Local government in New Zealand currently consists of 78 local authorities that exist in a unitary system by which they exist and derive their powers from the central state rather than being independently empowered or sovereign themselves. The Local Government Act 2002 is the key legislation relating to local government in New Zealand. Elections for local authorities are held regularly every three years, most recently in 2025.
Local authorities broadly exist in two forms; territorial authorities which administer more local issues and regional councils which administer regional issues. Territorial authorities are not subservient to regional councils.
The 67 territorial authorities are primarily split into the purely symbolic categories of city (12) or district councils (53), with city councils generally being limited to just an urban area and district councils including both urban and rural areas. Both types of council have the same powers and responsibilities. Auckland and the Chatham Islands have specially legislated territorial authorities that are officially neither city or district councils.
Community boards are unincorporated local government bodies created by legislation or the relevant territorial authority to represent specific communities. In Auckland, local boards exist and are similar to community boards but with more powers and responsibilities.
There are 11 regional councils. In Auckland, Gisborne, Tasman, Nelson, and Marlborough the territorial authority has the power of a regional council (these are known as unitary authorities). The territorial authority for the Chatham Islands has some but not all of the powers of a regional authority.
Prior to major reforms in 1989, a system of counties and boroughs was the main form of local government in the country; before that there was a more federal system of provinces which was abolished in 1876. From 2001 to 2021, district health boards existed which had responsibility for managing health and disability services within their respective areas.
The Sixth National Government is currently looking to implement another major series of reforms to local government through a programme called Head Start.
History
Provincial system, 1840–1876 The model of local government introduced after New Zealand became a British colony in 1840 had nothing in common with the tribal system practised by Māori. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, a British Act of Parliament, established six provinces in New Zealand—Auckland, New Plymouth (later to be renamed Taranaki), Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago—based on the six original planned settlements. These provinces were largely autonomous; each had an elected council and an elected chief official, called a superintendent. The New Provinces Act 1858 allowed for the creation of Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Southland (abolished 1870) and Westland provinces, established between 1858 and 1873.
The Constitution Act also allowed the creation of municipal corporations, or local governments, within provinces. Municipal corporations could be overruled by the province in which they were located. One of the first municipal corporations established was the Wellington City Corporation, created in 1870.
Road boards and highway districts were established by each provincial council (bar Hawke's Bay) during the 1850s and 1860s. These still existed after the abolition of provinces, despite a desire from some to replace them. In 1882 the central government passed the Road Boards Act 1882, which defined their boundaries and established the purpose of the boards to be the administration of rural areas. Approximately 400 road districts were established. The last one, Waiheke Road District, was abolished in 1970.
The provinces were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised, for financial reasons. Provincial councils were dependent on central government for revenue, and all except Otago and Canterbury were in financial difficulties at the time of their abolition. Since then, Parliament has been the single and supreme source of power—local authorities are created by Parliament, can be abolished by it, and are responsible for discharging functions assigned by it. The former provinces are remembered in regional public holidays and sporting rivalries.
Counties and boards, 1876–1989 From 1876 onwards, councils have had distributed functions, which vary locally. A system of counties similar to other countries' systems was instituted. The counties existed alongside management boards, for example drainage and rabbit boards, with between 600 and 750 of these authorities existing throughout the 20th century. There were half a dozen parliamentary bills attempting to reduce the number of these authorities, including one proposed in 1912 by Joseph Ward that would see all authorities abolished and replaced with 24 provinces. Despite this, the system of counties and boards remained until 1989, when the Fourth Labour Government set about comprehensively reorganising the local government system by implementing the current two-tier structure of regions and territorial authorities, and reduced the number of local bodies from approximately 850 to 86.
