The Commerce Commission has been confirmed as the economic regulator for the Government's Local Water Done Well (LWDW) system. We are drawing on our experience in successfully regulating other sectors and international best practice in water regulation to develop an effective regulatory regime tailored for Aotearoa New Zealand.
What’s happening? He aha te mea e puta ana?
Economic regulation
Our regime will support water infrastructure to be appropriately invested in, maintained and delivered for the long-term benefit of Kiwi consumers. We’ll do this by promoting sufficient revenue recovery, and efficient investment and maintenance over time so that water services meet regulatory requirements and are delivered at a quality communities expect.
Our regime will be designed to be flexible, in line with water service providers’ different needs and situations. We will have a range of regulatory tools, including mandatory information disclosure, to promote efficient practices and protections for consumers.
When making recommendations, determinations, or other decisions, we will take into account other obligations on water service providers. This includes local government obligations with respect to iwi/Māori, including existing Te Tiriti and Treaty settlements.
Economic regulation of water services, along with other recently announced enduring settings for New Zealand’s water services sector, will be implemented through the Local Government Water Services Bill. The Government intends to introduce this legislation in December this year and pass it by mid-2025, at which point we will begin to implement the full regime.
In the meantime, the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 enables some water service providers to be subject to an early form of information disclosure by the Commission. While this foundational information disclosure is unlikely to apply to all providers, we will have the ability to consult broadly under the transitional regime.
Crown monitor role
In September 2024, the Government appointed the Commerce Commission as the Crown monitor for the interim regulation of Watercare, until full economic regulation of water services is established. The role of the Crown monitor is to monitor and report on Watercare’s performance against the Watercare charter.
What will we do? He aha ta tātau e mahi ai?
We are an independent regulator, but we recognise we cannot effectively develop and implement economic regulation for water without working collaboratively with other stakeholders. We are committed to ensuring a high level of transparency and acknowledge the importance of a regulatory regime that is well understood by a diverse range of stakeholders.
We will keep the sector and interested stakeholders informed and encourage all to contribute and engage with us as we develop and implement an economic and consumer protection regulatory regime. This will help ensure the regime provides certainty, is understandable and reflects the needs of the many communities across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Who we’re working with - Ngā Tari e tū tahi ana
In developing our regime, we’re working closely with our fellow regulator, the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai and with Government agencies like the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai is the water services regulator that ensures all communities have access to safe drinking water every day. Find out more about Taumata Arowai's role
DIA provide policy advice and administer legislation to support the Government’s objectives for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services infrastructure. Find out more about DIA’s role
What’s next? He aha te mea panuku?
Over the coming months we will publish more information about our mahi, key documents, consultation dates and opportunities for engagement. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please email us at wai@comcom.govt.nz.
Work with us - Me mahi tahi tātou
We’re building our Water team to ensure we have the expertise in-house to deliver on our remit. Keep an eye out on our careers page for the latest job listings.
