Department of Internal Affairs

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The Department of Internal Affairs is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, deaths, marriages and civil unions; supplying support services to Ministers of the Crown; and advising the government on a range of relevant policies and issues, part of a number of functions performed by Internal Affairs.Other services provided by the Department include a translation service, publication of the New Zealand Gazette, a flag hire service, management of VIP visits to New Zealand, running the Lake Taupo harbourmaster's office and the administration of offshore islands.During the late 1990s both the National Library of New Zealand and Archives New Zealand were separated from the Department along with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. On 25 March 2010, the former Minister of State Services Tony Ryall announced that the Library and Archives would be merged into the Department. Library and Archives stakeholders expressed serious concerns about the changes proposed. On 1 February 2011, both were brought into the Department of Internal Affairs.