Living Standards Framework Dashboard Update - December 2019

The Treasury released the Living Standards Framework Dashboard (the Dashboard) in December 2018. We updated the data in the Dashboard in December 2019, and also changed some of the indicators and included new distributional data and charts. This paper summarises what the Dashboard looks like now and highlights what has changed since the 2018 release. In December 2018, the Treasury publicly released the initial version of the Living Standards Framework (LSF) and the LSF Dashboard (the Dashboard). It was agreed by Cabinet that the Dashboard would have a data update in December 2019, working towards a more substantive refresh of the LSF and the Dashboard in 2021. Alongside the 2018 release of the LSF and the Dashboard, the Living Standards Framework: Living Standards Framework: Background and Future Work paper provided information about the LSF and the Dashboard, from its conception to the 2018 version, and planned further work. This paper builds on the 2018 paper to outline the changes that we have made to the Dashboard as part of the December 2019 update. This paper: briefly explains the purpose of the LSF and the Dashboard outlines what is in the Dashboard and how it relates to the LSF highlights what has changed in the Dashboard since its initial release in December 2018, and indicates the further work that the Treasury is undertaking on the LSF and the Dashboard for a planned 2021 refresh. In line with our Cabinet obligations, as well as updating the data, we have identified opportunities to increase alignment of the Dashboard indicators with Ngā Tūtohu Aotearoa – Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand (Ngā Tūtohu Aotearoa), which was launched by Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) in June 2019. While we have sought alignment with Ngā Tūtohu Aotearoa where possible, there continue to be differences between the two measurement frameworks due to their different purposes.