Process for the development and making of secondary legislation#
Download a PDF of the regulation work flow below.
The process for developing secondary legislation to be made by Order in Council, contained in paragraph 7.95 of the Cabinet Manual, is as follows:
- identifying the need for regulations or amendments to secondary legislation (through agency monitoring and consideration of the relevant statute and regulatory system)
- developing the policy behind the secondary legislation (if necessary), including regulatory impact analysis, and drafting the paper for Cabinet committee consideration
- consultation, as required, with: relevant agencies, the government caucus, other parties represented in the House and independent members of Parliament, and affected groups (if required by legislation or otherwise appropriate)
- submitting the policy (if any) to a Cabinet committee and Cabinet for approval (if the regulations are entirely routine and do not require new policy decisions, the Minister may authorise drafting without reference to Cabinet)
- drafting of the regulations by the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO)
- submitting the proposed secondary legislation to the Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG) to seek authorisation for submission to the Executive Council (EC)
- confirmation of the LEG decision by Cabinet and submission of the regulations to EC on the same day if Cabinet agrees
- notification in the New Zealand Gazette on the following Thursday
- a minimum 28-day period before the regulations come into force (refer to paragraphs 7.100-7.103 of the Cabinet Manual for further advice on the 28-day rule)
- publication by PCO on the New Zealand Legislation website.
Departmental planning must take account of the time needed for all of these steps, including those weeks during the year when Cabinet committees and/or EC will not meet (such as around the Christmas and New Year break, or in pre-election periods). A minimum of six weeks should be allowed between the completion of the drafting of the secondary legislation and the date on which the legislation comes into force.
The governing Act will indicate whether secondary legislation is required to implement a policy or decision. If the matter falls within the delegated authority of the individual Minister, secondary legislation may not be needed. The Act should also be checked to see whether it requires that the Governor-General must be advised by a particular Minister to make the regulations in EC.