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28-day rule
Cabinet has a rule that regulations must not come into force until at least 28 days after they have been notified in the New Zealand Gazette. The rule reflects the principle that the law should be available and capable of being understood before it comes into force (see paragraphs 7.91-7.94 of the Cabinet Manual).
Regulations are published or notified in the New Zealand Gazette on the Thursday following the Executive Council meeting on the Monday. The 28 days are therefore counted by calling Friday day 1 and so on. All days are counted, including weekends.
Departments must take the 28-day rule into account at the beginning of the policy process. To ensure that regulations come into force without the need for a waiver, departments must factor in a reasonable period for the drafting of the regulations by Parliamentary Counsel Office.
There are some instances where regulations do not require compliance on the part of the public, or where it is otherwise appropriate to seek a waiver of the 28-day rule. Some examples are:
- where a regulation has little or no effect on the public, or confers only benefits on the public;
- where the regulations are made in response to an emergency;
- where early commencement is necessary to comply with statutory or international obligations;
- where early commencement is necessary to avoid unfair commercial advantage being taken, or the defeat of the purpose of the regulations; or
- where irregularities need to be validated.
There may be other situations where a waiver of the 28-day rule may be sought. Cabinet will not grant waivers unless there is good reason to do so.
A waiver of the rule needs to be sought in the recommendations of the paper to the Cabinet Legislation Committee, and an explanation given in the body of the paper. See the CabGuide section on the structure of papers regarding items for Executive Council for format required.
Parliamentary counsel must note non-compliance with the 28-day rule when certifying regulations as being in order for submission to Cabinet. The Cabinet Office also collects information on compliance with the rule. Where there appears to be ongoing difficulty in complying with the rule, the Cabinet Office will seek an explanation from the office of the Minister and the chief executive concerned to identify and resolve the problems.
