8 Publishing the RIS
The full text of all RISs is required to be published, in order to foster openness and transparency around the regulatory decision-making process. RISs must be published by:
- including the URLs to the location of the RIS on the lead agency and Treasury websites, in the press statement announcing any new policy for which a RIS is required
- being lodged on the lead agency's website and on the Treasury website, and
- including the URLs to the location of the RIS on the agency and Treasury websites, in the Explanatory Note to Bills that are introduced into the House.
For Bills, the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) will provide standard wording for text to accompany the URLs. This wording may need to be adapted for different circumstances (eg, when multiple RISs for a series of policy decisions have been provided). Agencies must provide a specific, designated URL to PCO for each Bill. Select committee clerks will include relevant RISs in the material provided to Select Committees on Bills referred to that Committee.
Under normal circumstances, there should be adequate time for interested members of Parliament to download the relevant RISs for newly introduced Bills before the first reading debate. When legislation is being introduced under urgency, however, the lead agency is expected to provide 20 copies of the relevant RISs to the Bills Office at the same time copies of the Bill are delivered.
8.1 Withholding sensitive or confidential information
Deletions can be made consistent with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982.
8.2 Timing of publication
Publication is required at the time any resulting Bill is introduced into the House, any resulting regulation is gazetted, or the government announces its decision not to regulate. RISs may be published earlier at the discretion of the responsible Minister and/or Cabinet.
8.3 Process for publication
When the RIS is due for publication (according to the requirements set out above), agencies must send the specific URL and a Word version of the RIS to Treasury at ria@treasury.govt.nz. The RIS on agency websites must comply with the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations, which are available at http://webstandards.govt.nz.
Agencies must keep Treasury informed (via ria@treasury.govt.nz) about the timing of introduction/gazettal so that Treasury can publish the RIS as soon as possible after the Bill or regulations become publicly available.
Agencies should ensure that the URLs, along with accompanying text, are supplied to PCO in sufficient time to enable them to be included in the copies of the draft Bill that are printed for submission to the Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG).
