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 are expectations and requirements that 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 CO(26)2 Expectations for Good law-making 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 were revoked on 1 July 2026. See instead Consistency assessments for new 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.