Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to speak at the Analytics Forum today.

Traditionally, a data forum may not be the natural environment for social sector policy makers.

But I’m pleased to say that this is changing, with the ever increasing use of data and analytics in public policy.

This is largely due to the driving force of the Government’s Social Investment approach.

What is the social investment approach and why is it important?

Each year we spend around $61 billion on social services so New Zealanders have the best chances to be healthy, educated and safe.

There are parts of it that we can't tell you whether it is effective - especially some of the work for people with complex needs. We need to do better.

And despite this significant investment, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for all New Zealanders.

This is especially true for people with highly-complex problems that do not fit neatly within traditional government structures and approaches.

Social investment is a new approach that will help New Zealanders achieve better longer-term outcomes.

In short: it’s about changing lives.

We want our policies to deliver for all New Zealanders – including those at the very hard edge whose lives are entangled in complex, difficult issues.

These are the New Zealanders who are spending their entire lives on welfare, the families trapped in a life of crime, the ones dropping out of school without being able to read, or caught in the inter-generational cycle of family violence.

We want to do more for these New Zealanders because we want more for them.

We want them to live independent lives where they can reach their full potential – rather than simply surviving.

We want to give them hope and allow them the opportunities we all enjoy, so they can make the most of the talents they have and contribute to society.

But doing so means we have to do things differently. And it’s not a matter of throwing good money after bad.

Our view is that we have to shift the whole system and start investing more upfront in a highly-targeted way that directs much-needed support to those in need.

But to make smarter investment decisions we have to have better information.

And to do that, we need to harness the power of data.

We have to be able to understand and analyse people’s need for, and experience of, social services. This means being customer-centric, and putting people at the heart of Government – rather than expecting our customers to navigate the labyrinth of the public service.

We have to know what works, for whom, and at what cost. This means frank assessments of how well we deliver services, and making changes to do better.

And we have to have information that reflects the complexities of real life – where we intuitively know that impacts in one sector have implications in other areas of people’s lives, and that interventions like education do not have immediate payoffs but are still worthwhile.

All of these rely on the use of data and analytics at a scale and level of sophistication that is unprecedented in public policy, particularly in the social sector.

But I’m excited by the challenge and delighted that New Zealand is a world leader in this task.

The United Kingdom, France, Australia and others all see the value in the Social Investment approach but are limited in implementing it because they are having to focus their efforts on consolidating their data and information before they can go any further.

New Zealand’s social investment journey already has a head start from the work underway in gathering and processing the data on the millions of individuals captured in the Integrated Data Infrastructure, as well as the on-going national conversation about the use of New Zealanders’ data, facilitated by the Data Futures Partnership.

But we’re not taking a breather. We’re pressing on.

The long-term game – How data and analytics can transform the public sector

I want to make this transformation permanent, so data-driven decision-making is the expectation in public policy, not the exception.

To help the public sector to meet these demands, the new Social Investment Agency will open its doors on Monday (3 July). This isn’t another layer of bureaucracy, but a lean, nimble and highly-skilled agency who will help social sector agencies better understand and meet the needs of our most at-risk New Zealanders.

But embedding data-driven decision-making requires a long-term work plan.

Despite recent developments, there is still a long way to go to embed the social investment approach. After all, social investment requires a new mind-set and new capabilities in the social sector. That kind of transformation cannot happen overnight.

So, what is our plan for making that transformation happen?

I have four priority areas to embed a data-driven approach to decision-making that will ultimately change lives for the better.

Applying Social Investment across Government

First, we need to get all agencies to apply social investment across their everyday work.

Some agencies have that work underway already.

The earliest approach was the welfare liability model. This used person-centred variables to estimate the predicted lifetime cost to government of welfare expenditure.

The cumulative impact over five years from changing the way we work with people is a reduction of around $13.7 billion in the welfare system’s future lifetime cost.

This means less money on benefits and more money for schools, hospitals and roads.

To put these savings into context, its equivalent to the entire budget the 20 District Health Boards will spend across the country this year.

Agencies have built on the liability approach to use increasingly sophisticated methods for understanding the demand for social investments.

The investment approaches in justice, welfare and social housing have evolved to focus not only the current need for services, but identify future housing or welfare support, or even offending.

For instance, we know a nine-year old boy known to the care and protection system and in a benefit-dependant family is expected to commit three offences in the next 15 years. We also know that this boy would offend three fewer times if his parents took part in parenting courses.

