For a full explanation of each target and how it has changed, see RNZ's target-by-target breakdown below.
More than half the government's key targets are behind track or at risk of not being met, the latest progress update shows.
The number of people on the Jobseeker benefit has increased especially significantly, while a recent change to how school students' mathematics progress is measured has placed the academic achievement target at risk.
RNZ has launched a series of graphics that track progress towards each of the nine targets, based on official data provided by the government agencies being measured.
The graphics will be updated each quarter, with the most recent progress report covering July to September 2024.
While the educational achievement and Jobseeker targets are classified as 'at risk', three other health and crime targets are considered 'feasible' - meaning they are still possible but are behind schedule and face "major risks and/or issues''.
In other areas, including reducing the number of people in emergency housing and near-term greenhouse gas emissions, targets were either 'on track' or 'probable'.
The nine targets were selected to focus the public sector on achieving better results in health, education, law and order, work, housing and the environment.
Progress is reported quarterly, and each responsible agency assigns a status, ranging from on track to unachievable. Progress toward reaching a target can still be classed as feasible, even if there are major risks or issues in meeting it, as long as the agency in charge believes these can be resolved.
In September, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon snapped at a reporter during questioning about crime rates and the national gang list, saying: "It's not about the frickin' targets, it's actually about the outcomes."
The nine targets are set to be delivered by 2030, beyond the current political term.
This is the second quarterly update the government has issued - so how has progress come along since the previous report?
Health
Achieving the goal for 95 percent of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department is still some way off.
The latest period of reporting shows only 71.2 percent of patients were seen within that timeframe. This is a slight increase from the last quarter when 70 percent of patients were seen in that timeframe.
When setting this target, officials warned there was a risk it would not be achievable in the short term.
"Most ED [emergency departments] nationwide are over capacity most of the time," a briefing to ministers read.
It said wait times were affected by resourcing, community services, bed availability and seasonal changes, such as increased demand during flu season.
Attempting to reduce wait times would require significant system-wide change in hospitals, primary care and aged care, the briefing said.
"There would be a risk the target is achieved by focusing resources intensively in ED at the expense of other areas of the health system. This may result in improved ED wait times in the short term, but - through reduction in the quality of care elsewhere - would likely result in worse health outcomes and ultimately higher ED presentations in the medium to long term."
Te Whatu Ora's approach to reach the target included plans to discharge patients promptly, and encouraging patients to seek help elsewhere such as telehealth services, GPs and community care. It also wanted ambulance staff to deal with more patients without transferring them to a hospital. Growing the health workforce was also listed as a priority.
Reaching the 95 percent goal by 2030 is classed as feasible, meaning there are major risks to achievement.
The target for 95 percent of people to receive elective treatment within four months is a long way away from being achieved, although tacking in the right direction.
At the moment 61.4 percent of people needing elective treatments, such as hip or cataract surgeries, are seen within four months. This is slightly higher than the 56.3 percent reported in June.
However, the actual percentage of people waiting for elective procedures could be worse, as RNZ revealed some patients who are referred for surgery have not been added to wait lists.
A June progress report noted the appointment of Health Commissioner Lester Levy was among the actions taken to speed up access to treatment. Other activities included increasing bed and theatre capacity.
The private sector is also being used to plug some of the public sector gap. A minimum of 20,000 general, 2000 orthopaedic and 3000 cataract surgeries are outsourced, according to the previous quarter's update.
Delivery of this target is classified as feasible, indicating there are still major risks.
Crime
The number of serious and persistent youth offenders has decreased by 95 since the last quarterly report, but the total number still sits above the target number of 900.
For a youth offender to be classed as a serious or persistent offender they must have committed three or more offences in the past 12 months, with at least one of them having a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment or more.
Hitting the targeted 15 percent reduction by 2030 is considered probable, meaning it needs "constant attention" to ensure any risks to the target do not develop into major issues.
Bootcamps are listed as one way the government is hoping to turn behaviour around, as is improving school attendance.
Other initiatives aimed at addressing offending include better response systems from police and Oranga Tamariki.
