New mapping reveals how regulation really works across New Zealand

The Ministry for Regulation has released the first comprehensive map of New Zealand’s regulatory landscape - bringing together information from across multiple sources to show, for the first time, how regulation fits together.

The regulatory review provides a clear picture of what regulation exists, how it is organised, and who is responsible for it across central and local government. 

Until now, this information has been spread across agencies and datasets. This is the first time it has been brought together into a single, consolidated view. 

The mapping shows the scale of the system, identifying more than 260 organisations carrying out regulatory functions across New Zealand. 

These organisations span central government, local government, and statutory bodies. The mapping shows that local councils play a significant role as a key regulatory touchpoint for communities and businesses. 

Secretary for Regulation Gráinne Moss said the work provides a new level of visibility of how regulation operates in practice.

“For the first time, we can see the full picture of who regulates what across New Zealand. That gives us a much stronger foundation for making good decisions about how the to improve regulatory systems.

“The map draws on data from a range of sources including the Parliamentary Counsel Office, the Public Service Commission, annual reports, and Ministry for Regulation datasets - combined here for the first time. 

“This is a foundational piece of work: it doesn’t rate agencies or make recommendations. It creates a shared evidence base to support better decision-making and improvements.

The Ministry will build on this work to this work to identify where pressures, and complexity are strongest and where improvement effort should be focused.

See the review: The state of New Zealand’s regulatory systems