Environmental Reporting Amendment Bill
The bill would move national state-of-the-environment synthesis reports from a three-year to a six-year cycle and introduce new data standards, evidence priorities and reporting on environmental drivers and outlooks.
- Closing date
- 20 August 2026
- Added to Civics
- 13 July 2026
- Source category
- Parliamentary
- Source body
- Environment Committee
- Last checked
- 19 September 2026
Closed 34 days ago
Plain-English summary
The Environmental Reporting Amendment Bill would expand the purpose of the reporting system and replace three-yearly state-of-the-environment synthesis reports with a six-year cycle. It would also establish data standards and six-year evidence priorities, and add reporting on environmental drivers, outlooks and government priorities.
The Environment Committee is considering whether the revised framework would produce consistent, useful and sufficiently timely environmental information. Submissions can address the reporting cycle, data requirements, report content and the respective roles of the Secretary for the Environment and Government Statistician.
Why it matters
The bill would change how often New Zealand receives a comprehensive national assessment of the environment.
Its data and evidence rules could affect the consistency, independence and usefulness of information used for public policy.
Who may care
- Environmental researchers, data providers, iwi and community organisations
- Councils, government agencies, primary industries and policy advocates
How to make a submission
- Read the bill and committee material linked from Parliament's submission page.
- Make an online submission to the Environment Committee before 11:59pm on the closing date.
Disclaimer
Civics.nz is an independent plain-English guide and is not an official government website. Always check the official source before making a submission.