With targeted interventions, we can reduce crime, prevent victims going through trauma, and keep potential offenders out of jail – all of which has flow-on benefits to government.

There is also more work to be done by agencies to understand the impacts of one intervention’s impact in another sector. For example, we know that 70% of the children known to the care and protection system will be on a benefit by age 21 and this cohort is nine times more likely than others to go to prison in their lifetime.

Knowing the opportunities to intervene not only means smarter investments, but can deliver meaningful change for New Zealanders.

Creating the right infrastructure

The second priority area is developing the infrastructure for agencies and others to apply social investment.

The new Social Investment Agency is tasked with developing the tools and architecture.

Investing in building robust and reusable infrastructure from the start enables the rest of the sector to apply social investment consistently—avoiding the unnecessary costs of repeating the time and effort of developing bespoke tools.

For example, the Social Investment Analytical Layer (or SIAL) makes it faster and easier for users of the Integrated Data Infrastructure to prise insights from this dataset. The cleaned and quality-assured data layer maps around 66 per cent of the IDI data back to anonymised individuals.

Since its launch in March, the SIAL has already saved around $1 million. These savings will only increase as more agencies use the IDI and benefit from the initial work. The SIAL will also be updated to improve measures over time.

These kinds of benefits can only be realised if we embrace new, more open and transparent ways of working.

The Social Investment Agency will set a new standard for sharing progress and insights early and often. Reusable code will be made public so users can take advantage of the progress made and recommend improvements.

Information sharing is also vital to spreading social investment beyond Wellington. Government does not need to hold, collect or store all data but it should ensure decision-makers have timely and trusted access to the information required.

We are building the Data Exchange to transform how New Zealand’s social sector data is shared. The Data Exchange is a secure, private, and controlled cloud-based exchange that enables government agencies and non-government organisations to share data.

The first live transfer of anonymised data was successfully completed in December last year.

With the value and amount of data being shared, this raises questions about what kinds of data are legitimately required to support different social investment questions.

As you’ll know, data provides different levels of information. Aggregated data like the Census provides us with averages and counts while the data available in the Integrated Data Infrastructure is more detailed but has any individual, uniquely identifying information removed.

There is currently no guidance on what level of data is appropriate for very different social investment questions.

For instance, de-identified data might be fit for the purposes of understanding populations and measuring effectiveness, but improving service delivery on the frontline may require more detailed information.

Without a principled approach, there is a risk that the use of data does not match the intended analytical purpose. This in turn risks losing New Zealanders’ trust and confidence in the government’s use of their data.

We are taking a proactive step to provide guidance on this issue.

The Social Investment Agency will lead a Working Group with Statistics New Zealand and NGOs to inform, clarify and guide the use of data for social service delivery. This will agree on an approach to collecting data, as well as determining when it is appropriate to use different types of data and the purposes for which certain data can be used.

Getting whole of system advice to decision makers

The third priority area is about getting whole-of-system advice to decision makers.

We need to recognise that people’s lives and problems are not structured around government agencies – a fact that is revolutionary in Wellington. Families facing challenges have a whole range of complex needs and to look at them through a single lens, rather than as a whole, is a lost opportunity.

Yet government agencies don’t think that way, aren’t funded that way, and don’t hold themselves accountable that way.

It’s been near impossible to get advice that spans social sector portfolios. This has made it difficult for Ministers and decision-makers to recognise the real trade-offs between different investments over time and between sectors.

Now, the Social Investment Agency will be responsible for developing ‘whole of system’ advice – providing guidance on opportunities and target populations. Decision-makers will be able to decide what, when and how to invest to maximise long-term impact.

The new Social Investment Board, consisting of Chief Executives from Ministries of Health, Education, Social Development and Justice, will advise Cabinet’s Social Policy Committee on the strategic direction, priorities and joint results for collective action by agencies.

This will be particularly valuable in New Zealand’s most pervasive issues—family violence, mental health, and alcohol and drug addictions —where traditional agency boundaries hinder progress.

This is one of the newest areas for social investment. Providing the kind of information to support this level of decision-making requires new analytical frameworks and approaches that bring previously siloed data together to make coherent decisions.

But we can already see the benefits of this approach from initial attempts – such as the Social Investment Unit’s social housing test case.

This case which I’m releasing today shows that it’s possible to understand the broader fiscal impacts of a single service, like social housing, on agencies, such as health and education.

We compared data between those who were allocated a social house and those who weren’t. It found that those living in a social house:

People are in jail for less time – that’s a 25% reduction Children are in school for longer – up 6% Families access better support – a 4% increase in welfare spend.

