Emergency Management Bill

Although the intent of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act) is sound, the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events and other reviews have made it clear that New Zealand has not achieved the whole of society approach to emergency management that Parliament envisaged when the CDEM Act was passed in 2002.

Additionally, the frequency, complexity, and consequences of recent emergencies have highlighted the importance of updating the legislation to improve how we manage risks, respond to and recover from emergencies, and empower and support community resilience.

The Bill implements the parts of the Government’s response to the Inquiry that require legislation and addresses a range of other issues identified with the CDEM Act.

When passed, the Emergency Management Bill will replace the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (the CDEM Act) and create the new emergency management legal framework for New Zealand. 

The Bill retains New Zealand’s existing philosophy for emergency management, which is based on three key principles:

• consideration of all hazards – natural and man-made
• taking an end-to-end approach to managing risks – that means taking action across the “4 Rs” of risk reduction, readiness, response, and recovery
• all parts of society have a role to play – risks should be managed by those who are best placed to manage them, at the lowest appropriate level.

This Bill builds on the legislative framework established by the CDEM Act. Its changes seek to:

• strengthen the role of communities and iwi Māori in emergency management
• provide for clear responsibilities at the national, regional, and local levels
• enable a higher minimum standard of emergency management
• minimise disruption to essential services; and
• ensure agencies have the tools to do their jobs effectively when an emergency happens.

The explanatory note at the start of the Bill provides more information on what the Bill contains.

The following two diagrams describe some of the key changes to structural arrangements and subsidiary instruments in the Bill.

• Structural arrangements under the CDEM Act and EM Bill (.pdf 87kb)
• Subsidiary arrangements under the CDEM Act and EM Bill (.pdf 109kb)

View the Bill at Emergency Management Bill (No 2) 236-1 (2025), Government Bill Contents – New Zealand Legislation

Below are information sheets which set out key provisions of the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) as reported back by Select Committee.  These replace previous information sheets which set out provisions of the Bill as introduced to Parliament and provide more information on national level roles and planning.

The Select Committee reported back on the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) to Parliament on 5 June 2026 and made recommendations to amend the Bill as introduced to Parliament in December 2025. Please refer to the information section on the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) page on Parliament’s website for complete information about the Select Committee’s recommendations.

The Select Committee’s recommendations are not Government policy. Parliament has not yet considered or agreed to the Select Committee’s recommendations and will do so when the Bill is read for a second time for which a date has not been set. The reported-back version of the Bill can, however, be treated as the current version. When the Bill is read for a second time, Parliament may agree to all, some or none of the Select Committee’s recommendations. There may also be further amendments to the Bill not in the Select Committee’s recommendations. Information sheets should not be relied on as definitive guidance on the requirements of the Bill once enacted and readers will need to consider the Bill once enacted. This information should not be relied on as legal advice.

This Information Sheet Overview (.pdf 254kb) provides an overview of all information sheets for reference.

Topic information sheets

The following information sheets summarise by topic key provisions in the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) as reported back by Select Committee which are different from the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (which the Bill would replace, if enacted). These information sheets set out what is substantively different and why, and when the legislation would come into force. Refer to the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) as reported back for complete information about what the Bill provides for and requires.

• Topic Information Sheet 1: Emergency management participants (.pdf 485kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 2: Emergency Management Committee roles and responsibilities (.pdf 294kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 3: Local lines of accountability (.pdf 336kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 4: Emergency management declarations (.pdf 232kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 5: Emergency management powers (.pdf 265 kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 6: Oversight and assurance (.pdf 265kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 7: Essential infrastructure providers (.pdf 281kb)
• Topic Information Sheet 8: Emergency management planning (.pdf 839kb)

Role holder information sheets

The following role information sheets summarise key functions, powers and duties for those who hold significant roles under the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) as reported back by Select Committee. This includes both new provisions in the Bill and provisions that are the same or similar to those in the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (which the Bill would replace, if enacted). Refer to the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) as reported back for complete information about what the Bill provides for and requires.

• Role Information Sheet A: Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery (.pdf 250kb)
• Role Information Sheet B: Director-General of Emergency Management (.pdf 264kb)
• Role Information Sheet C: Multi-member Emergency Management Committees (.pdf 400kb)
• Role Information Sheet D: Unitary Authority Emergency Management Committees (.pdf 350kb)
• Role Information Sheet E: Mayors (.pdf 203kb)
• Role Information Sheet F: Emergency Management Coordinating Executive Groups (.pdf 169kb)
• Role Information Sheet G: Chief Executives of local authorities (.pdf 203kb)
• Role Information Sheet H: Controllers (.pdf 255kb)
• Role Information Sheet I: Recovery Managers (.pdf 243kb)

In October 2024 the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery announced that a new Emergency Management Bill will be introduced as part of the Government’s Response to the Government Inquiry into the North Island Severe Weather Events.

