Guidelines for Individual Submissions on Regulatory Standards Bill
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Submissions can only be made via the portal on the Parliament website or via post. You can either upload your own document, or fill in an on-line submission form.
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We have a provided a submission writing guide below this section.
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Making an individual submission is important. As we saw with the Hīkois and the written submissions, numbers matter. Submissions that seem to be from a generic template may be lumped together and counted as one, so it is great to add your own thoughts and words.
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Written submissions can be made in English and te reo Māori. Submissions made in te reo Māori will be translated into English.
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You have until 1.00pm on Monday 23 June, 2025 to make your submission.
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You will also be asked ‘Do you wish to make an oral submission to the committee' and we encourage you to do so. This is an easy process where you get to talk to your submission in a ten minute slot via Zoom or in person. Only a small number of submissions get to be heard orally.
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Don't put personal details in your submission as submission are made public. Your details are entered separately.
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There are generally agreed criteria for submissions that will not be accepted. This includes submissions containing strong swear words, racist material, and abusive personal reflections against MPs.
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We encourages those wishing to make submissions to do so promptly, and to not leave doing so until the final hours on Monday, 23 June, 2025. There may be problems with the Parliamentary site crashing due to high demand.
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We have some tips for writing your submissions below.
When you're ready to submit go to this page on the Parliament website
Tips for Writing
Submission Writing Guide
Read the Proposed Bill - click here
A submission doesn't have to be long or complicated. A useful structure to help you get started is below. It's important to use your own words and thoughts as similar submissions will be counted as one. The examples below are included to show how easy it is to put together your submission.
1. Make a short introduction: why are you submitting, what does your organisation do (don’t’ include any personal details here as you do that separately when you lodge your submission in the portal). This could look like:
I'm a Pākeha New Zealander who lives in Christchurch. I work in the agricultural industry and have a family of two boys. I'm very concerned that the progress we have made as country towards acknowledging the place of The Treaty as our foundation and building our environmental protections is being undone.
2. State your position: what you think about the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. Make it clear you oppose the Bill as totals 'for' and 'against' are counted. Two key messages should be included:
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I oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill and want the entire Bill thrown out
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I do not want an amended version of the Regulatory Standards Bill passed and ask for the whole Bill to be abandoned
I oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill and ask for it to be thrown out. I do not support the Regulatory Standards Bill being amended and want the whole Bill to be abandoned.
3. Outline why: these reasons don't have to be long and involved and can be in bullet points. Make these relevant to the proposed Bill and it's also good if you have any facts or figures to include. Below are some examples of topics you can add your own experiences and perspectives to.
This is because I do not think the Bill is needed. It doesn't safeguard our environment and doesn't acknowledge minority rights, including those covered by The Treaty of Waitangi. I live in an area where water quality has been impacted by industry. I think our estuary and the food it contains would be better protected under the current regulatory system as the Regulatory Standards Bill doesn't include any protections for the environment and The Treaty. It is based on ideology that doesn't reflect the majority of New Zealanders concerns.
For a resource with 50 submission ideas for opposing the Regulatory Standards Bill click here
4. State your recommendations clearly: say what you think the committee should do.
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I recommend that the Select Committee throw out the bill.
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I recommend that the Regulatory Standards Bill is abandoned completely, not amended, and is thrown out.
Therefore, I ask that the Select Committee throw out the Bill and that it be abandoned completely, not amended.
It's that easy! It can be as long or as short as you like. Make your opposition visible and submit today.
Our Submission
We'd like to encourage you to make your own individual submission following the guidelines above.
Numbers matter as we saw with the Treaty Principles Bill. We will also make a submission from Kiwis for the Treaty and it will be posted on the Blog on the website once completed.