Disclosure statements for government legislation

Disclosure statements are departmental documents that provide information about the development and content of legislation proposed by the government.

The purpose of a disclosure statement is to:

• better inform parliamentary and public scrutiny of government-initiated legislation
• promote good practices for the development of that legislation.

The disclosure statement complements the general policy statement provided by the Minister in the explanatory note that accompanies a Bill or Amendment Paper (AP). It’s expected to reflect the knowledge, understanding and work done by the agency responsible for preparing the legislation. It does this by describing:

• the policy objectives of the Bill or AP
• some of the key processes that departments are expected to have followed during the development and testing of the content of the Bill or AP
• certain significant powers or unusual features in the Bill or AP that may be of particular Parliamentary or public interest, and that may warrant further explanation.

Cabinet’s requirements for disclosure statements are set out in full in a Cabinet circular.

Cabinet circular: Disclosure requirements for government legislationopen_in_new

Disclosure statements are published online by the Parliamentary Counsel Office at the same time as the Bill or AP is published on the New Zealand Legislation website.

NZ legislation disclosuresopen_in_new

You’ll find a step-by-step guide to publishing disclosure statements on the Parliamentary Counsel Office website.

Any other enquiries about the formatting, processing and publication of disclosure statements should be directed to the Publications Unit at the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO).

Publishing disclosure statementsopen_in_new

You’ll find guidance and templates for disclosure statements below. 

• The guidance documents provide advice on when disclosure is required, and how to prepare and publish a disclosure statement.  
• All agencies preparing a disclosure statement must use one of the templates provided below.

Guides and templates were originally created by the Treasury, with minor revisions made by the Ministry for Regulation in July 2025 to reflect the transfer of the function and adjust superseded links and references. Agencies should ensure that revised templates are used for upcoming disclosure statements.

If you have general enquiries about the disclosure requirements that aren't covered in the guidance and templates, contact us at stewardship@regulation.govt.nz

Guidance

Quick Guide to Disclosure Statements (208 KB, Pdf) (revised July 2025)

Disclosure Statements for Government Legislation: Technical Guide for Departments (1011 KB, Pdf) (revised July 2025)

Templates

Disclosure Statement Template for a Government Bill (62 KB, Docx) (revised July 2025)

Full Disclosure Statement Template for Amendments to a Bill (82 KB, Docx) (revised July 2025)

Short-Form Disclosure Statement Template for Amendments to a Bill (52 KB, Docx) (revised July 2025)