MBIE says 40% of major projects miss targets, biometric programme scrapped

In its annual report, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment disclosed that 40 percent of its major capital projects missed scope, schedule or budget targets over the past year, well below its 85 percent goal. The most visible failure is the $50 million Biometric Capability Update (BCU) and the related In-Person Enrolment (IPE) project, both terminated in January 2026 after being capitalised in June 2025 while still non-operational.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had previously warned that staff kept her uninformed and raised concerns about “creative accounting,” and a parliamentary privileges committee found officials deliberately misled MPs about the programme’s termination. Audit New Zealand criticised the premature capitalisation, and the Public Service Commission is conducting a review of BCU together with the larger Our Future Services (OFS) visa-modernisation programme, which has been put on hold after 18 months. MBIE outlined actions to set realistic baselines, curb change requests, and enhance transparency and accountability to improve future project performance.