The state of New Zealand’s regulatory systems
This review reveals the structure and scale of regulation in New Zealand
Overview
This review provides the first comprehensive picture of New Zealand’s regulatory systems.
It brings together information held across multiple agencies to show what regulation exists, how it is structured, and where regulatory responsibilities sit across central and local government.
The mapping shows that New Zealand’s regulatory landscape is large and often complex, with more than 260 organisations performing regulatory functions overall. It highlights where responsibilities are concentrated, where they are fragmented, and where coordination pressures may be emerging.
It creates a shared picture of the regulatory systems – something that has not been previously available.
This baseline provides a shared evidence base to support improvement of the regulatory systems over time and to inform any future, more targeted work.
What the mapping shows
The regulatory landscape is large and complex in some areas, with multiple organisations performing related regulatory functions. Other areas of regulation are more streamlined, with clearer lines of responsibility.
This variation matters. It affects how easily systems can respond to change, how consistently regulation is applied, and how effectively agencies can work together.
Size of the system
- More than 260 organisations have been identified as performing regulatory functions across New Zealand
- 95 organisations are in central government
- 79 are in local government
- 57 are statutory bodies, committees, or tribunals.
- The remaining organisations take other structural forms.
See report and diagrams:
- Full report: The state of New Zealand’s regulatory systems (9.6 MB, Pdf)
- Infographic: The regulatory landscape in New Zealand (625 KB, Pdf)
- Infographic: Map of regulators to Ministerial portfolios (3.2 MB, Pdf)
- Infographic: An example of two regulated parties (2.7 MB, Pdf)
Scope of the review
This review is not a sector specific regulatory review.
Unlike reviews of individual regimes or sectors (such as hospitality, early childhood education, or telecommunications), the Regulatory Landscape Mapping Review looks across all regulatory systems.
It does not make findings or recommendations about individual regulators or regimes. Instead, it identifies patterns and features across the system that may warrant closer attention over time.
This work provides a starting point for more focused work over time.
What happens next
The Ministry for Regulation will:
- maintain and progressively update this landscape ensuring it remains current, usable, and valuable over time
- use the system view to target follow-on work, including deeper analysis of where responsibilities are most fragmented, where coordination pressures are highest, and where cumulative complexity is building
- work with agencies and the wider regulatory community to build a stronger, shared understanding of their regulatory systems, and to support more deliberate stewardship over time.
