Cabinet has agreed in principle to three shifts in public performance reporting sought by the Finance and Expenditure Committee, while parking detailed design and costings until 2027.
The Cabinet Expenditure and Regulatory Review Committee on 4 August 2026 approved the Government response to the Finance and Expenditure Committee's inquiry into performance reporting and public accountability.
Cabinet Minute EXP-26-MIN-0029 invited Finance Minister Hon Nicola Willis to present the response to the House under Standing Order 256. She did so on 18 August 2026. The Treasury released the supporting Cabinet paper, minute and aide memoire on 18 September 2026.
Cabinet Paper EXP-26-SUB-0029, dated 4 August 2026, records in-principle agreement to FEC's three “key shifts” and full agreement to its implementation recommendations.
The three shifts aim to clarify whole-of-government priorities and progress; focus reporting on areas of public interest such as health and education; and make entity-level reporting show what public money achieves.
FEC presented its final report on 22 May 2026. Standing Order 256 required a Government response within 60 working days. The 18 August tabling met that deadline.
Source: Treasury Cabinet Paper EXP-26-SUB-0029; Cabinet Minute EXP-26-MIN-0029.
Why FEC pressed for change
FEC, chaired by Cameron Brewer, opened the inquiry on 12 February 2025 after the Review of Standing Orders 2023 flagged weak Executive accountability information. The committee adopted terms of reference on 5 March 2025 and ran the inquiry itself rather than seeking an ad hoc panel.
Cabinet Paper EXP-26-SUB-0029 states FEC's final report highlighted dense, fragmented performance information that is hard to understand and does not focus on what matters most. That diagnosis tracks long-standing Auditor-General concerns that the Public Finance Act 1989 and Crown Entities Act 2004 system reports poorly at whole-of-government level.
Category-one recommendations cover the three shifts. Category-two recommendations cover careful phasing, ongoing engagement with FEC, and whether to pick up extra proposals.
In-principle, not locked in
Minister Willis recommended in-principle agreement to the three shifts. The Cabinet paper says that approach mitigates the risk of committing to proposals that fail to deliver change or prove too costly. It keeps flexibility on design, scale and pace.
The ultimate goal is to recommend improvements to how the government of the day shows what has been achieved with taxpayers' money, further enhancing its accountability to Parliament and the public.
Cabinet agreed in full to category-two implementation points. The response includes a high-level roadmap. It balances time to build system capability, engage Parliament and amend legislation against nearer-term steps such as more accessible priority reporting and trials in a small number of areas.
The Treasury will bring implementation options to Cabinet in 2027. Immediate design work sits inside Treasury baselines. Fiscal and agency resourcing effects will be costed when options return.
Parallel tracks and statute path
The Cabinet paper notes work already under way: nine publicly reported Government Targets with DPMC Delivery Unit quarterly factsheets, and Treasury-led Performance Plans. Further work must sequence with the Public Service Transformation programme, Māori Affairs Select Committee accountability reports, and the Government response to Te Waihanga's National Infrastructure Plan 2026.
That infrastructure response already supports legislating asset-management performance reporting through the same Public Finance Act and Crown Entities Act track, with policy work through 2026 and legislation in 2027.
Cabinet Paper EXP-26-SUB-0029 states the present paper has no direct legislative implications. Full implementation would still require legislative change, including to the Public Finance Act 1989 and the Crown Entities Act 2004.
Implementing the three shifts would create new reporting duties and extra parliamentary support across agencies. The paper flags considerable investment in information systems, infrastructure and capability if reform proceeds at scale.
EXP on 4 August 2026 was chaired by Hon David Seymour. Ministers present included Hon Nicola Willis, Rt Hon Winston Peters, Hon Chris Bishop, Hon Simeon Brown and others, according to Cabinet Minute EXP-26-MIN-0029.
Fiscal and taxpayer angle
Clearer reporting on priorities and results is meant to support value-for-money scrutiny of multi-billion-dollar Votes in health, education, social development and infrastructure. Select committees, the Auditor-General and the public use that information in the annual financial cycle.
The Government's own framing ties the response to efficient public services and tighter operating baselines under the public-service overhaul announced in May 2026. In-principle endorsement without a 2027 costed package leaves open the risk of another reporting layer without proven productivity gains.
Households and firms do not gain from denser jargon. They gain if agencies show, in plain terms, what tax dollars buy and what fails.
Watch the 2027 Cabinet paper for costings, phasing and the legislative vehicle. Short-term trials and any tighter link between Government Targets, Performance Plans and whole-of-government reporting will show whether the three shifts become operational accountability or remain high-level aspiration.