We can use the insights from this test case to calculate the fiscal return on investment for social housing and prove with hard data what we already intuitively know – that providing social housing helps New Zealanders to lead better lives.

Being bold and brave, and taking risks to fail

The fourth priority area pushes for innovation—trying new approaches to achieving outcomes—and rapid learning and feedback loops.

The social sector works well for many New Zealanders but not for groups with complex needs. We want to try new approaches where they are needed to provide the right support for all New Zealanders.

Slowly, but surely we are changing the culture of the public sector to one of taking risks, tolerating innovation, and being bolder and braver about solutions to some of the trickier issues we’re facing.

It was Albert Einstein who said the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But that’s exactly how the public sector has been trained to think.

I want agencies to be focused on solutions, not outputs.

We want them to break the mould, to test, trial and build on the lessons we have learned, so better ways of improving outcomes are identified and implemented.

And the new Social Investment Agency will help the public service do that.

In Budget 2017, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and I announced $100 million for a new cross-government social investment fund that will target innovative new proposals to tackle mental health issues.

Mental health is a social investment priority for this Government.

It’s one of our most complex social issues, and it is having big impacts across the employment, housing, health and justice sectors.

This new fund is an opportunity to encourage new ideas, and robustly measure the success of new approaches.

It’s important to come up with innovative solutions which keep up with the evolving needs of New Zealanders.

Concluding remarks

In conclusion, we have an ambitious programme to bed social investment in across the social sector.

These ideas and approaches will grow and become business as usual over time, ultimately providing better returns to New Zealanders.

In the meantime, we’re getting better at using data.

We’re narrowing in on the families who need intensive help.

We’re understanding better how our policies can help and at what point in someone’s lives they are most effective. And we’re investing more in what works.

It's not just how much money we spend, but what gets the best results.

We’re a Government that wants fewer customers. Because the less people rely on Government, the more independent they are.

We’ll do this, not through cutting public services, but by improving lives so people don’t need those services.

This means fewer people on benefits, fewer people in prison, fewer people needing mental health or addiction support.

We’ll save money in the long run, but more importantly we’ll change lives.

We are on the precipice of the most remarkable transformative changes in how we deal with our social services in New Zealand.  

In our hands, we now have the ability to do the one thing that New Zealand has not nailed yet which is to address the lives of a small number of particularly vulnerable New Zealanders, who we’re not prepared to write off.

We want more for them.

If we can do this, there is nothing stopping New Zealand being the best country in the world.

The National-led Government is helping vulnerable New Zealanders in need of a warm, safe and dry place to live.

This year, the Government will spend $2.3 billion supporting 310,000 households with their accommodation. Those seeking immediate shelter can access an emergency Special Needs Grant so they have a warm, safe place to stay while they search for more sustainable housing. We have invested $354 million to help 8600 families every year with transitional housing, with 3660 of these to be in Auckland. We are also planning to grow the number of social houses available, from 66,000 today to 72,000 over the next three years.

Here are details of some of the work we're doing in your community:

More families being helped with housing in Blenheim

Government commitment to housing and partnerships with local providers are helping more families in Blenheim, Associate Minister for Social Housing Alfred Ngaro says.

Former motel coming online to help Gisborne homeless

The purchase of a former motel in Gisborne is an example of the commitment Government has made to helping local Gisborne families with housing, Associate Minister for Social Housing Alfred Ngaro says.

Two former motels coming online to help Hawke’s Bay homeless

Months of hard work is coming to fruition and benefiting local Hawke’s Bay families with another 23 short-term transitional housing places due to open in the next few weeks, Associate Minister for Social Housing Alfred Ngaro says.

Over 1000 new transitional housing places

More transitional housing is coming online every week across New Zealand, helping more vulnerable families in urgent need of housing.

Over 700 Hawkes Bay families to benefit under Government social housing plans

Hundreds of families in the Hawkes Bay will be helped through the Government’s social housing plans for the region, Ministers say.

Green light for up to 71 new homes in Hamilton

The $7 million redevelopment of Jebson Place means warmer and safer houses for the Hamilton community, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams announced today.

More social housing coming on board in Tauranga & Papamoa

Almost 220 new social and transitional places are on the way for Tauranga and Papamoa, the Government has today confirmed.

Social Housing Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the 2015 Social Housing Valuation as the first step in building a more sophisticated understanding of the factors that affect vulnerable New Zealanders.

