Exclusions from the Act
Some legislation is excluded from the Regulatory Standards Act and is not subject to its assessment and review requirements.
Overview
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.
Some legislation excluded from the Act is still subject to other regulatory impact analysis requirements during the policy development process.
Also see:
What is excluded
Legislation can be excluded under either the Act or by Notice.
- Legislation excluded by the Act can be found in Schedule 2 of the Act.
- Legislation excluded by notice can be found in the Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026.
Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026
If you are still unsure whether specific legislation is excluded after reviewing the Act and Notice, you should seek internal advice, including from your agencies legal advisors if needed.
The Ministry for Regulation is unable to advise on the application of exclusions to individual cases.
Reasons for exclusions
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).
Exclusions process and advice
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Note: The Ministry for Regulation is unable to grant one-off or case-by-case exclusions. |
If your agency identifies legislation that it considers should be excluded via notice to align with existing exclusions, contact us:
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.
The Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026
The Regulatory Standards (Excluded Legislation) Notice 2026 was published in June 2026 and came into force on 1 July 2026.