bill24 August 2026 Non-partisan · AI-drafted, editor-reviewed

Local Government (Rates Capping) Amendment Bill

Member in charge: Simon Watts

In short: Arapono’s summary

This bill proposes to change the law about how much local councils can increase rates each year. It would set a limit on how much rates can go up, linking it to the average wage increase across New Zealand. This means councils could not raise rates by more than this set percentage, unless they get special permission from the Minister of Local Government.

What this affects

Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it, and the parts of the text that show it.

This bill would limit how much local councils can increase rates, which could affect household budgets and council finances.

From the bill

This Bill amends the Local Government Act 2002 to cap the annual increase in rates.

A local authority must not increase the total amount of general rates and targeted rates set by it in any financial year by a percentage that is greater than the average annual percentage increase in all ordinary time weekly earnings (as published by Statistics New Zealand).

Progress through Parliament

Introduced

First Reading

Select committee

Second Reading

Whole House

Third Reading

Royal Assent

●Current stage: Select Committee

With the Finance and Expenditure Committee.

Have your say

This bill is open for public submissions to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 31 December 2098.

Make a submission at Parliament Draft one with Arapono

View the official bill on legislation.govt.nz Follow its progress on bills.parliament.nz

Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.