Source: New Zealand Government
For the first time, the full scale and structure of New Zealand’s regulatory landscape has been mapped, exposing decades of overlap and complexity, Regulation Minister David Seymour says.
“In New Zealand there are over 260 regulators. This includes 95 in central government, 79 in local government, and 57 statutory bodies, committees, or tribunals,” Mr Seymour says.
“Yesterday we announced a concerted effort to make Government simpler, smaller, and more efficient. Today, we’re revealing new details for why it’s necessary. We have a twisted spaghetti of regulators who don’t just cost money to fund, but suck up people’s time and force others to give up completely.
“This analysis shows hundreds of regulatory organisations operating under hundreds of Acts, with multiple agencies often responsible for the same issue. This drives high costs, long delays and confusion, while weakening accountability.
“For years, New Zealanders have known regulation makes getting things done too slow, too complex and too costly. Now they can see why.
“The problem starts at Parliament. When the Government regulates poorly it affects government departments, councils, statutory bodies and eventually Kiwis foot the bill. It collectively shapes almost every activity in daily life.
“The result? Whether you want to build a home, start a business, or own a dog, you’re navigating a system that has gathered layer upon layer of bad regulation, for over 25 years. No one knew the scale of the problem, let alone set about fixing it.
“The Ministry for Regulation will use this work to support a sustained programme to identify overlap, duplication and unnecessary complexity. The Ministry will maintain and progressively update the mapping ensuring it remains current, usable, and valuable over time.
“This will help agencies review regulations they are responsible for, as required by the Regulatory Standards Act 2025.
“This will drive change in the size of Government and our mission to give taxpayers a fairer deal. Every dollar not wasted on bureaucracy is a dollar that can stay with the people who earned it or be spent on the frontline services New Zealanders actually rely on.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/first-ever-picture-of-new-zealands-regulatory-landscape-revealed/