Legislative instruments were previously known as statutory regulations. Most legislative instruments are Orders in Council (instruments made by the Governor-General in Executive Council). Orders in Council may be:
Orders in Council that are instruments in their own right should be cited to the New Zealand Gazette in accordance with rule 4.3.2.
The format for citing legislative instruments is as follows:
|
Element |
Title |
Year |
Pinpoint reference |
|
Example |
Costs in Criminal Cases Regulations |
1987 |
, reg 3 |
|
Rule |
4.3.1(a) |
4.3.1(b) |
4.3.1(c) |
Eg Costs in Criminal Cases Regulations 1987, reg 3.
Eg Minimum Wage Order 2010, cl 4(a).
Note that at the date of publication of this guide, the Legislation Bill 2017 (275-1) is before Parliament. This Bill will have the effect of renaming legislative instruments and other instruments as secondary legislation. This will not affect the method of citation.
(a) Title
Give the title of the instrument exactly as it appears in the official version.
(b) Year
Give the year the instrument was enacted.
(c) Pinpoint reference
A pinpoint reference to a regulation uses the abbreviation “reg” and “regs” for regulation and regulations respectively.
Eg Personal Property Securities Regulations 2001, reg 18.
A pinpoint reference to a rule uses the abbreviation “r” and “rr” for rule and rules respectively.
Eg Lotto Amendment Rules 2010, r 6.
A pinpoint reference to an order uses the abbreviation “cl” and “cls” for clause and clauses respectively.
Eg Wildlife (Canada Goose) Order 2011, cl 4.