The goal to reduce crime is classed as "feasible" but the current number of victims is sitting at almost 40,000 more than the target.
This target was kept as one of the nine government targets, despite officials suggesting it would be difficult to achieve and should be replaced with something easier to reach.
The goal to reduce the number of victims of assault, robbery, and sexual assault by 20,000 by 2030 is based on data from the New Zealand Crime and Victims' Survey. Officials warned the survey data had a high margin of error and was more suitable for showing long-term trends.
The survey includes crimes that victims might have experienced up to two years prior.
Work to reduce the number of victims includes increasing police numbers and implementing a package of measures the government believes will increase the chance of offenders being "held to account". The September progress update notes 160 officers had been deployed to community teams and 77 officers had been assigned to target gangs.
Employment
The number of people receiving Jobseeker support increased by 8,800 to 204,800 since the June report, shifting the target from being 'feasible' to 'at risk'.
This is nearly 14,000 above the forecast for September and almost 65,000 away from the overall goal of 140,000 or fewer people receiving support by 2030.
The September progress report says economic conditions have contributed to the high number of unemployed people.
A new traffic light system aimed at enforcing beneficiary obligations dramatically increased sanctions handed down to beneficiaries, with 14,400 people losing a percentage of their benefit during the June to September quarter -133 percent higher than the same period in 2023. Most of the sanctions were for people not attending appointments which included work seminars.
Education
At 53.2 percent, Term 2's attendance rate is well below the target of 80 percent of students present for more than 90 percent of the term. This means students should take no more than five days off a term.
The government's action plan to lift attendance rates to 80 percent includes reporting attendance daily, communications to raise awareness of the importance of attending school, issuing guidance to help parents know when an unwell child should be sent to school, and clarifying attendance expectations to school boards. It is also working on supporting the Ministry of Education to prosecute caregivers of students with low attendance.
Absence is classed as either "justified" or "unjustified". Justified absences include illnesses, and other reasons which fall under school policy, such as suspensions. Unjustified absences include truancy, or taking holidays in term time. The government target of 80 percent makes no distinction between the two.
Notes provided to Cabinet when the targets were being set said it would be difficult to meet the 80 percent target while Covid-19 is still circulating.
The Ministry of Education said its estimated attendance levels until 2029 is not a "technical forecast" but is based on historical patterns of greater attendance drops during winter months due to illness.
Since 2011, the highest percentage of students attending 90 percent of a school term was 72.8 percent, in Term 1 of 2019. The average over that time was 59.4 percent.
Achievement rates for mathematics and reading are still well below the government target of 80 percent of Year 8 students being at or above the expected curriculum level.
Currently 47 percent of students are at the expected level in reading and 22 percent in mathematics.
Writing has not been assessed recently but the 2019 data put 35 percent of students at the expected level.
A plan to raise mathematics achievement has been launched and structured literacy will be introduced for students from Year 0 to 6 in 2025.
This target is measured annually, so there is no change since the last quarterly update.
Housing
Driving down the number of households in emergency housing is one target where progress streaked ahead of estimations.
Starting from a baseline of 3141 households, the goal was to reduce the number by 75 percent, to 800 or fewer.
The current number is 1179 - 1351 households ahead of forecasts and 379 away from the 2030 goal.
Part of the plan to reach the target includes improving access to other forms of housing for emergency housing residents. Since a fast-track category for waitlists was created in April, 726 households have shifted from emergency housing, such as motels, to social housing.
Criteria to be placed in emergency housing have also tightened despite warnings from officials that this could lead to an increase in rough sleepers.
The government could not say where all households who have left emergency housing moved to, as it does not track that information. Around 200 households were unaccounted for.
This target is classed as being on track to being achieved.
Climate
There are two targets New Zealand has committed to meeting as part of its net zero climate change goal.
The first target is for total greenhouse gas emissions between 2022 and 2025 to be below 290 megatonnes. This target is on track to being achieved.
Reaching the second target - for total emissions between 2026 and 2030 to be less than 309 mt - appears to be more of a challenge, though is still classified as probable.
The next update on progress toward the nine targets, covering October to December 2024, will be released in 2025.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
