Developing legislation
This page provides an overview of what agencies need to do when developing legislation and directs you to detailed guidance for specific requirements
Overview
When developing legislation, there is a range of expectations and requirements which are designed to support the development of quality legislation, and promote transparency and accountability to Parliament and the public.
The Regulatory Standards Act 2025
The Regulatory Standards Act 2025 sets requirements for consistency assessments of proposed legislation against a set of principles of responsible regulation.
Go to: Regulatory Standards Act.
Consistency assessments for new legislation
The Act and the Cabinet circular Expectations for Good law-making [CO (26) 2] together set requirements for agencies when developing new legislation. These include requirements to produce documents that promote transparency and accountability.
Go to: Consistency assessments for new legislation
Government amendments and exemptions
Some Government amendments may be eligible for an exemption from the consistency assessment requirements.
Go to: Government amendments and exemptions
Disclosure statements
| The Disclosure Statement requirements are being revoked on 1 July 2026. If you are preparing a Bill for introduction, or government amendment for release, on or after 1 July 2026, go to Consistency assessments for new legislation |
Disclosure statements are departmental documents that provide information about the development and content of legislation proposed by the government.
Go to: Disclosure statements for government legislation
Legislative design and drafting guidance
More information on expectations and requirements for new legislation can be found on the following websites:
- Legislation Guidelines (LDAC)open_in_new
- Role of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO)open_in_new
- Instructing the Parliamentary Counsel Office / Turning policy into lawopen_in_new
- Constitutional issues and human rights open_in_new(Ministry of Justice)
- The Bill of Rightsopen_in_new (Ministry of Justice)
Relationship to policy development
Legislative requirements sit downstream of policy development and build on earlier work, including regulatory impact analysis.
If you are still developing policy options or preparing advice for Cabinet go to: Developing policy.