With the House rising on 24 September for the general election, there will be a flurry of law changes pushed through. That’s not to suggest the past 2 months have been quiet at all. A lot of law changes have come into effect recently, and there are plenty more coming up.
What laws have changed recently?
Below is a summary of some of the key changes since our June 2026 newsletter. Please note that this isn’t a complete list of all law changes relevant to your organisation.
To get full clarity about legislative changes affecting your organisation, dial up the ‘clarity of change’ function in your ComplyWith Obligations Register.
While you’re there, turn on law change notifications for yourself and remember that in the ComplyWith Admin module you can set up tailored law change notifications for anyone in your organisation who will benefit from being kept up to date about law changes relevant to their role.
Key changes for public sector organisations
- On 1 July 2026:
- The Regulatory Standards Act 2025 introduced principles of responsible regulation and new responsibilities for agencies that administer Acts and secondary legislation.
- The Public Finance Amendment Act 2026 changed the information that must be included in the information on strategic intentions and limited the prohibition on issuing securities without statutory authority to debt securities only.
Key changes for local government and water services
- On 14 August 2026, the Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Amendment Regulations 2026 changed the requirements for discharging biosolids and treated wastewater to land or water.
- On 5 August 2026, the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Amendment Act 2026 extended the levy regime to water organisations for water services infrastructure and allowed infrastructure to vest in or be owned by water organisations and state enterprises.
- On 31 July 2026, the Water Services Information Disclosure (Minor Amendments) Amendment Determination 2026 came into force.
- On 1 July 2026:
- The Local Government Elected Members (2026/27) Determination 2026 replaced the 2025/26 Determination.
- The Rates Rebate (Specified Amounts) Order 2026 replaced the Rates Rebate (Specified Amounts) Order 2025.
Key changes for the education sector
- On 6 July 2026, the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Act 2026 came into force.
- On 29 June 2026, the Education (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Regulations 2026 came into force, giving the Director of Regulation the power to issue formal warnings and written notices requiring service providers to engage specialist help or prepare an improvement plan.
Key changes for organisations with R&D labs
- On 30 July 2026, the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Amendment Regulations 2026 changed the requirements for research, testing, and teaching laboratories.
Key changes for the electricity industry
- On 1 August 2026, the following came into force:
- The Electricity Industry Participation Code (Connection Charge Balance Point Principle and Reconciliation) Amendment 2026.
- The Electricity Industry Participation Code (Minor Amendments) Amendment 2026.
- On 23 July 2026, the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Amendment Regulations 2026 extended the ‘clear to the sky’ growth limit zone and introduced new treefall hazard and low-height planting zones.
- On 1 July 2026, the following came into force:
- The Electricity Industry Participation Code (Connected Asset Commissioning, Testing and Information Standard) Amendment 2026.
- The Electricity Industry Participation Code (Frequency and Voltage Related Amendments) Amendment 2026.
Key changes for the gas industry
- On 1 July 2026:
- The Gas (Levy of Industry Participants) Regulations 2026 set the levies on gas industry participants for the 2026/27 financial year.
- The Notification of Levy Rates Under the Energy (Petrol, Engine Fuel, and Gas) Levy Regulations 2017 Notice 2026 increased the gas safety, monitoring, and energy efficiency levy from 5.8 cents to 9.4 cents per gigajoule.
Key changes for consumer credit providers
- On 1 July 2026, the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2026 transferred regulatory responsibility for the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act from the Commerce Commission to the Financial Markets Authority.
Key changes for the health sector
- On 6 August 2026, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2026–2036 was published.
- On 10 July 2026, the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Act 2026 repealed the health sector principles and New Zealand Health Charter.
Key changes for organisations with animals
- On 30 June 2026, the Biosecurity (National Bovine Tuberculosis Pest Management Plan) Amendment Order 2026 expanded the list of persons permitted to test cattle or deer for bovine tuberculosis.
What’s coming up?
Upcoming law changes include:
- On 1 September 2026:
- Subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Water Services (Wastewater Environmental Performance Standards) Regulations 2025 for reticulated wastewater network overflows come into force.
- Most provisions of the Electricity Industry Participation Code (Code Review Programme) Amendment 2026 come into force.
- On 3 September 2026:
- The Resource Management (Measurement and Reporting of Water Takes) Regulations 2010 will apply to water permits under which water is taken at a rate of between 5 and 10 litres/second or more (but less than 10 litres/second).
- On 10 September 2026, the following come into force:
- The Customs and Excise Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2026
- The Health (Offensive Trades Removal) Order 2026.
- On 23 September 2026, most provisions of the Arms Act 2026 come into force.
- On 1 October 2026, the following come into force:
- Some provisions of the Electricity Industry Participation Code (Connection Charge Balance Point Principle and Reconciliation) Amendment 2026
- The Electricity Industry Participation Code (Half Hourly Data for Reconciliation) Amendment 2026
- Some provisions of the Electricity Industry Participation Code (Minor Amendments) Amendment 2026
- The Gas Distribution Services Default Price-Quality Path Determination 2026.
- On 24 October 2026, the remaining provisions of the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Act 2025 come into force.
- On 1 November 2026, the following come into force:
- Some provisions of the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Act 2026
- The Land Transport (Offences and Penalties) Amendment Regulations 2026
- The Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance Amendment 2026.
- On 2 November 2026, some provisions from the Legislation Amendment Act 2026 come into force.
- On 18 November 2026, the following come into force:
- The Companies (Address Information) Amendment Act 2025
- The Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Act 2025.
