Hon David Seymour
Minister for Regulation

Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Regulatory Standards Bill will be read in the House.

“New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation. To raise productivity, we must allow people to spend more time on productive activities and less time on compliance,” says Mr Seymour.

“To lift productivity and wages, the ACT-National Coalition Agreement includes a commitment to pass a Regulatory Standards Act. Today is another significant step towards that as Cabinet has given approval to introduce the Bill to the house, with the target being enactment by the start of next year.

The Regulatory Standards Bill:

• provides a benchmark for good legislation through a set of principles of responsible regulation

• enables transparent assessment of the consistency of proposed and existing legislation with the principles

• establishes a Regulatory Standards Board to independently consider the consistency of proposed and existing legislation, and

• strengthens regulatory quality by supporting the Ministry for Regulation in its regulatory oversight role.

“In a nutshell: If red tape is holding us back, because politicians find regulating politically rewarding, then we need to make regulating less rewarding for politicians with more sunlight on their activities. That is how the Regulatory Standards Bill will help New Zealand get its mojo back. It will finally ensure regulatory decisions are based on principles of good law-making and economic efficiency,” Mr Seymour says.

“Ultimately, this Bill will help the Government achieve its goal of improving New Zealand’s productivity by ensuring that regulated parties are regulated by a system which is transparent, has a mechanism for recourse, and holds regulators accountable to the people.

“The law doesn’t stop politicians or their officials making bad laws, but it makes it transparent that they’re doing it. It makes it easier for voters to identify those responsible for making bad rules. Over time, it will improve the quality of rules we all have to live under by changing how politicians behave.

“In a high-cost economy, regulation isn’t neutral - it’s a tax on growth. This Government is committed to clearing the path of needless regulations by improving how laws are made.”

Note:

The Regulatory Standards Bill can be found here: Regulatory Standards Bill 155-1 (2025), Government Bill Contents – New Zealand Legislation

Particular acknowledgements go to Dr Bryce Wilkinson, whose book "Constraining Government Regulation" laid important groundwork for this Bill. Special thanks also go to Dr Graham Scott, Jack Hodder KC, and other members of the Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce, who refined the Bill in 2009.

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