“Our first valuation of New Zealand’s social housing system sets a benchmark to measure progress and understand how effectively new initiatives are helping those most in need,” Ms Adams says.

“The valuation lets us measure success by how we change people’s lives. It is part of our broader Social Investment approach – where we’re building a better understanding of what works and for who, and where to invest funds to make the biggest difference across housing, welfare and the broader social sector.”

The valuation reflects people who were in a social house or on the register from July 2014 to June 2015.

According to the report, the projected lifetime cost of adults in social housing is $16.4 billion. About 85 per cent of this cost relates to future Income-Related Rent Subsidy payments for tenants in social housing. Those in social housing are expected, on average, to spend 17 years in social housing.

Other key findings of the valuation include:

People on Jobseeker or Sole Parent Support are about 70 times more likely to apply for social housing than those not on benefits in the past five years Pacific people are seven times more likely to be in social housing and Māori are five times more likely compared to other ethnicities Auckland is 35 per cent of the population, but 61 per cent of the total liability. The average household liability is 80 per cent higher than the rest of New Zealand.

“With every valuation, we’ll gain more evidence to invest earlier on in the people who need it most, with the support that will make the most difference,” Ms Adams says.

“The more we can support our most vulnerable people to become independent, the better their lives will be. That’s what we’re doing with initiatives such as Housing First and Sustaining Tenancies, and with transitional housing that includes social support as part of the package.

“We want to make sure that vulnerable New Zealanders have a safe, secure place to live, and give them a stable base to access support to become more independent and improve their lives.”

The 2015 valuation can be found at www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/evaluation/social-housing-valuation/index.html

A Bill to allow historical convictions for homosexual offences to be removed will help put right a wrong from the past, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

The Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill was introduced to Parliament today.

“The tremendous hurt and stigma suffered by those who were affected can never be fully undone, but I hope that this Bill will go some way toward addressing that,” says Ms Adams.

“This Bill introduces the first ever expungement scheme in New Zealand. It will allow men convicted of specific homosexual offences decriminalised by the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 to apply to have the convictions wiped from their criminal record.

“Allowing historical convictions for homosexual offences to remain on a person’s criminal record perpetuates the stigma which such convictions carry. A person can be further disadvantaged if they are required to disclose their conviction or it appears on a criminal history check.”

Ms Adams says the scheme will be open to applications from men with convictions for specific offences relating to sexual conduct between consenting men 16 years and over, or by a family member on their behalf if the person is deceased. The application process will be free for applicants.

“The scheme requires case-by-case assessments of the relevant facts to determine whether the conduct a person was charged with is still unlawful today. The decision will be made by the Secretary for Justice, without the need for a court hearing or for applicants to appear in person,” says Ms Adams.

“If a person’s conviction is expunged, the conviction will not appear on a criminal history check for any purpose and they will be entitled to declare they had no such conviction when required to under New Zealand law.”

A copy of the Bill can be found at www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_74442/criminal-records-expungement-of-convictions-for-historical

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has today tabled the Law Commission’s report on proposals to modernise New Zealand’s contempt of court laws.

“Contempt law is intended to protect the integrity of the justice system and maintain public confidence in the administration of justice,” says Ms Adams.

“It helps to preserve a fair, impartial and effective justice system and safeguards a person’s right to a fair trial. However our contempt law is widely considered to be vague in scope and, as it was developed prior to the digital age and enactment of the Bill of Rights Act 1990, it has become out of date.”

Contempt rules are currently a mix of court decisions and various laws passed by Parliament. The Law Commission report recommends putting most contempt law into statute so it is easier to find and understand. It would mean offences and penalties for each kind of contempt would be clearly set out.   

The report also proposes giving courts the power to make take down orders for material on the internet and social media platforms that breach suppression orders.

Ms Adams says the Government will carefully consider the recommendations and respond in due course.

“The Law Commission’s proposals would affect a number of other laws and a range of people and organisations involved in the court system, including judges, lawyers, media, defendants, victims, witnesses and court visitors. We need to consider how these recommendations would work in practice so that any changes we make are effective and fair.”

The Law Commission’s report can be found here.

Notes:

Examples of different types of contempt include:

a juror doing their own research, which can jeopardise the outcome of a trial the media or a member of the public publishing suppressed details of a case a person disrupting the courtroom to interrupt trials or intimidate witnesses

The penalties for contempt are serious, and can mean time in prison or a heavy fine.