Amalgamation efforts Auckland Council is the newest local authority. It was created on 1 November 2010 following a three-year process that began with the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. Picking up on one of the Royal Commission's recommendations, the Fifth National Government combined the functions of the existing Auckland Regional Council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super-city". Since then, the Local Government Commission has had a role considering changes to New Zealand's local government structure. Further amalgamations (of the councils in the Nelson–Tasman region, the Hawkes' Bay region, the Wellington region, the three Wairarapa districts, and the West Coast region) have been mooted but did not receive sufficient public support to progress further. Applications for secession from Auckland Council for the North Rodney and Waiheke Island communities have also failed.
On 25 November 2025, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced the Government would proposal abolishing regional councils and replacing them with "Combined territories boards," headed by mayors from the local district and city councils within the regions. Following feedback from local and regional councils, the Government backed away from implementing a "combined territories" board model of regional governance by early April 2026. On 5 May 2026, Watts and Bishop issued local and district councils with a three-month timeframe to amalgamate with other neighbouring councils, with merger plans being subject to review by the newly-established Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT). Regional councils were excluded from the merger consultation process. On 24 September, the Government announced that it would delay making decisions on amalgamating local councils until after the 2026 New Zealand general election.
Legislative framework The New Zealand Government (by introducing bills, promulgating regulations and recommending Orders in Council) and the New Zealand House of Representatives (by enacting legislation) determine the overarching structure and delegated functions of local government. The general principle is that local government in New Zealand may only do what it is specifically authorised to do, and may not do anything that it is not authorised to do.
The following is a list of key local government statutes.
The Local Government Act 2002 is one of the primary pieces of legislation for the sector, along with the Local Government Act 1974 (much of which is repealed). It provides for the purpose of local government and key functions including the council's governance and service provision responsibilities, strategic and financial planning requirements, and consultation procedures. The Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA) has replaced the Town and Country Planning Act 1977 as the main local government planning legislation. The RMA also includes environmental protection laws. The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 empowers local authorities to finance themselves by collecting property taxes. The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 provides for the public right of access to council-held information, and for council decisions to be made in public meetings. Elections and local referendums are held in accordance with the Local Electoral Act 2001. Other responsibilities are prescribed under specific statutes such as the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and the Dog Control Act 2000.
Legislation conferring responsibilities on one or several local authorities may be passed from time to time (such as the Wellington Town Belt Act 2016).
Purpose As defined in the Local Government Act 2002, the purpose of local government is: to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities in the present and for the future. Between 2013 and 2019, the second purpose statement was, instead, "to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses."
Oversight and accountability Local authorities are functionally independent but are subject to audit requirements (for example, of their financial statements and plans) through Audit New Zealand under the authority of the controller and auditor-general. In addition, the Department of Internal Affairs carries out some monitoring functions on behalf of the minister of local government, who has a range of intervention functions that the minister may exercise in response to a poor-performing council. For example, the minister may appoint a Crown observer or, in extreme situations, remove the elected members and appoint commissioners. However, the primary way that local authority elected members are held accountable is through the triennial local elections.
Structure
New Zealand has two main types of local government, with authorities mainly either administrating local matters (territorial authorities) or regional matters (regional councils); 5 territorial authorities also administer regional matters (these are known as unitary authorities). There are currently 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities. Auckland Council is a unitary authority established in 2010 under its own legislation. Chatham Islands is a territorial authority established in a similar matter under its own legislation in 1995; it has powers similar to that of a unitary authority.
The external boundaries of a local authority can be changed by an Order in Council or through notice in the New Zealand Gazette. Several outlying islands do not fall within the jurisdiction of any territorial authority; for those islands, the Minister of Local Government acts as the territorial authority. The Department of Internal Affairs provides administration on behalf of the minister.
Regional councils 11 non-unitary regionals 5 unitary authorities (2 cities and 3 districts) Chatham Islands Kermadec IslandsNew Zealand Subantarctic IslandsThree Kings Islands / Manawatāwhi Territorial authorities 11 cities and 50 districts Notes 6 districts lie in more than one region These combine the regional and the territorial authority levels in one Special territorial authority New Zealand outlying islands outside any regional authority (the outlying Solander Islands form a part of the Southland Region)
Governance and management