Ngā kawa whakahaere o te kāwanatanga ā-rohe Local government codes of conduct

Overview 

On 13 February 2025 the Minister of Local Government gazetted Terms of Reference referring work to the Commission to produce a standardised code of conduct for local authority elected members.

Read the Terms of Reference

Response: from the Minister of Local Government - Local Government Codes of Conduct (PDF, 462 KB)

This work builds on the work the Commission undertook in 2021, as outlined below. The Commission must report back to the Minister by 20 December 2025.  The Commission will be researching and engaging over the next few months to gather information to help draft a standardised code.

Background

The Commission looked at the role of codes of conduct in local government, undertaking comprehensive engagement with the sector and stakeholders. It heard from every council and many of the country’s community boards through various avenues. The Commission's report discusses the main issues with codes and recommends ways to address them.

It is clear that codes of conduct sit firmly within a wider context as part of a suite of governance tools that need to be considered holistically. Through this engagement the Commission has identified a range of sector and legislative measures that could work together to support improvements to both conduct and codes.

The Commission presented its report to the Minister of Local Government in September 2021. The Minister of Local Government responded to the Commission on 28 April 2022.

Read the Commission's report

Report: to the Minister of Local Government - Local Government Codes of Conduct (PDF, 846 KB)

Read the Minister's response

Response: from the Minister of Local Government - Local Government Codes of Conduct (PDF, 462 KB)