Three of the Government's nine key targets risk not being met, the latest update shows.

The 218,500 people receiving Jobseeker benefits remains significantly higher than the 140,000 target, and education targets remain elusive.

In health, shorter wait times in emergency departments is considered "feasible", but still a way off.

Shorter wait times to access elective treatments has improved from "feasible" to "probable".

A target to reduce the number of households in emergency accommodation has been met well ahead of schedule, as has a goal to reduce the number of victims of assault or robbery.

RNZ is tracking progress towards each of the Government's nine targets, which were announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in April 2024. The targets were chosen to focus the public sector on priorities, and progress is updated each quarter.

Each responsible agency assigns a status to progress, 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.

The nine targets are set to be delivered by 2030, beyond the current political term.

Health

Achieving the goal for 95 percent of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours remains far adrift.

The latest update shows 74.4 percent of patients are seen within that timeframe - an increase from 74.2 percent in the last quarter.

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.

This update noted improvements across the whole care system are needed to reduce emergency department wait times.

In March, $25 million was announced to tackle winter demand. This includes up to 378 additional staff across the country and 71 extra winter hospital beds. As of June, 82 percent of the staff had been recruited and 84 beds were made available. Eighty-one patients were discharged from hospital to short stays in aged residential care.

Reaching the 95 percent goal by 2030 is considered feasible, meaning there are major risks to achievement.

The second health target for 95 percent of people to receive elective treatment within four months is now considered probable, a change from the last quarterly update when it was considered feasible.

At the moment, 64.9 percent of people needing elective treatments, such as hip or cataract surgeries, are seen within four months. This is 0.4 percentage points higher than the 64.5 percent reported in the last quarter.

A Health New Zealand spokesperson says the change from "feasible" to "probable" wasn't just related to the latest quarter reported on.

"It refers to the ongoing and sustained improvement in delivery targets across the year, which includes the last quarter, as well as forward planning to maintain delivery against the next annual milestone. While improvements for the last quarter have increased.4 percent, year-on-year there has been an improvement of 7.6 percent, representing a total of 51,089 patients who've been treated."

The private sector is being used to tackle the waitlist, with 21,000 procedures to be funded through an Elective Boost programme to June 2026.

Weekend and twilight surgeries are also occurring in-house in districts under pressure to reduce the number of people who have had lengthy waits for surgeries.

Crime

The number of serious and persistent youth offenders has decreased from 829 in the last update to 814, and has now reached the target of 900 or fewer well ahead of 2030.

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.

Bootcamps, improving response teams and locally-led initiatives, and increased school attendance are listed as areas the Government is focused on to reach the target.

A goal to reduce the number of victims of assault, robbery or sexual assault to 165,000 is classed as on track and has been reached ahead of the 2030 deadline. In this update the total is up by 8782 from the previous quarter's results, but remains below the target of 165,000.

The goal 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, with quarterly data described as volatile and likely to fluctuate.

The survey asks respondents about their experience of reported and unreported crime over the past 12 months.

Initiatives to reach the target include the Three Strikes sentencing reform, gang harm legislation, and security installed at stores where there have been ram raids and/or aggravated robbery.

Employment

The number of people receiving Jobseeker support has risen to 218,500 since the March report, up by 3300.

This target remains classified as "at risk" and is still a considerable way from the goal of 140,000 or fewer people receiving support by 2030.

The Government's update suggested the flow of people receiving the Jobseeker benefit will decrease as economic conditions improve.

Measures the update mentioned that will be used to decrease the number include a traffic light system, shifting people into work and increased case management work.

A test for Jobseeker eligibility for 18- and 19-year-olds was announced in October 2025, which will mean applicants whose parents have a combined income above $65,529 will be ineligible for the benefit. It's estimated 4300 young people will be affected by this. It will come into effect in November.

Education

At 64.3 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.

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.

Attendance management plans have been implemented from 2026, these are now mandatory. They include attendance targets for schools, and a process to identify and manage absences.

Public information campaigns for 2026 aiming to improve attendance include a focus on illness and taking holidays in term time.

Reaching the attendance target is deemed "probable".

Results for reading, writing and mathematics are well below the 80 percent target.

The update says the Government is focusing on a clearer curriculum, a better approach to numeracy and literacy and better reporting.

It says there are "some encouraging signs" for year 6 achievement.

This target is considered to be "at risk" of not being met.

Housing

Driving down the number of households in emergency housing is one target where progress leapt ahead of estimates.

From a baseline of 3141 households, the goal was to reduce the number by 75 percent, to 800 or fewer.

The current number is 459, well below 800, the 2030 goal.

Part of the plan to reach the target includes improving access to other forms of housing for emergency housing residents. As of June 2026, 1128 households (with 2403 children), have been housed in a social housing tenancy.

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 no more than 290 megatonnes. The second target is for total emissions to be no more than 305 megatonnes between 2026 and 2030.

The update says both are on target.