Taituarā has submitted feedback on the Ministry of Cities, the Environment, Regions and Transport’s (MCERT) consultation on the proposed Groups of Activities Regulations, which would introduce a standard way for councils to group and report their activities in Long-term Plans, Annual Plans and Annual Reports.
The proposed regulations aim to improve consistency and transparency by requiring all councils to report against a common set of activity groups. This would make it easier to compare financial and performance information across the local government sector.
Taituarā supports the objective of improving consistency in council reporting. A common framework has the potential to strengthen transparency, support benchmarking across councils, and help communities better understand how councils deliver services.
However, after working with members from across the sector, our submission concludes that the draft regulations need further refinement to ensure they are practical to implement and achieve their intended outcomes.
Taituarā has recommended that the Government:
- Delay implementation until at least July 2029 to give councils sufficient time to adapt systems and align implementation with wider local government reforms.
- Develop a standard methodology for allocating support services, ensuring councils apply a consistent approach and improving comparability.
- Produce a comprehensive data dictionary with clear definitions of each activity group and guidance on what should be included.
- Provide more detailed implementation guidance and worked examples to support consistent application across all councils.
- Better recognise the activities of regional and unitary councils, ensuring services such as environmental monitoring, biosecurity and regional planning are appropriately reflected.
- Replace the broad “Other” activity group with more meaningful categories that improve transparency and better reflect how councils deliver services.
- Allow councils to provide additional local reporting, so they can continue to tell the story of the services and priorities that matter most to their communities.
The submission notes that while consistent reporting will make it easier to compare councils, the framework also needs to recognise the diversity of services delivered across local government. Clear definitions, practical guidance and an achievable implementation timeframe will be critical to the success of the new reporting model.
Taituarā thanks the members who contributed their expertise and practical insights to help shape the submission. Their feedback has ensured the recommendations reflect the operational realities councils will face if the regulations are introduced.
