Confusing Members’ Interests Legislation Up for Review
Confusing Members’ Interests Legislation Up for Review
Tuesday 20 October, 2026
Apart from some minor consequential amendments the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968 (the Act) has gone largely unchanged since its enactment over half a century ago. The single most important change occurred in June this year when the financial threshold for disqualifying contracts was raised from $25,000 to $100,000.
Problems with the Act
But the Act, which carries the substantial penalty of loss of office if breached, has long been a source of confusion to elected members because of its complex provisions. It has now come to the attention of the Regulatory Standards Board (the Board), an entity recently established under Regulatory Standards Act 2025 to carry out inquiries into whether Acts or secondary legislation are inconsistent with the principles of responsible legislation, and to consider consistency accountability statements for Bills introduced into the House of Representatives.
What the report says
In its report, Inquiry into Local Authorities (Members’ Interests), the Board has found that the Act is inconsistent with the following principles of responsible legislation set out in section 9 of the Regulatory Standards Act:
- Rule of law – clarity and accessibility: the Act is unclear and outdated, making it difficult for candidates and elected members to meet its requirements, and breaching those requirements can result in potentially serious legal consequences.
- Liberties: the Act restricts candidates’ and elected members’ eligibility for office and participation in decision-making more than is necessary to manage conflicts of interest.
- Good law-making – effective, efficient and proportionate response: the Act relies on complex and restrictive mechanisms that are less effective, efficient and proportionate than conflict-of-interest management approaches taken elsewhere.
What happens next
The Board does not make or recommend specific changes to legislation. Instead, its Report will be provided to the Chief Executive of Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport, the Minister for Regulation, and the Minister of Local Government, as well as being published on the Ministry for Regulation’s website. It is then for the Minister of Local Government to decide what changes might be included in any new or amending legislation.
Comment
Although unlikely to be the focus of the Ministers’ attentions in the lead-up to the General Election next month, one might expect the Act to be amended before the next Triennial Local Government Elections in October 2028.
