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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Local Government Act 2002

Structure and reorganisation of local government - Reorganisation of local authorities

27: Application to be called city council or district council

You could also call this:

“How to ask for your council to be called a city or district council”

If you want your council to be called a city council or a district council, you can ask the Local Government Commission. They will look at your request and decide if it’s okay.

If you want to be called a city council, your area needs to meet certain rules. These rules are explained in another part of the law called clause 16 of Schedule 3.

If the Commission thinks your request is good, they will tell the Minister. The Minister can then ask the Governor-General to make it official.

The Governor-General can make an order that changes your council’s name. This might also mean they need to update a list of councils in Part 2 of Schedule 2.

When the Governor-General makes this order, it becomes a special type of law. This law needs to be shared with everyone as explained in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM171837.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
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Part 3 Structure and reorganisation of local government
Reorganisation of local authorities

27Application to be called city council or district council

  1. A territorial authority that wishes to be called a city council or a district council may apply to the Local Government Commission.

  2. The Commission may refer the application to the Minister for the preparation of an Order in Council to give effect to it, if the Commission considers that—

  3. the application should be approved; and
    1. in the case of a territorial authority wishing to be called a city council, the district of the territorial authority meets the criteria specified in clause 16 of Schedule 3.

      1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, give effect to the application.

      2. The Order in Council may consequentially amend Part 2 of Schedule 2.

      3. An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

      Notes
      • Section 27(1): amended, on , by section 14 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 54).
      • Section 27(2)(b): amended, on , by section 15 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 55).
      • Section 27(5): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).