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Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - National instruments - National instruments

74: Approval of national instrument

You could also call this:

"How the Government Approves a New National Law"

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The Governor-General in Council may approve a national instrument if the Minister recommends it. You need to know that the Minister must consider a report and any recommendations before making this decision. The Minister can make changes to the proposed national instrument or withdraw it. The Minister must think about whether it is better to follow a different process if the national instrument makes an amendment under section 85. After the national instrument is approved, the Minister must publish it and tell regional councils and the public how to access it. You can access documents like the chief executive's report and a summary of the Minister's decision. The national instrument will be published on the internet, unless the Attorney-General says otherwise. A national instrument is a type of law that does not need to be written by the Parliamentary Counsel Office. The Minister must follow certain rules when approving a national instrument, like considering reports and recommendations, and publishing the instrument on the internet.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1551600.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Government and voting > Government departmentsLaw and legislation > Law making process

73: Withdrawal of proposed national instrument, or

"The Minister can cancel a proposed rule at any time before it's approved."

75: Incorporation of material by reference in national instrument, or

"Using rules from other sources in national laws"

Part 2Foundations
National instruments: National instruments

74Approval of national instrument

The Governor-General in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, approve a national instrument.
Before recommending that a national instrument be approved after having complied with section 70, the Minister must—
first, must consider the report and any recommendations made under section 70; and
secondly, may—
1. make any changes, or no changes, to the proposed national instrument as the Minister thinks fit; or
2. withdraw all or part of the proposed national instrument and give public notice of the withdrawal, including the reasons for the withdrawal.

Before recommending a national instrument that makes an amendment under section 85 be approved, the Minister must consider whether it is more appropriate to comply with section 70 to make the amendment.
After the national instrument is approved,—
the Minister must issue the national instrument by publishing it in accordance with subsection (5); and
the Minister must notify every regional council and the public that the following documents are available and how they can be accessed:
1. the chief executive’s report and a summary of their recommendations; and
2. a summary of Minister’s decision on the recommendations (including reasons for not adopting any recommendations); but
in the case of a national instrument that makes an amendment under section 85, paragraph (b) does not apply and the Minister must instead publish their reasons for the amendment on the appropriate internet site.

The national instrument must be published on the appropriate internet site despite section 69(1)(c) and (d) of the Legislation Act 2019, unless the Attorney-General directs otherwise.
A national instrument is secondary legislation that is not required to be drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.