Disclosure statements

From 29 July 2013, all Cabinet or Cabinet committee papers seeking approval to introduce a Government Bill or substantive Government AP must have a disclosure statement attached that reflects the content of that Bill or AP—as set out in Cabinet Office Circular CO (13) 3: Disclosure Requirements for Government Legislation. (The circular identifies certain limited types of Bills and APs that are exempt from this requirement.)

The PCO publishes the disclosure statement on the dedicated website disclosure.legislation.govt.nz at the same time as the Bill or AP is published on the New Zealand Legislation website. The explanatory note of the Bill or AP includes a link to the disclosure statement.

The disclosure statement templates with full guidance material are available on the Treasury website.

Publishing disclosure statements

For the publishing process to operate smoothly, departments and agencies need to take the following steps:

• Make sure you use the correct template for the disclosure statement. Do not introduce external styles or formatting into the document as this will prevent successful conversion to HTML.

• Email the statement (in final or near-final form) to the PCO Publications Unit and copy it to the relevant PCO drafter at the same time as the paper (with statement attached) seeking approval to introduce the Bill is submitted to Cabinet, or approval to release the AP is sought.

• If Cabinet requires amendment to the Bill before introduction, update the disclosure statement. If necessary, you should also update it if the PCO has identified any obvious content or formatting issues with the statement. However, checking the document is not part of the PCO’s role.

• At least two working days before the Bill is introduced or the AP is tabled in the House, you should email the statement, checked and formally signed off by your department or agency, to the PCO Publications Unit and copy it to the drafter.

The PCO will insert a link to the disclosure statement from the explanatory note of the Bill or AP.

• If the statement in final form is not received in time for publication at the same time as the Bill or AP, the link in the explanatory note will point to a placeholder page on the disclosures website. That page will note that the statement has not yet been provided and direct any enquiries to the responsible agency. When the disclosure statement becomes available and is published, the disclosure statement will replace the placeholder page.

Departments to supply 40 printed copies to the House Office

The department should print 40 hard copies of the disclosure statement and deliver them to the House Office within half a working day after the date on which the PCO orders the printing of introduction copies of the Bill. The House Office will then associate the hard copies with the introduction copies of the Bill.

For more information

If you have general questions or feedback about disclosure statements, please contact the Regulatory Quality Team at the Treasury (regulation@treasury.govt.nz).

If you have questions specifically about the publication process and use of the templates, contact the PCO Publications Unit. You can contact us for their email address.

The relevant templates, together with guidance on the disclosure requirements and on how to complete a disclosure statement, are contained in Treasury’s Disclosure Statements for Government Legislation: Technical Guide for Departments.