Written by Binoli Goonatillake
Over its term so far, the coalition government has introduced a number of controversial bills, some of which have passed into legislation and some of which have not. The Regulatory Standards Bill, spearheaded by the leader of the ACT Party, David Seymour, was introduced to Parliament on 19 May 2025 and is proving to be a worthy successor of the aforementioned bills (New Zealand Parliament, 2025). What exactly does this bill entail?
What is regulation?
Simply put, regulation is the practice of creating, implementing, and monitoring rules to govern individuals and groups in a given state. The New Zealand regulatory system is made up of such rules, including primary and secondary legislation, policies, and the common law. A regulator is a parliamentary member or any other individual authorised by the parliament to carry out regulatory work. Regulatory practice is the manner in which regulators carry out their work, and there are different mechanisms that promote good regulatory practice. This is essential as poor regulatory practices can create negative social, environmental and economic outcomes through regulation that either does not address essential issues, or regulation that further exacerbates them (Ministry for Regulation, n.d.).
What mechanisms are already in place?
There are already several mechanisms in place that promote good regulatory practice. These include constitutional documents, legislation, and judge-made common law. The usual checks performed on parliament by the Ombudsman and the Regulations Review Committee also serve to promote good regulatory practice. There are also advisory committees like the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee (LDAC) and the Parliamentary Counsel Office (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
In March 2024, Mr Seymour established the Ministry for Regulation and was appointed as the Minister for Regulation in charge of overseeing it (New Zealand Government, 2024). This was part of the coalition government’s 100-day plan to increase productivity and economic growth through improved quality of regulation (Seymour, 2024). The creation of the Regulatory Standards Bill, also headed by Mr Seymour, is another step taken to achieve this goal.
What are the provisions of the bill?
Mr Seymour states that, “The Bill will codify principles of good regulatory practice for existing and future regulations” (Seymour, 2025, para. 5). This statement perfectly encapsulates what the Bill intends to achieve.
The bill establishes six principles of what it considers to be responsible regulation. Namely, the rule of law, liberties, taking of property, taxes, fees and levies, the role of courts, and good law-making.
It will then require government agencies to assess new legislation against these principles and publish their findings in a Consistency Accountability Statement (CAS). Any inconsistencies found between the principles and the legislation will need to be publicly accounted for by the Minister in charge.
The bill will also provide for the establishment of a Regulatory Standards Board (RBS) that will consist of members appointed by the Minister for Regulation. The RBS will have the power to review both new and existing legislation against the principles and make recommendations at its own discretion or prompted by public complaints. It is, however, very important to note that the principles and reports outlined above are not legally binding.
The bill will further cement the role and powers of the Ministry for Regulation as an overseer of regulatory practice (Ministry for Regulation, n.d.).
What is the purpose of the bill, and who supports it?
The purpose of the bill is to improve wages and productivity by creating a regulatory system that is less expansive, higher quality, and focuses more on the impacts that it will have on the public. Mr Seymour states that this will save both time and money needlessly spent on compliance and regulatory activities, allowing for more productive activities that will result in boosted economic outcomes (Seymour, 2025).
Mr Seymour claims that regulating is currently “politically rewarding” for regulators (Seymour, 2025, para. 4). Supporters of the bill agree. They believe that regulators avoid risks and choose to overregulate (Ministry for Regulation, 2025). The provisions increasing transparency and allowing the public to appeal to the RBS are intended to hold regulators accountable, making regulating less rewarding, which will result in lower quantity, higher quality regulation (Seymour, 2025).
National Party MP Ryan Hamilton states that National also “believes in less government” (New Zealand Parliament, 2025). The bill was part of the coalition agreement between National and ACT, although Dan Bidois, another National MP, claims that “it is with scepticism that we support this bill in the House” (New Zealand Parliament, 2025).
As set out in a discussion document, supporters of the bill predict that it will increase the consistency of regulation (Ministry for Regulation, 2025). Regulations will all be held to the same principles, ideally creating bipartisan regulation that will benefit everyone. Tailoring regulations to the same set of principles will also result in regulations that should work better together, saving money on litigation and the interpretation of legislation.
They also pointed out that overregulation affects small businesses disproportionately and reducing this factor will help them thrive, increasing competition for larger businesses, which will result in lower costs for consumers (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
Critiques and Opposition
The Regulatory Standards bill faced sizable opposition. During the it’s first reading on 22 May 2025, a line was drawn between the coalition parties and the opposition parties; Labour, Green, and Te Pāti Māori, who all voted against the bill. The bill passed its first reading owing to the coalition’s majority in the House (New Zealand Parliament, 2025).
