The New Zealand gas industry is governed by legislation, regulations and rules covering general aspects and areas where different government agencies are responsible.
Regulatory framework and our role
We look after gas governance and markets, such as pipeline access, balancing and reconciliation in the system, and data and day-to-day production and consumption. We work closely with other agencies regulating aspects of the energy system.
- The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is responsible for policy in the sector and reports annual reserves and production data.
- New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPAM) regulates the upstream gas sector, such as managing permits to explore.
- Gas safety, energy efficiency, competition, mining and exploration, and other aspects of the industry are regulated by other government agencies.
Gas legislation
The Government’s policy objectives for the gas industry in New Zealand are set out primarily in the Gas Act 1992 available on Legislation.govt.nz, and the Government Policy Statement 2008 (GPS).
Gas regulations
The gas market is governed by the following regulations and rules jointly developed by the Gas Industry Co and the Government.
- Gas (Levy of Industry Participants) Regulations allow the Gas Industry Co to collect levies from gas industry participants to fund our work. These regulations are updated every year.
- The Gas Governance (Critical Contingency Management) Regulations 2008 (latest version March 2024) aim to achieve the effective management of critical gas outages and other security of supply contingencies without compromising long-term security of supply.
- Gas Governance (Compliance) Regulations 2008 (latest version April 2023) establish a number of compliance processes and roles to monitor and enforce the following rules and regulations and ensure the integrity of key markets:
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- Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
- Gas (Downstream Reconciliation) Rules 2008
- Gas Governance (Critical Contingency Management) Regulations 2008
- Gas Governance (Compliance) Regulations 2008 (legislation.govt.nz)
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Gas rules
We have developed and administer the following rules for the gas industry. These rules are made under certain provisions of the Gas Act 1992.
- Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 codify existing arrangements that enable consumers to choose and alternate efficiently between competing retailers. The rules also provide for a centralised gas registry that stores key information about every consumer installation, facilitates the switching process, and monitors switching timeframes from initiation through to completion.
- Gas (Downstream Reconciliation) Rules 2008 provide a set of uniform processes to enable the fair, efficient, and reliable allocation and reconciliation of downstream gas quantities. They allow for an allocation agent to gather information about gas injection and consumption, allocate daily gas quantities to retailers at gas gates, and reconcile downstream gas quantities.
- Gas (Facilities Outage Information Disclosure) Rules provide for effective and timely disclosure of information regarding an unplanned outage or planned outage at a gas production facility or a gas storage facility for all gas and related market participants.
Other legislation
Other government agencies look after various Acts and secondary legislation (regulations) relating to aspects of the gas industry as follows.
Gas safety
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment administers one Act and two sets of regulations relating to gas safety:
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- Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010 sets out responsibilities and obligations for the safe supply of gas.
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- Health and Safety in Employment (Pipelines) Regulations 1999 and the Health and Safety in Employment (Petroleum Exploration and Extraction) Regulations 2013 set out the health and safety arrangements specific to the oil and gas sector.
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- The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 covers health and safety through the regulation of people engaged in gas fitting.
The Ministry for the Environment administers the following Act the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 which covers gas as a flammable substance.
Gas exploration and mining
The Crown Minerals Act 1991 sets the broad legislative arrangements for petroleum (including gas) prospecting exploration and mining. It is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Gas transmission and distribution
The Commerce Commission administers the Commerce Act 1986 which includes provisions for the regulation of gas transmission and distribution pipelines.
Energy efficiency
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment administers the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000, which promotes energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewables.
General legislation
Gas industry activities are also covered by general legislation such as:
Older or revoked regulations
To access older (and revoked) versions of gas regulations, use the links above to each set of regulations on Legislation.govt.nz and see the Versions and Amendments tab.
For example: