OC260121
19 March 2026
Jacob Williams
[FYI request #33785 email]
Tēnā koe Jacob,
I refer to the transfer of your request from the New Zealand Transport Agency to the Ministry of
Transport on 24 February 2026, requesting the fol owing under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act):
“1. Is the Ministry of Transport aware of or involved in the vehicle regulatory framework review
referenced by NZTA in April 2024, and if so, what is its current status?
2. Has the question of introducing a light quadricycle vehicle category — equivalent to the EU's
L7e classification — been considered at a policy level by the Ministry?
3. If this has not yet been considered, would the Ministry be wil ing to assess whether such a
category is appropriate for New Zealand?
4. Is there a public or stakeholder consultation process planned in connection with any vehicle
classification review, and if so, how can I participate?”
The Government’s land transport Rules Reform programme, announced in June 2025, aims to
increase productivity and efficiency by reforming land transport rules. One of the programme’s
seven workstreams is a review of the vehicle regulatory framework to overhaul the vehicle
regulatory system.
This acknowledges the current regulatory framework makes updating and complying with modern
requirements an often-substantial administrative burden for Government, the public and industry.
This reform package aims to enable a more flexible, modern approach to regulating land transport,
and to better harmonise our requirements with international jurisdictions’.
The review of the vehicle regulatory framework is substantial and complex and will take time to get
right. The workstream wil include eventual work on vehicle classifications and associated
requirements, and is open to a range of options, but is being progressed in stages. At this stage
there has not been any specific policy work on the classification of light quadricycles. We expect
there wil be opportunities for industry and public input as the work is progressed. Keep an eye on
our site for future announcements on upcoming consultations:
https:/ www.transport.govt.nz/consultations/results.
If you would like to discuss this response with us, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email address].
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of this response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be found on the Ombudsman’s
websit
e www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
transport.govt.nz | hei-arataki.nz
HEAD OFFICE: PO Box 3175, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. PH: +64 4 439 9000
AUCKLAND OFFICE: NZ Government Auckland Policy Office, PO Box 106483, Auckland 1143, New Zealand. PH: +64 4 439 9000
The Ministry publishes our Of icial Information Act responses and the information contained in our
reply to you may be published on the Ministry’s website. Before publishing we wil remove any
personal or identifiable information.
Nāku noa, nā
Laura Bender
Manager, Regulatory Reform
