The Regulatory Management System

Governments have a finite set of tools they can use to influence outcomes. One of these tools is creating, implementing, and amending regulation.

The government of New Zealand uses regulation to protect the community from harm and to improve the standard of living of its people. Regulation is about influencing people’s behaviour to improve outcomes for all New Zealanders. This involves laws, rules and other ways to influence what people do. The rules, organisations and their practices – the whole regulatory system – work together to shape people’s behaviour and interactions and improve the lives, work and businesses of all New Zealanders.

The RMS influences the quality of new and existing regulation. It does this by trying to bring more discipline to the:

• development of proposals for regulatory change
• performance and state of our existing regulatory systems, and
• maintenance of appropriate regulatory capabilities.

Most current RMS requirements are set by Cabinet, not in legislation. The exceptions are:

• the Public Service Act, which specifies that chief executives have responsibility for stewarding the legislation their agencies administer
• the Legislation Act, which provides for the role and responsibilities of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO)
• a growing range of international agreements, or treaties, that include obligations for good regulatory practices or regulatory transparency.

Government expectations for good regulatory practice

These Cabinet-mandated expectations provide general guidance on the features of a good regulatory system, and explain what agencies should be doing to meet their regulatory stewardship obligations.

Government Expectations for Good Regulatory Practice (268 KB, Pdf)

Regulatory impact analysis (RIA) requirements

Cabinet’s impact analysis requirements support and inform the government’s decisions on proposals for policy change involving legislation.

Regulatory impact analysis (RIA)

Specialist legislative design and drafting support

The Parliamentary Counsel Office, the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee, and the Ministry of Justice provide a range of support and guidance for government agencies on good legislative design and drafting. This includes publishing the legislation guidelines and associated material.

Legislation guidelinesopen_in_new

Role of the Parliamentary Counsel Officeopen_in_new  

Instructing the Parliamentary Counsel Office open_in_new

Constitutional issues and human rights – Ministry of Justiceopen_in_new

The Bill of Rights Act – Ministry of Justiceopen_in_new

Disclosure statements for Government-initiated legislation

Government agencies need to publish a disclosure statement for most government Bills and Amendment Papers when they’re introduced. A disclosure statement provides information about the policy background, development and content of the proposed legislation.

Disclosure statements for government legislation

Regulatory system stewardship

Under the Public Service Act 2020, and the Government Expectations for Good Regulatory Practice, all government agencies in New Zealand have stewardship responsibilities for:

• the legislation they administer, and
• the regulatory systems in which they play key roles.

These responsibilities are concerned with the proactive and collaborative governance, monitoring, and care of the relevant regulatory systems.

Regulatory stewardship

Support for regulators

We help regulators become more capable practitioners, and better stewards of the regulatory systems they design, operate and govern.

Support for regulators

As the Ministry for Regulation, we’re the central steward of the RMS. The outcomes we're working to deliver are:

• higher quality regulation: Government resources are combined and focused to improve the quality of regulation and the performance of regulatory systems
• greater transparency: the Government and the public are informed about the purpose, costs, benefits, and outcomes of regulation being used in New Zealand
• improved public trust and confidence: the public have better experiences with, and perceptions of, regulation and regulatory systems
• increased capability: regulators and regulatory leaders are more capable stewards and operators of regulatory systems.