Engaging with the Ministry on regulatory proposals

As the government’s lead regulatory advisor, the Ministry provides second opinion advice on regulatory initiatives. 

The Cabinet Office circular CO (26) 2: Expectations for Good Law-making sets out the Government’s expectation that good law-making be supported by early consultation and careful analysis. 

Agencies must engage with the Ministry: 

• as soon as possible after policy work commences on issues that may lead to significant regulatory proposals for Cabinet. This helps ensure proposals clearly address a defined problem and consider credible options to address them.
• in agency consultation on Cabinet proposals, in addition to regulatory analysis requirements.

The following guidance helps agencies identify when to engage early with the Ministry and whether a proposal is likely to be significant. It does not cover impact analysis requirements. 

Also see:

CO (26) 2: Expectations for Good Law-makingopen_in_new

Guidance on regulatory impact analysis 

For significant proposals, engage with us when you have an approved briefing or decision from your Minister. This provides enough information for us to determine the right level of Ministry input to satisfy the Cabinet Circular requirements.

Early policy work sets the foundations for good regulation. Getting it right at the outset avoids poor outcomes or subsequent revisions.

We are also happy to engage earlier to test ideas before seeking Ministerial approval.

The Ministry typically engages on significant proposals to support agencies in developing a strong problem definition, clear objectives, and well‑developed options.

A significant proposal may be:

• a comprehensive review of an existing regulatory system
• a new Act or regulation, or a new regulation-making power
• the regulation of an occupation or profession
• new taxes, fees or levies
• a change in the scope of a regulator’s functions or powers
• a material change to fines or penalties.

This list is not exhaustive. A proposal may still be significant, so agencies should exercise judgement. We recommend agencies consider the following as part of their assessment of potential significance.

Matters concerning the impact of the proposal:

• likely fiscal or economic effect
• impacts on market competition (e.g. creating barriers to the entry of new competitors)
• widespread population or geographic effects
• likelihood of irreversible environmental or public health effects
• material impacts on rights to use or exchange of property rights
• creation of significant compliance costs, or ongoing administration, monitoring or enforcement costs.

Other matters (e.g. relating to risk, uncertainty, or regulatory design):

• material inconsistencies with any of the principles in section 9 of the Regulatory Standards Actopen_in_new
• implementation challenges e.g. due to high costs and/or short timeframes
• risks for policy effectiveness and/or implementation risk resulting from high degrees of uncertainty, and
• likelihood of broad public interest.

Careful consideration should also be given to the impact of proposed regulation on individual property rights and personal liberties. There should be clear justification for proceeding with legislation where these are affected.

Not sure whether your proposal is significant enough to require early engagement? Contact us for guidance: agencyconsultation@regulation.govt.nz 

If you have determined the proposal is significant, send a copy of the most recent policy paper/s to:

agencyconsultation@regulation.govt.nz

Include in your email:

• when you need a response by  
• who the main contact person from your agency is.

Optional additional information to include:

• A record of earlier decisions about the proposal.
• A general overview or background, including supporting analysis documents e.g. economic case.
• Draft consultation material.
• Timeframe for the proposal.

We will review the submission and may request further information if needed.

Agency consultation

For general agency consultation with the Ministry on proposals going to Cabinet, send draft Cabinet papers and any accompanying documents to:

agencyconsultation@regulation.govt.nz