Three Community Housing Providers have been given the opportunity to present formal proposals to take over up to 2500 Housing New Zealand properties and tenancies in Christchurch, the Government announced today.

This follows an invitation in April for Expressions of Interest from Community Housing Providers interested in participating in the proposed transfer, centred on the suburbs of Shirley, Bryndwr and Riccarton.

The three short-listed respondents each bring together an experienced New Zealand registered community housing provider with equity providers that have worked on social housing and major infrastructure projects. The three providers are:

Community Futures Christchurch, a consortium whose members are the community housing provider Trust House Limited, Whitehelm Capital Pty Ltd, and Broadspectrum (New Zealand) Limited Ōtautahi Community Housing Consortium, made up of the community housing provider Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust and Morrison & Co PPP GP 2 Limited A third consortium whose members are the community housing provider Compass Housing Services Co (New Zealand) Limited, AMP Capital Investors Limited, and Brookfield Financial Australia Securities Limited.

Finance Minister Steven Joyce said all three respondents submitted high-quality Expressions of Interest.

“Each demonstrated their capability for providing innovative and responsive services for tenants from a sound, sustainable financial base, while also delivering on the Government’s requirement to supply at least another 150 social housing places,” Mr Joyce says.

Social Housing Minister Amy Adams said the purpose of the process was to ensure that not only the social housing stock is increased and improved, but to deliver better services to tenants.

“While ownership of these properties may change, the properties will remain as social houses, just as they are now. They won’t be able to be sold off and must continue to be used as social housing. Current tenants will remain in their homes. Neither their rent or rights will change as a result of the transfer, including their eligibility for social housing,” Ms Adams says.

“At the same time we are looking for a provider who will apply fresh thinking and make a positive difference to the way tenants are supported, and properties are managed.”

Housing New Zealand will continue to own and manage up to 3300 properties across Christchurch.

Police Minister Paula Bennett and Justice Minister Amy Adams say using digital devices to take onsite statements from victims of family violence will reduce the stress on victims, save Police time and create richer evidence for the courts.

“From today, officers in Counties Manukau will trial using an app on their phone to record audio-visual victim statements. Instead of requiring victims of family violence to provide a written and signed statement of what happened back at the station, Police will video the victim's statement. This will be a lot faster, less complex and completed on scene,” Mrs Bennett says.

“The new approach will change how Police respond at family harm investigations, it will make an already difficult situation less stressful, while keeping with internationally recommended practice.”

“The intention is to have these statements played in court. Videos can only be taken with the victim’s consent. They will be uploaded to secure, cloud-based storage while the investigation and court process takes place,” Ms Adams says.

“Victim video statements are part of a larger programme of work to provide better services to victims and further reduce harm caused by family violence. Counties Manukau Police have received support for the initiative from Victim Support, Eastern Women’s Refuge, and Court Services for Victims at the Manukau District Court.”

The pilot will be evaluated, including frontline officer and victim feedback, and recommendations will be made regarding next steps.

Notes:

The use of mobile devices to video record family harm victim statements were first tested from November 2015 to July 2016 by staff in Palmerston North as part of a proof of concept. In May 2016 it was ruled in the Palmerston North District Court to decline the admissibility of the victim’s video statement to be played in court as their evidence in chief.

That ruling reinforced that changes needed to be made to the Evidence Regulations, recognising considerable technological advancements for obtaining evidence were now available. As a result, the Ministry of Justice amended the Evidence Regulations to include provisions for mobile video records in criminal proceedings relating to family violence. These changes came into effect on 9 January 2017.

The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) Court pilot has been extended for a further three years, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced today.

The AODT Court pilot, which began in November 2012 in the Waitakere and Auckland District Courts, aims to help reduce alcohol and drug use, reoffending and imprisonment. It identifies offenders whose alcohol and other drug dependency is behind a pattern of serious offending and diverts them from prison into treatment under the close supervision of the Court.

“The harm associated with alcohol and other drug abuse remains one of the major drivers of crime and social harm in this country,” says Ms Adams.

“Preliminary analysis suggests the AODT Court reduces the likelihood of reoffending by around 15 per cent in the short-term when measured against matched offenders going through the standard court process.

“One of the early graduates from the Court was a man who had been dependent on drugs for over 20 years. He has since been clean for over three years and is now working at a drug rehabilitation organisation to help others get off drugs and into a life free of crime.

