Cabinet's Impact Analysis Requirements support and inform the government's decisions on regulatory proposals.
What are Cabinet’s impact analysis requirements?
They are both a process and an analytical framework that encourages a systematic and evidence-informed approach to policy development. The requirements are set out in a Cabinet circular, and incorporate the Government Expectations for Good Regulatory Practice.
In particular, the requirements focus on the Government expectation that agencies provide robust analysis and advice to Ministers before decisions are taken on regulatory change.
The key product of the requirements is a Regulatory Impact Statement. This is a government agency document which summarises an agency's best Impact Analysis and advice relating to a regulatory proposal. That Impact Analysis should be completed and summarised in a Regulatory Impact Statement before the Cabinet paper is drafted.
Cabinet's Impact Analysis Requirements and the guidance provided below are focused on ensuring high quality Regulatory Impact Statements are provided to Ministers to support and inform their decisions on regulatory proposals.
Regulatory Impact Analysis Online
Cabinet’s impact analysis requirements are now administered through the Treasury’s RIA Online site.
If you have registered with RIA Online previously, click here to access the site.
How to access RIA Online for the first time
Click here to enable access to RIA Online.
Once you have requested access via email, you should be able to access RIA Online within an hour.
Note that we will only approve government email addresses ending with the suffix ‘.govt.nz’ through this process. If you encounter any issues when signing up, let the Treasury’s Regulatory Impact Analysis Team know at [email protected].
There are in-site instructions available on RIA Online for how to lodge a proposal, request an exemption, and publish Regulatory Impact Statements.
Are there some cases where RIA Online should not be used?
The RIA Online system is only suitable for material which is classified as UNCLASSIFIED or IN-CONFIDENCE.
For any regulatory proposals involving material that is SENSITIVE, or has a national security classification, please contact the Treasury’s Regulatory Impact Analysis Team.
Contact us
For further advice or information on Regulatory Impact Statements and Cabinet's impact analysis requirements, please contact the Treasury's Regulatory Impact Analysis Team at [email protected].
| Doc. Date | Title |
|---|---|
Cabinet Circular |
|
| 30 Jun 2020 | Cabinet Office Circular (20) 2: Impact Analysis Requirements Cabinet requirements for Ministers and agencies seeking approvals relating to government regulatory proposals. For recent changes to Discussion Documents refer to the Guide to Cabinet’s Impact Analysis Requirements |
Guidance |
|
| 30 Jun 2020 | Guide to Cabinet's Impact Analysis Requirements Main guide to the RIA process: from conception to publication. |
| 30 Jun 2020 | Guidance Note: Regulatory Impact Analysis: Exemptions for Emergencies and Post‑Implementation Assessment/Review for inadequate or missing Impact Analysis (PDF, 333 KB) Guide to the “technical” and “discretionary” exemptions from the impact analysis requirements in a declared emergency and Post‑Implementation Assessment/Review for inadequate or missing Impact Analysis |
| 19 Dec 2019 |
Guidance Note: Effective Consultation for Impact Analysis (PDF, 590 KB) |
| 19 Dec 2019 | Guidance Note: Discussion Documents and the Regulatory Impact Analysis Requirements (PDF, 571 KB) A Guide to Discussion Documents including when they can function as Interim Impact Analysis. |
| 19 Dec 2019 | Guidance Note: Implementation and Monitoring (PDF, 650 KB) A guide to effective implementation and monitoring. |
| 30 Jun 2020 | Cabinet's Impact Analysis Requirements at a glance (PDF, 534KB) Impact Analysis requirements process chart. |
| Guidance Note: Best Practice Impact Analysis (PDF, 870 KB) Main guide to undertaking impact analysis: from problem definition to implementation and monitoring. |
|
| Cost Recovery Guidance Guide to proposals that include cost recovery. |
|
Templates |
|
| 22 Jul 2021 | Regulatory Impact Statement Template (Word, 94 KB) Standard RIS template that is proportional to the significance of the regulatory proposal. |
| 30 Jun 2017 | Stage 1 Cost Recovery Impact Statement Template (Word, 287 KB) Template for proposals seeking policy agreement to recover costs. |
| Stage 2 Cost Recovery Impact Statement Template (Word, 327 KB) Template for proposals seeking agreement on cost recovery levels. |
|
Forms |
|
| 19 Dec 2019 | Early Engagement for Impact Analysis Form (Word, 37 KB) Optional form to test early thinking on the problem and options and help set up quality impact analysis. |