In a discussion document released by David Seymour titled, “Have your say on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill”, the public made over 23,000 submissions over the span of three months from November 2024 to January 2025. Approximately 88% of these submissions were found to oppose the bill and 12% were found to not have a clear position. Only 0.33% of submissions were found to support or partially support the bill (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
Submitters believe that the bill is unnecessary and that it would result in duplication of already existing regulatory mechanisms, which will overcomplicate law-making (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
Submitters were concerned about the Bill’s complete lack of recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and The Treaty of Waitangi as constitutional documents. This concern is echoed by Tania Waikato, a Māori lawyer representing Māori rights group Toitū te Tiriti in its urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing on the bill. Waikato states that the bill “will alter the constitutional arrangements between the Crown and Māori under te Tiriti by stealth, and without the consent by Māori as Treaty partner” (Waikato, 2025, para. 5).
Labour MP Duncan Webb stated that “This Bill favours corporate interests ahead of our communities, environmental protections” (Webb, 2025, para. 2).
The taking of property principle states that regulation should not allow for the taking or impairment of private property, and doing so must result in fair compensation to the impacted parties (Ministry for Regulation, n.d.). Submitters have raised concerns that this principle will significantly impact environmental and public health regulations among many other regulations, especially given its vague terms. It will provide an extra avenue for corporations to contest regulations requiring the government to spend money on compensation in addition to potentially high litigation costs. It will also deter the government from applying regulations in the future, demonstrating the potential negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes of the bill that will drive further inequality and poverty (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
Another factor is that the rule of law principle focuses on equality over equity, failing to take into account systematic inequalities and how seemingly equal regulations impact different groups unequally. This principle may also prevent legislative changes that can account for these inequalities. These outcomes would affect Māori communities disproportionately and further exacerbate already existing issues (Ministry for Regulation, 2025).
Key takeaways
- The Regulatory Standards Bill recently passed its first reading in Parliament and is now in the Select Committee stage.
- The purpose of the bill is to increase productivity and wages/economic outcomes by creating a regulatory system that is low in quantity and high in quality.
- Opposition parties criticize the bill for failing to acknowledge Te Tiriti and The Treaty as well as for prioritizing corporate interests over social, economic, and environmental interests.
- Submissions for the Regulatory Standards Bill close on 23 June 2025 (New Zealand Parliament, 2025).
References
Ministry for Regulation. (n.d.). Regulation in New Zealand Quick Guide. https://www.regulation.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/RPE-Quick-Guide-Regulation-in-New-Zealand.pdf
Ministry for Regulation. (n.d.). Regulatory Standards Bill – FAQ. https://www.regulation.govt.nz/assets/Publication-Documents/Regulatory-Standards-Bill-FAQs.pdf
Ministry for Regulation. (2025, May). Summary of Submissions https://www.regulation.govt.nz/assets/Publication-Documents/Information-Release-Summary-of-Submissions-for-proposed-Regulatory-Standards-Bill.pdf
New Zealand Government. (2024). Ministry for Regulation. https://www.govt.nz/organisations/ministry-for-regulation/
New Zealand Parliament. (2025, May 22). Regulatory Standards Bill – First Reading. https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20250522_20250523_20
New Zealand Parliament. (2025, May 27). Regulatory Standards Bill. https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/e22299b3-b67b-4f74-023d-08dd9688d2c5?Tab=history
Seymour, D. (2024, January 30). Government introduces Productivity Commission Act Repeal Bill. Beehive.govt.nz. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-introduces-productivity-commission-act-repeal-bill#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20disestablishment%20of%20the%20Productivity,red%20tape%2C%20and%20clearing%20out
Seymour, D. (2025, May 7). Regulatory Standards Bill promotes transparent principled lawmaking. Beehive.govt.nz. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/regulatory-standards-bill-promotes-transparent-principled-lawmaking#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Bill%20will%20codify%20principles,to%20that%20of%20the%20Treasury.
Waikato, T. (2025, May 14). 18,000 register support for Tribunal claim against Regulatory Standards Bill. RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/560950/18-000-register-support-for-tribunal-claim-against-regulatory-standards-bill
Webb, D. (2025, May 23). Release: David Seymour’s Bill harms our people and environment. Labour. https://www.labour.org.nz/release_david_seymour_s_bill_harms_our_people_and_environment
