Brandon Watts

Aotearoa’s regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving, with greater opportunities for Councils to partner with other regulatory agencies to achieve positive outcomes in the environmental CME space.

Benefits include the ability to share and coordinate expertise, intelligence, technology, resources and to deploy an expanded regulatory response toolkit that is more targeted to the problem at hand.

Agency collaboration is not without risk and must be managed in a considered way that mitigates legal and reputational risks. The importance of successful inter-agency collaboration is set to come into increasing focus over the next year with the potential amalgamation of local authorities and the establishment of a national compliance regulator.

This presentation examines how joint-agency investigations can be deployed successfully and how to avoid pitfalls that can arise in practice, for example where statutory functions become blurred.

Drawing on recent cases such as R v 4 Corners, which involved three agencies working within different regulatory frameworks arising from an unconsented boarding house development, we will explore the key principles for successful collaboration in the context of compliance investigations.

Learning outcomes to include how to:

• Plan inter agency coordination strategically, including who should lead;

• Maintain clarity and accountability in respect of operational decisions and the exercise of powers;

• Mitigate legal risks and ensure evidence gathering and information sharing is lawful;

• Preserve independence and to guard against regulatory capture;

• Establish and maintain effective inter-agency relationships;

• Avoid pitfalls from inter-agency collaboration.