MBIE | New Zealand Peppol Authority

The New Zealand and Australian governments have committed to a joint approach to eInvoicing.

In February 2019 they announced their intention to adopt the Pan-European Public Procurement Online (Peppol) interoperability framework. Peppol is currently used by 32 countries, with more countries planning to adopt it in the near future.

As a Peppol Authority, MBIE's responsibilities include:

• Developing regional arrangements and requirements.
• Overseeing the local implementation of the Peppol framework.
• On-boarding and accrediting Peppol access point providers – including due diligence and security checks.
• Monitoring access point provider compliance.
• Providing tools and resources to help businesses and agencies adopt eInvoicing.

What is Peppol?

Peppol is a global standardised framework that enables businesses to exchange procurement documents electronically.

To do this, Peppol provides and maintains artefacts and specifications to make it possible for businesses using different systems to ‘speak’ to each other.

The use of Peppol is governed by a multi-lateral agreement structure, owned and maintained by OpenPeppol.

How does it work?

The framework is made up of 3 key components:  

• The network — 4-corner model
• The governance — transport infrastructure agreements (TIA)
• The document specifications — the Peppol Mandatory Business Interoperability Specifications (v 3.0) are on the Peppol website.

  Documentation(external link) — Peppol.org

The network — 4-corner model

The network is based on a 4-corner model, where every business and its trading partner communicate via an access point. Once connected, businesses and government agencies can quickly and easily reach any other trading partner on the network.

Access points (APs)

Access points connect users to the Peppol network and exchange electronic documents based on the Peppol specifications.

Buyers and suppliers can choose their preferred access point provider to connect to all participants already on the network.

Service metadata publisher (SMP)

Businesses using the framework publish their receiving capabilities (delivery addresses, business processes and document types supported, etc) using a service called a service metadata publisher.

The service metadata publisher is similar to an address book or business registry containing details of participants in a specific eProcurement community.

Peppol service metadata locator (SML)

To deliver electronic documents from a sender to the correct recipient, all Access Points need to know about each other and the participants they support.

To do this, Peppol maintains one centralised service called the Service Metadata Locator. The Peppol Service Metadata Locator defines which Service Metadata Publisher to use to find the delivery details of the particular Peppol participant.

What is OpenPeppol?

OpenPeppol is a non-profit association under Belgian law and consists of both public sector and private members. The association has responsibility for the development and maintenance of the Peppol specifications, building blocks and its services and implementation.

The association is responsible for:

• Setting the overall strategic direction for Peppol.
• Developing rules, policies and guidelines, and evaluating requests for change.
• Maintaining the Service Metadata Locator.
• Establishing and monitoring local Peppol Authorities.
• Approving Peppol membership applications.
• Undertaking conformance testing with Access Points.
• Facilitating cross-authority forums and working groups.

What is the New Zealand Peppol Authority?

OpenPeppol delegates authority over the use of the framework within a defined domain or jurisdiction to a local Peppol Authority, usually based on country or region of operation.

New Zealand (administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – MBIE) is a Peppol Authority and Australia (administered by the Australian Taxation Office) is a Peppol Authority.