Government introduces stronger requirements for eInvoicing in New Zealand

On 5 November 2024 Economic Development Minister Hon Melissa Lee and Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Hon Andrew Bayly announced a rewrite of Rule 51 of the Government Procurement Rules to begin the transition for wider government agencies to become eInvoice-capable.

By January 2026, more government agencies will be required to send and receive eInvoices and pay 95% of domestic trade eInvoices within 5 business days. This now includes government agencies like ACC, Waka Kotahi, Health NZ and NZ Police.

Additionally, around 135 government agencies will be required to pay 90% of all domestic trade invoices within 10 business days from 1 January 2025, to facilitate faster payments. This will increase to 95% from 1 January 2026, in line with the current requirements for central government agencies.

MBIE’s eInvoicing Executive Sponsor and Chief Operating Officer Michael Alp says eInvoicing is already helping thousands of businesses get paid faster, delivering the benefits of improved cashflow, reduced admin, enhanced security and accuracy.

What this means for organisations

“Businesses who trade with government organisations can expect eInvoicing to become the norm, and once implemented, these Rules will provide an extra cash flow incentive to send eInvoices to Government. It will also help accelerate wider adoption of eInvoicing”, says Mr Alp.

“The rule change provides further confidence for businesses to adopt eInvoicing and realise the benefits it is already providing many New Zealand organisations. The more businesses who send and receive eInvoices, the more they’ll benefit from time-savings, no lost invoices, faster payment, and reduced risk of invoice fraud. Our economy will perform better.”

The Government will also begin consulting with businesses on requiring certain government suppliers to send eInvoices as part of the Government Procurement Rules. The outcomes of this will be reported back to Cabinet in February 2025.

Are you ready for eInvoicing?

eInvoicing is the secure digital exchange of invoice information directly between buyers’ and suppliers’ financial systems, even if these systems are different.

Say goodbye to PDFs and email and save on admin time. With eInvoicing, suppliers no longer need to generate paper-based or PDF invoices that are printed, posted, or emailed to customers.

eInvoices are impossible to lose because the digital exchange process is direct and secure. It’s accurate, secure and speeds up processing and payment times. This improves cashflow and reduces time wasted looking for missing invoices.

Thousands of New Zealand businesses, including 40+ Government agencies are already registered to receive eInvoices – and most small businesses have free or low-cost access to send eInvoices through their accounting software or an eInvoicing portal.

Some 57 accounting and invoicing software providers offer eInvoicing capability in New Zealand, with more providers building the functionality in 2024.

How to get started

Check if your software supports eInvoicing, and ask your provider how to get started:

eInvoicing software products

If your software does not yet support eInvoicing, check our list of eInvoicing access point providers that can connect your software to the eInvoicing network.

eInvoicing access point providers

Mandated and eligible agencies(external link) — New Zealand Government Procurement

Government Procurement Rule 51: eInvoicing capability(external link) — New Zealand Government Procurement

Government Procurement Rule 51A: Prompt payment times(external link) — New Zealand Government Procurement

New rules mean faster payment times for small businesses(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz

Cabinet paper: Improving government payment times for domestic trade invoices and uptake of eInvoicing [PDF, 162 KB](external link) — Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment 

Advice for government agencies

Advice for businesses trading with government