ChatGPT for government and public services
Councils and agencies can use ChatGPT for drafting and analysis, as long as privacy, records and procurement requirements are dealt with first.
- Share of NZ employees
- 6.4%about 157,000 people, Feb 2025
- Highest local share
- 25%Wellington, Wellington
- Highest region
- 18%Wellington, 50,100 employees
Where we start
Councils and agencies can use ChatGPT for drafting and analysis, as long as privacy, records and procurement requirements are dealt with first.
Plain-language drafting
Rewrite public information and letters to plain-language standards.
Consultation analysis
Summarise and theme large sets of submissions, then check the themes against the originals.
Internal knowledge GPTs
Custom GPTs over approved internal guidance help staff find procedures faster.
Take care: Follow the Public Service AI Framework, the Privacy Act 2020 and your agency’s guidance. Enterprise-grade controls are usually the minimum.
Where the jobs are
Government and public services accounts for 6.4% of paid employees in New Zealand. These are the towns and regions where its share is highest. Towns need at least 400 employees to be ranked.
Towns with the highest share of jobs in government
| Town | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 25.0% | 6.4% | |
| Upper Hutt | 24.2% | 6.4% | |
| Kaikohe | 18.8% | 6.4% | |
| Mangawhai | 18.2% | 6.4% | |
| Paeroa | 17.6% | 6.4% | |
| Stratford | 15.8% | 6.4% | |
| Palmerston North | 13.1% | 6.4% | |
| Amberley | 10.8% | 6.4% | |
| Marton | 10.5% | 6.4% | |
| Kerikeri | 10.4% | 6.4% |
Share of paid employees at business locations in the town. The tick marks the national share.
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
By region
| Region | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 17.8% | 6.4% | |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 9.5% | 6.4% | |
| Northland | 6.2% | 6.4% | |
| Waikato | 5.0% | 6.4% | |
| Canterbury | 4.8% | 6.4% | |
| Marlborough | 4.8% | 6.4% | |
| Auckland | 4.7% | 6.4% | |
| Gisborne | 4.7% | 6.4% | |
| Hawke's Bay | 4.6% | 6.4% | |
| Bay of Plenty | 4.5% | 6.4% | |
| Otago | 4.4% | 6.4% | |
| Taranaki | 4.4% | 6.4% | |
| West Coast | 4.4% | 6.4% | |
| Nelson | 4.3% | 6.4% | |
| Southland | 3.6% | 6.4% | |
| Tasman | 2.1% | 6.4% |
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
Courses
1Introductory
ChatGPT essentials workshop
A practical session for the whole team: prompting, files, data analysis and Projects, using tasks from your own business.
2Organisation
ChatGPT Business and Enterprise rollout
Set up ChatGPT properly for a team: workspace, sharing, policies, a custom GPT library and adoption that lasts past week two.
3Advanced
Custom GPTs, agents and the OpenAI API
For power users and developers: custom GPTs with actions, agent workflows, the OpenAI API and Codex.
Other industries
Questions
Is ChatGPT safe to use in government?
With the right plan and rules, yes for most tasks. Follow the Public Service AI Framework, the Privacy Act 2020 and your agency’s guidance. Enterprise-grade controls are usually the minimum.
Can training use our own government examples?
Yes. We ask for a few real, non-sensitive examples beforehand, or anonymised versions, and build the exercises around them.
Train your government team
- Send us a few linesHow many people, where you are, and the jobs that eat your week.
- We reply with a planA suggested session and format, plus what to bring: real quotes, emails and questions.
- Your team does the workAt your place or over video. They finish with ChatGPT doing real tasks, not demos.
- In person
- Remote
- Half-day workshop
- Full-day workshop
- Team rollout
Independent training by TheColab. Not affiliated with OpenAI.
Enquire
Tell us about your team. We reply by email with a suggested course and format.