency Connect – Save the date: Tuesday, 6 October
We are pleased to invite agencies to the next Agency Connect session.
This is a chance to hear the latest updates on the Government Office Strategy and related initiatives, share perspectives on what these developments mean in practice, and hear key insights from the TWN Conference.
We will also discuss opportunities to work together across the government office portfolio.
Join us at Te Iho from 9.30am for morning tea and an opportunity to connect with colleagues from across government. The presentations and discussion will run from 10.00am to midday.
We encourage attendees to join us in person where possible, but online attendance will also be available.
Further details, including the agenda and registration information, will be shared soon.
Ngā mihi
Vaughan Crouch
Head of Engagement and Portfolio Planning