RESOURCES

Secondary Legislation

Secondary legislation is a collective term for law made under (as opposed to in) an Act of Parliament or under certain prerogative powers. It is a collective term that replaces concepts such as delegated, subordinate, or tertiary legislation, and includes things like regulations, most Orders in Council, class (and some individual) exemptions, various types of notices, bylaws, and instruments with many different names.

An instrument is only secondary legislation made under a provision of an Act (called an empowering provision) if the Act (or any other legislation) states that instruments made under the empowering provision are secondary legislation. This creates a clear distinction between secondary legislation and other types of instruments.

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has issued Access Standards as part of its legislative stewardship role, to improve quality of and access to secondary legislation in New Zealand.