Ministry for Regulation

Our office will be closed from 25 December 2024 to 6 January 2025. We won’t be monitoring our inboxes during our office closedown period. You can still provide your feedback into our engagement hub, including reporting red tape issues, and our team will respond once we’re back in the office. We look forward to helping government agencies make their rules and regulations easier for New Zealanders to navigate in 2025.

2024 has been a big one for the Ministry, and since we were set up in March, our team has worked hard and fast to deliver a range of things that will have a lasting positive impact across the regulatory system.  The recently launched portal where people can report red tape issues will enable us to do even more to find and resolve regulatory issues that are getting in the way of people doing more - leading to more productive use of people’s time, and better outcomes for those who want to get things done. So far, we’ve received almost 415 red tape issues, and our review team are busy triaging and reviewing them. Some of the biggest themes are traffic management, anti-money laundering and small food manufacturing. We’ve heard from people about a wide range of things including toys, aviation, bike racks, boats, service stations, hot water bores, engineering, electrical workers, health supplements and trailers.  Read more about the things we’ve done in 2024 https://lnkd.in/g2bqQy_6 👈

This week we delivered the first of our major regulatory review reports to the Minister for Regulation – the early childhood education (ECE) report. It’s the culmination of months of hard work by the Ministry and reflects the views of thousands of parents and whānau, ECE staff and service providers, and the wide range of other stakeholders who provided their feedback. https://lnkd.in/gJnkTnnT The report proposes 15 recommendations to improve how government regulates the ECE sector that the Minister for Regulation has accepted. In early 2025, the Minister will take a paper to Cabinet for consideration, with the intention of turning the recommendations into action. The report is available here: https://lnkd.in/gdVpZEEx The Ministry has two further regulatory reviews underway, with a fourth expected to be announced in early 2025. 

We all want rules and regulations to enable New Zealanders to do more - leading to more productive use of time, and far better outcomes for those who want to get things done.   From 1 January 2025, government agencies making new regulations will follow a more simplified and streamlined process, saving time and energy by focusing only on what’s important.    The changes aim to create a more efficient, transparent, and effective regulatory environment that supports New Zealand's economic and social well-being.  If you’re keen to know more about the changes, see https://lnkd.in/gwHgm2Uh

We are sharpening our scissors, ready to start our third regulatory review into the hairdressing and barbering industry. Hairdressers and barbers are a vital part of every community in New Zealand. They make up a billion-dollar industry of more than 5,000 mostly small businesses employing around 13,000 people. The industry currently works with regulations dating back to 1980. They have rules that prevent you having coffee with your haircut, not being able to bring your pooch while you get a perm, around the intensity of lighting in the salon, the number and location of handwashing basins, and the products that need to be available for use at those basins. You can read more about the review, including the terms of reference on our website https://lnkd.in/gYGEmT3R We’ll start talking with the industry early in the New Year. The review is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2025.

Nine months have passed since we were set up to help other government agencies make their rules and regulations easier for New Zealanders to navigate – and we’ve made great progress so far. Read about some of the things we’ve done recently in our latest newsletter, including: ➡️ we launched a portal that has received hundreds of regulatory issues from the public and business for consideration  ➡️ we delivered a discussion document and policy work to shape a future Regulatory Standards Bill  ➡️ we’re close to completing our first two regulatory reviews, with a third soon to be announced  ➡️ we launched a suite of learning materials and run webinars aimed at lifting regulatory capability across the system  ➡️ we consulted with other government agencies on more than 40 regulatory proposals ➡️ we helped clear up regulation and guidelines in a number of sectors. Take a read, and sign up to get our news and updates direct to your inbox https://lnkd.in/gaFTKdg9 📧

In just over a week since launching our red tape online portal, we’ve received over 300 reports of regulatory issues across industries like building and construction, traffic management, education and training – even from cake makers. 🍰 Our review team is hard at work triaging, reviewing, engaging with submitters, and looking into these issues thoroughly. Some are complex and may contribute to the bigger picture of where future regulatory review is required. There are many ways we can address the feedback, from targeted conversations with regulatory agencies to providing advice to the Minister for Regulation or proposing legislative change. If you have feedback about a red tape issue or opportunity for improvement, we want to hear from you. Share your thoughts through our engagement hub. Read more and provide feedback: https://lnkd.in/gf32KsSg

Good regulation benefits us all – we all drive on the left side of the road, we can trust that our food is safe to eat, and our innovators can get legal protections for their ideas.  But poorly designed and implemented regulation makes it difficult for businesses to innovate and grow and adds cost to our economy.  We want rules and regulations to enable New Zealanders to do more - leading to more productive use of people’s time, and better outcomes for those who want to get things done. We’re consulting on the key components of a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill until Monday 13 January 2025. Your views and comments will be used to help determine the final shape of the Bill that will be introduced into the House next year.  To make a submission go to our engagement hub https://lnkd.in/g6-g7-FT Find out more on our website https://lnkd.in/gGifuqTc

Sometimes regulation can get in the way of getting things done. Sometimes, there are areas that need more or better regulation. We all want rules and regulations to enable New Zealanders to do more - leading to more productive use of people’s time, and far better outcomes for those who want to get things done. As part of our work to improve regulation, people and organisations can provide feedback about regulatory issues or opportunities for improvement directly to us through our engagement hub. If you have feedback about a red tape issue or opportunity for improvement you want us to know about, tell us. Anyone can through our engagement hub https://lnkd.in/gBSJMknJ We use your feedback to help us understand where there may be problems with regulation so we can help fix them. Find out more on our website https://lnkd.in/gu9TyqED

Have you registered for our next webinar yet? There’s still time. We're excited to announce a new panellist for this week's webinar on emerging international trends in regulation - His Excellency, Lawrence Meredith, European Union Ambassador to New Zealand. Ambassador Meredith worked for the European Commission for more than 25 years and will bring a unique international perspective to the conversation. Register here -https://lnkd.in/gqj_N42M - to join us on Wednesday 20 November at 1.30-2.30pm to hear Ambassador Lawrence Meredith, Dr Grant Pink, and Julie Nind (MBIE) talk about their experiences with trade negotiations, changes in international trends, emerging theories about regulatory practice and more. The webinar will be facilitated by Grainne Moss, Chief Executive and Secretary for Regulation.