The development of the proposals for the new Bill has incorporated lessons from the Government Inquiry and other reviews, as well as proposals from the discharged previous Emergency Management Bill.

In April 2025, NEMA released a discussion document which sought feedback from the public on the reform objectives, issues with the status quo, and options to address them. NEMA received 324 submissions between 15 April to 20 May 2025. The majority of submitters who commented on the reform objectives either supported them or provided conditional support. Submitters generally agreed with the issues set out in the discussion document and supported one or more legislative options that have since been drafted into the Bill. You can read the submissions and discussion document below.

• Online submissions (.pdf 6mb)
• Email submissions part 1 (.pdf 33mb)
• Email submissions part 2 (.pdf 33mb)
• Email submissions part 3 (.pdf 1.3mb)
• Discussion document: Strengthening New Zealand’s emergency management legislation (.pdf 1.9mb)
  • Note: Translated summary versions of the discussion document are available in the following accessible formats and languages: audio, braille, large print, easy read, Māori, Arabic, Cook Islands Māori, Hindi, Japanese, Niuean, Punjabi, Samoan, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Tongan and Traditional Chinese. Please email [email protected] to request.

The public consultation was supported by targeted engagement with stakeholders and iwi Māori. This included testing draft policy with CDEM Groups, CDEM Group officials, local authority chief executives, the National Iwi Chairs Forum, and central government agencies.

Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management: Legislative Implications (.pdf 1.3mb)

• The following documents have been included in this release:
  • Title of paper: Strengthening disaster resilience and emergency management: legislative implications (CAB-24-SUB-0458 refers)
  • Title of minute: Report of the Cabinet Economic Policy Committee: Period Ended 22 November 2024 (CAB-24-MIN-0458 refers)
  • Title of minute: Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management: Legislative Implications (ECO-24-MIN-0269 refers)

Strengthening Emergency Management: Legislative Reform (.pdf 13mb)

• The following documents have been included in this release:
  • Title of paper: Strengthening emergency management: decisions on legislative reform (ECO-25-SUB-0117 refers)
  • Annex 1: Indicative Detailed Legislative Proposals
  • Annex 2: Proposals exempt from regulatory impact analysis – increased penalties and limitation of civil liability for issuance of warnings
  • Annex 3: Proposed functions of CDEM Groups and local authorities
  • Regulatory Impact Statement: Strengthening New Zealand’s emergency management legislation
  • Title of minute: Report of the Cabinet Economic Policy Committee: Period Ended 25 July 2025 (CAB-25-MIN-0249 refers)
  • Title of minute: Strengthening Emergency Management: Legislative Reform (ECO-25-MIN-0117 refers)

Emergency Management Bill (No 2): Approval for Introduction (.pdf 1.1mb)

• The following documents have been included in this release:
  • Cabinet Legislation Committee Minute of Decision – Emergency Management Bill (No 2): Approval for Introduction (LEG-25-MIN-0248)
  • Cabinet Minute of Decision – Report for the Cabinet Legislation Committee: Period Ended 5 December 2025 (CAB-25-MIN-0446)
  • Emergency Management Bill (No 2): Approval for Introduction 

The Government decided not to proceed with the previous Emergency Management Bill.  

Information about the decision is provided in the following proactively released material:

• Documents relating to the Government’s decision to not proceed with the Emergency Management Bill (.pdf 3mb)
  • The following documents have been included in this release:
    • Title of paper: Discharging the Emergency Management Bill (LEG-24-SUB-0039 refers)
    • Title of minute: Report of the Cabinet Legislation Committee Minute (CAB-24-MIN-0099 refers)
    • Title of minute: Discharging the Emergency Management Bill (LEG-24-SUB-0039 refers)
    • Title of briefing: Emergency Management Bill: overview and next steps
    • Annex One: Timeline of emergency management primary legislation
    • Annex Two: Subsidiary instruments made under the CDEM Act 2002
    • Annex Three: The 4Rs of emergency management
    • Annex Four: Structural arrangements under CDEM Act and EM Bill
    • Annex Five: Planning arrangements under CDEM Act and EM Bill
    • Main changes made through the Emergency Management Bill

On 6 May 2024 the Governance and Administration Select Committee reported back to the House without further consideration. On 8 May 2024 the Bill was discharged from Parliament.

• The discharged Bill can be viewed at Emergency Management Bill 225-1 (2023), Government Bill – New Zealand Legislation 
• View progress of the discharged Bill through Parliament Emergency Management Bill (bills.parliament.nz)