Foundational Information Disclosure for Wellington Water
On 15 May 2025 Wellington Water Limited became a specified entity subject to foundational information disclosure.
Our role
The Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 enables specified entities to be subject to an early form of ID by the Commission, called ‘foundational information disclosure’ (foundational ID).
This is a form of light-touch economic regulation that requires certain water service providers to share information to the public and the Commerce Commission about their operations. Foundational ID for Wellington Water will apply until mid-2026 when the full information disclosure regime will come into effect.
By ‘shining a light’ on performance issues, foundational ID can help incentivise improvement, in this case making it easier for the public to see whether Wellington Water is delivering improving value for money.
The final determination for Wellington Water’s foundational ID requirements was published in August 2025. The reporting requirements for Wellington Water are:
- accessible public reporting on its progress in the delivery of the “Wellington Water Culture and Value for Money Improvement Plan”,
- to publish on its website information that provides a clearer picture on trends in maintenance expenditure and fault management, and
- to make existing reporting on consumer-centric performance and delivery performance more accessible.
For an overview of the differences between foundational information disclosure and enduring information disclosure, please see below.
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Foundational ID |
Enduring ID |
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Duration |
A temporary form of disclosure. |
A long-term form of disclosure. |
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Who it applies to |
Water service providers specified by Government through an Order in Council. Currently only applies to Wellington Water. |
Will apply to all local government water service providers. |
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When it applies |
For Wellington Water, expected to apply from mid-August 2025 until enduring economic regulation applies, likely mid-2026. |
Likely to apply from mid- 2026 onwards. |
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Likely information requirements |
Targeted information to help stakeholders understand more about whether they are getting value for money. Requirements tailored to Wellington Water’s context, and are not intended to set a precedent for the long-term ID framework. |
Requirements are initially expected to include a wide range of financial and asset planning information, with the scope likely to expand over time to provide a more comprehensive view of provider performance. |
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Services covered |
Water supply, wastewater and stormwater services. |
Water supply and wastewater services (stormwater services may be added in the future). |
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Enabling legislation |
Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024. |
Commerce Act 1986, as amended by the Local Government (Water Services) Bill, expected to be enacted mid-2025. |
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Purpose |
To promote transparency and incentivise better performance. By ‘shining a light’ on performance issues, stakeholders gain a better understanding of supplier performance, how this compares to past performance and other suppliers, and what improvements are expected in the future. |
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Compliance |
The Commission has a range of enforcement tools if suppliers do not comply, ranging from compliance advice and warnings to seeking pecuniary penalties in the High Court. |
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Published material |
Under both forms of ID, water suppliers must publish the required information to help stakeholders better understand their performance. The Commission analyses the information and publishes our commentary on performance. |
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Progress to date
Wellington Water began disclosing information from the end of October 2025. We will monitor that Wellington Water discloses the specified information and at the required time, analyse the information that is published, and share some of our insights.
This helps those interested to better understand how Wellington Water is performing, and the insights could help guide any future regulatory requirements for Wellington Water.
On 13 February 2026, we published our first assessment of aspects of Wellington Water’s performance for the period of 1 July to 30 September 2025.