4 Publishing the RIS
The full text of all RISs must be published, in order to foster openness and transparency around the regulatory decision-making process.
RISs must be published on the lead Agency's and Treasury's websites, and the URLs to the location of the RIS must be included in the Explanatory Note to any Bill, Supplementary Order Paper (SOP), or regulations for which a RIS was prepared.
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, SOP, or regulations. Agencies must ensure that these are supplied in sufficient time to enable them to be included in the copies of the draft Bill, SOP, or regulations that are printed for submission to the Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG).
4.1 Withholding sensitive or confidential information
Deletions can be made from published versions of RISs, consistent with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982.
4.2 Timing of publication
Publication is required at the time:
- any resulting Bill is introduced into the House or Supplementary Order Paper is released
- 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, for example with the press statement announcing any new policy for which a RIS is required.
4.3 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 https://webtoolkit.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.
Forty printed copies of the RIS must also be provided to the Bills Office. See http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/ris-guidance/.
Select committee clerks will include relevant RISs in the material provided to Select Committees on Bills referred to that Committee.
