GOVIS 2026, the annual conference of New Zealand's central-government technology and data network, runs 29-30 July 2026 at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington and online, under the theme 'Courage to Deliver'.
GOVIS 2026 is the annual conference of GOVIS Incorporated, the network of technology, information and data professionals working across New Zealand's central government. It takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, 29-30 July 2026, at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa in Wellington, and simultaneously online as a hybrid event.
The 2026 edition carries the theme 'Courage to Deliver'. While the event is indexed by some aggregators under the descriptor 'Creative Digital Government', the organiser's own site confirms the current-year theme and framing as 'Courage to Deliver', built around the real-world stories of teams delivering digital and data initiatives across the public service.
The conference is organised by GOVIS Incorporated, a long-running association that describes itself as the network of technology and information professionals in New Zealand central government. GOVIS runs lunchtime forums and its flagship annual conference to help staff from member agencies connect, learn and share, and has held documented conferences in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Conference logistics for 2026 are managed on GOVIS's behalf by Twelve Conferences.
The audience is public servants working in technology, information and data, and the agencies that support them. According to the organiser, the programme digs into the government's consolidation of digital investment and procurement, including the reconstitution of the Government Chief Digital Officer function as the new Government Digital Delivery Agency at the Public Service Commission, and Stats NZ's move to an administrative-data-first approach to the census and official statistics.
Recurring threads include ethical data use, privacy, trust and Maori data sovereignty, the difference between being risk-averse and risk-aware, building high-performing teams, and agencies moving generative AI from pilots to full-scale rollouts. The format combines keynote and technical speakers with in-depth break-out sessions and networking.
Announced speakers span senior public-sector leadership on both sides of the Tasman: Sir Brian Roche KNZM (Public Service Commissioner and Head of Service), Colin Lynch (Government Statistician and Chief Executive of Stats NZ), Chris Fechner (CEO of Australia's Federal Digital Transformation Agency, attending virtually), public-sector reformer Pia Andrews, Chris Cormack of Te Kahui Raraunga, Madeline Newman (Executive Director of AI Forum New Zealand) and Ellen Twiss of the Tertiary Education Commission.
The confirmed venue is the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, which sits on the corner of Aitken and Molesworth Streets in Wellington's parliamentary precinct, close to Parliament and other central-government buildings. For reporting context, the location places delegates within short walking distance of the Beehive and the government offices many attendees work in, and central Wellington's hotels, rail connections and Wellington Airport are all within the compact city area. The hybrid format also allows agency staff outside Wellington to attend the programme online.
GOVIS is one of New Zealand's most established government-ICT community events, and its 2026 line-up, headed by the Public Service Commissioner and the Government Statistician, signals its standing as a genuine convening point for public-sector digital leadership. For the Wellington business-events sector, a recurring, government-anchored conference of this profile at the National Library reinforces the capital's role as the natural host city for public-service and civic-technology gatherings.
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