What are Rules?

Land Transport Rules are a form of delegated legislation similar to regulations. The NZ Transport Agency produces Rules under an agreement for Rule development services made with the Secretary for Transport. They are signed into law by the Minister of Transport under the Land Transport Act 1998. Rules can be made on a wide variety of subjects related to the objectives of the Government’s New Zealand Transport Strategy and the Government Policy Statement on transport. These include assisting economic development, maintaining and improving land transport safety and security (including personal), improving access and mobility, protecting and promoting public health and helping to ensure environmental sustainability.

Rules are written in plain language to ensure that they are widely understood and complied with. Each Rule must be economically viable, technically accurate and legally correct. Before being signed, Rules usually go through an extensive process of consultation with the transport industry and other interested groups and individuals, including government departments and agencies and, when relevant, local authorities and community groups.

As well as proposing new requirements, Rules have consolidated and clarified, in plain English, requirements by transferring them from regulations, Gazette notices, and other ‘legal instruments’, and policy statements.

How does a Rule become law?

Ordinary Rules are signed by the Minister of Transport. Rules and come into force either 28 days after the date of gazetting or on a later date specified in the Rule. The Minister seeks the agreement of Cabinet before drafting commences and refers a Rule to Cabinet for noting before signing the Rule into law. In the course of their production, individual Rules may be subject to scrutiny by legislative bodies such as Cabinet, caucus and select committees . Rules must be tabled in Parliament within 16 sitting days of signing and are referred to the Regulations Review Committee for scrutiny. This committee can recommend to Parliament that a particular Rule that it finds unacceptable be disallowed.

Rules may go through five stages:

• Blue phase: Policy development, which may include the release of a discussion paper setting out policy proposals for inclusion in the Rule.
  
• Red phase (optional): Draft of the Rule sent to registered interest groups for comment before the Rule is released for public consultation.
• Yellow phase: Mandatory public consultation – a draft of the proposed Rule is made available to interested groups and must be advertised in the public notice columns of the major metropolitan newspapers and in the New Zealand Gazette.
• Green (optional): Draft of Rule released for final comment by key interested groups and others, usually if significant changes are made to the draft Rule following consultation.
• White phase: A post-consultation redraft of the Rule is is sent to the Ministry of Transport for scrutiny and agreement on a final draft Rule. The final draft Rule may be referred to the Regulations Review Committee.  Interested government departments and agencies, are given the opportunity to comment on the Rule proposals, which are then submitted to Cabinet for noting. Following this, the Minister signs the Rule into law.

View flow chart of Rules process (JPG, 232 KB)

Last updated: 10 September 2009