Exclusions from the Act

Some legislation is excluded from the Regulatory Standards Act (the Act). Excluded legislation does not: 

• require consistency assessments
• need to be included in the review plans required under section 17 of the Act 

Legislation may be excluded:

• by the Act. See Schedule 2, Parts 1, 2 and 3 for legislation excluded by the Act.
• by the Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026.

Note: The Exclusions Notice 2026 has not been published yet (May 2026).

Some legislation excluded from the Act is still subject to other regulatory impact analysis requirements during the policy development process.

See Regulatory Impact Analysis requirements.

Legislation is excluded by Notice for reasons including: 

• Practicality.
• Appropriateness.

Examples include: 

• Legislation which solely prescribes forms (because it would be impractical to apply the requirements of the Act).
• An Order in Council to commence parts of an Act (because it would be impractical to apply the requirements of the Act).
• Rules of Court (because applying the requirements of the Act might be an actual or perceived inappropriate intrusion of the executive into judicial affairs). 

For more information see the summary lists under the section: What is excluded (below). This page will be updated when the exclusions notice is finalised.

If your agency identifies legislation it considers should be excluded via notice to align with existing exclusions, contact us: RMS@regulation.govt.nz

Your submission will be recorded and considered as part of the next review of the Notice. Cabinet has agreed to review the exclusions policy within the first 12-24 months of operation.

If you are still unsure whether specific legislation is excluded after reviewing the Act and Notice, you should seek advice from your agency’s legal advisers.

The Ministry for Regulation is unable to advise on the application of exclusions to individual cases.

The Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026 

The Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026 is currently before the House of Representatives. The Minister will most likely issue the Notice following the approval of the House ahead of 1 July 2026.

This page will be updated once the Notice is formally issued.

Until 1 July 2026 this information is subject to the approval of the House.

See the proposed Noticeopen_in_new.