Watching the birth of the regulatory profession

Abstract

Several decisions have been taken over the past few months that aim to professionalise the regulatory community in New Zealand. A professional regulatory community is increasingly regarded as essential to achieving social, environmental and economic outcomes sought by New Zealanders, and is one of the fundamental planks in New Zealand’s regulatory quality management system. It is not possible to attribute this development to a single cause; nor is it a ‘revelation’, as dedicated regulatory professionals from a range of agencies have built the foundations over a long period of time. Contextual factors include the impact of ideas of international experts such as Sparrow, Black and Braithwaite, government policies that have stressed the need for better regulation and governance, and the lessons that have been learned from regulatory failures.