Economic regulatory rules for local water service providers
The Commerce Commission has finalised new information disclosure rules for local councils and water organisations that deliver water supply and wastewater services.
These rules introduce consistent public reporting so consumers can more clearly see how their local water service provider is performing and understand how money is being spent.
“Water and wastewater networks are critical infrastructure, and providers who deliver these services have a responsibility to manage them in ways that protect today’s users and future generations,” said Charlotte Reed, Head of Water Regulation. “Economic regulation gives us tools to provide independent scrutiny of providers’ performance.”
The new information disclosure rules, applicable from 27 February 2026, will mean water providers
- need to publicly report key information regularly including:
- the prices they charge
- how much money they are receiving and spending on water supply and wastewater services, and
how they are planning to look after the infrastructure.
To support a smooth transition, the rules will be phased in. Regulated water services will have to start reporting key information promptly and have systems and processes in place to collect core data from June 2026.
The Commission will analyse the information regulated suppliers publish and turn it into clear, accessible insights so communities and consumers can see trends over time and compare performance across different water providers.
“By shining a light on what’s working well and where improvements are needed, communities will be able to have informed conversations about their water services- and providers can focus on delivering the outcomes they want,” said Reed.
“Aging assets, weather related pressures, and funding constraints mean communities need clear, comparable information about service quality, costs, and investment. Information disclosure will become a core tool that enables the Commission—and the public—to identify inefficiencies, highlight good performance, and target areas for improvement.” says Reed.
Following consultation in September and October 2025, the Commission made several amendments to its draft decision in finalising these rules. The final determination package is available on the Commission website.
The new economic regulatory rules for water providers are established alongside and in addition to the Commission’s current consideration of additional information disclosure requirements for Tiaki Wai, which may apply from 1 July 2026.
Background
Changes to the Commerce Act in August 2025 established the Commerce Commission as the economic regulator for water services.
Information disclosure is a core regulatory tool, requiring providers to publicly report key performance information. The Commission collects, analyses, and publishes this data to enable comparisons and track trends over time.
Tiaki Wai is the successor organisation to Wellington Water which will be responsible for the Wellington region’s water assets from 1 July 2026.