This bill is Part 5 and Schedules 5 to 12 of the omnibus Local Government (Water Services) Bill, divided into a separate bill at the committee of the whole House stage exactly as the omnibus bill's general policy statement anticipated. That policy statement sets a single broad policy of establishing a new regulatory framework for water services delivery — covering new delivery arrangements, economic regulation and consumer protection, and changes to water quality regulation — building on the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024. The parent bill carries the stand-alone framework; this companion bill carries the repeals of superseded water services legislation and the consequential amendments to other Acts needed for the new framework to operate. Its third reading was taken together with the Local Government (Water Services) Bill's in a single combined vote on 19 August 2025.
This bill carries the repeals and consequential amendments needed to bring a new regulatory framework for water services into operation, as the companion to the main Local Government (Water Services) Bill. That framework covers new delivery arrangements, economic regulation and consumer protection, and changes to water-quality regulation, building on the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024. This bill repeals the water-services legislation the new framework supersedes and amends other Acts so the new regime can function.
As a repeals-and-amendments companion, it is largely mechanical, aligning the statute book with the new water-services framework. Debate on the substance of the reform, including delivery models and economic regulation, attaches mainly to the parent bill it supports.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.