Appendix 5: Controls over regulations
Outline of controls
The controls over "regulations" include those found in:
- the Acts and Regulations Publications Act 1989;
- the Regulations (Disallowance) Act 1989;
- the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives (especially those Standing Orders relating to the Regulations Review Committee); and
- the Cabinet Office Manual.
Nature of Regulations
"Regulations" for the purposes of these controls are:
- regulations, rules or bylaws made under an Act by the Governor-General in Council or by a Minister of the Crown;
- an Order in Council, Proclamation, notice, Warrant, or instrument, made under an enactment that varies or extends the scope or provisions of an enactment;
- an Order in Council that brings into force, repeals, or suspends an enactment;
- regulations, rules or an instrument made under an Imperial Act or the Royal prerogative and having the force of law in New Zealand;
- an instrument that is a regulation or that is required to be treated as a regulation for the purposes of the Regulations Act 1936 or Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 or this Act;
- an instrument that revokes regulation, rules, bylaws, an Order in Council, a Proclamation, a notice, a Warrant, or an instrument, referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e).
Nature of controls
All regulations must (unless legislation provides otherwise):
- be approved by Cabinet;
- be drafted by Parliamentary Counsel;
- be published in the SR series;
- be laid before the House of Representatives; and
- stand referred to the Regulations Review Committee.
The House of Representatives may disallow, amend or substitute regulations laid before it.
The Regulations Review Committee provides technical scrutiny of regulations and decides whether to draw the special attention of the House to the regulation on the ground or grounds that the regulation:
- is not in accordance with the general objects and intentions of the statute under which it is made;
- trespasses unduly on personal rights and liberties;
- appears to make some unusual or unexpected use of the powers conferred by the statute under which it is made;
- unduly makes the rights and liberties of persons dependent upon administrative decisions which are not subject to review on their merits by a judicial or other independent tribunal;
- excludes the jurisdiction of the courts without explicit authorisation in the enabling statute;
- contains matter more appropriate for parliamentary enactment;
- is retrospective where this is not expressly authorised by the empowering statute;
- was not made in compliance with particular notice and consultation procedures prescribed by statute;
- for any other reason concerning its form or purport, it calls for elucidation.