“We’re seeing many other success stories emerging from the AODT Court pilot and early signs are promising. However, given the length of time participants spend in the Court, the small sample size to date, and the need to determine whether reductions in reoffending are sustainable once graduates leave the Court, it is necessary to extend the pilot for a further three years.

“This will enable us to determine whether the Court is the best way to achieve a long-lasting reduction in the harm associated with alcohol and drug abuse before we look at permanently establishing the model.”

Hundreds of families in the Hawkes Bay will be helped through the Government’s social housing plans for the region, Ministers say.

“We’ve made a commitment to help New Zealanders find their feet when times are tough, and our plans for the Hawkes Bay will do just that,” Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

Plans for 195 social housing places and 129 short-term transitional housing places will benefit around 711 local families a year.

“Our plans for the region are a recognition that access to safe, warm and dry housing is a growing area of concern, and we’re working hard to address those demands.

“We’re on track to have the short-term transitional housing places available by the end of the year, and expect to see the new social housing places coming on board over the next three years.”

Associate Minister for Social Housing, Alfred Ngaro visited one of the newly opened transitional housing places in Hastings today.

Mr Ngaro met with staff at the Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga run property to hear about the difference that transitional housing is making in the area.

“Every day, we’re hearing stories from our frontline about the great work being done by our community housing providers to help people in need,” says Mr Ngaro.

“This isn’t just about housing. The investment of $354 million the Government made last year into transitional housing recognises that many of our struggling families are facing further challenges. That’s why we’ve partnered with some fantastic community housing providers to make sure they’re getting further help to get back on their feet – from budgeting advice to cooking lessons or parenting support.

“Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga are a great example. They’re working extremely hard to help those in our community who need help to get back on their feet which is why it’s great that we’re able to support even more transitional housing developments”.

We’ve now secured 30 of our planned transitional housing places, meaning that we’re already in a position to help 120 local families this year, with more places scheduled to open in the coming weeks and months.”

Drink driving charges have halved since 2009, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

Latest drink driving offence figures show the number of people charged in 2016 was 16,304 compared to 31,933 in 2009.

“Almost 16,000 fewer people were charged with drink driving offences in 2016 compared to 2009. That’s a 49 per cent decrease in seven years, reflecting a better understanding by New Zealanders of the dangers of drink driving,” says Ms Adams.

“It is particularly encouraging to see fewer young people being charged with and convicted of drink driving. Since 2009, the number of convictions among people under 25 has dropped 60 per cent to 5236 in 2016.

“This Government has had a strong focus on reducing drink driving, starting with the Alcohol Reform Bill which saw the biggest changes to alcohol laws in 30 years. The changes included ensuring bars close earlier, limiting alcohol promotions and requiring minors to have a parent’s express consent to drink.”

The Government has also introduced zero alcohol limits for repeat offenders and drivers aged under 20 and run ongoing public awareness campaigns. It has also made alcohol interlocks mandatory for repeat offenders – research shows interlocks reduce the reoffending rate by about 60 per cent.

“We have seen a drop in the number of people facing drink driving charges every year since 2009, but there is still more to do. Alcohol is still a major factor in fatal car crashes – research shows that at 250 micrograms per litre of breath, the current legal limit for drivers aged 20 and older, you’re still twice as likely to have a crash as a driver with zero blood alcohol.

“Fewer drink driving offences mean safer streets, so we want to ensure that everyone is making the right decisions before getting behind the wheel.”

Number of people charged with and convicted of drink driving offences

 

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Charges

31,933

29,534

28,010

25,434

23,479

19,634

16,673

16,304

Convictions

30,330

28,164

26,965

24,367

22,558

18,867

16,061

15,750

 

Age distribution of people convicted of drink driving

 

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

19 years and under

6617

5709

4964

3554

2884

2164

1967

1888

20-24

6398

6159

6092

5647

5045

4021

3336

3348

25-29

4128

3878

3887

3698

3740

3162

2797

2801

30-34

2956

2671

2679

2573

2521

2089

1885

1887

35-39

2751

2583

2384

2218

1988

1709

1443

1360

40-44

2466

2307

2271

2088

1963

1720

1352

1265

45-49

2023

1931

1815

1745

1637

1505

1184

1061

50-54

1331

1328

1228

1247

1210

1077

903

918

55-59

824

835

799

779

770

663

605

556

60-64

516

413

480

462

420

406

325

340

65 years and over

307

341

356

346

376

344

255

320

Unknown

13

9

10

10

4

7

9

6

Total

30330

28164

26965

24367

22558

18867

16061

15750