National Engineering Design Standards

We’re working with councils, providers, developers and technical experts to shape the draft standards. Their input will help us create standards that are practical, affordable and fit for purpose.

Over the coming months, we’ll test options with the sector and refine the technical detail. This will help make sure the standards work for providers of different sizes and in different contexts.

We’re identifying key stakeholder groups to take part in these initial discussions including developers, infrastructure specialists, council staff and peak water organisations. Technical review groups will provide independent specialist advice throughout the project.

The NEDS will cover the full lifecycle of water infrastructure, from design and construction through to operation and decommissioning. All new water infrastructure will need to meet the standards. We also need to consider how they apply to repair and renewal work, while balancing improvement with affordability for communities.

The standards may set performance requirements for areas such as asset life, failure risk and resilience. They will also require providers to keep good information about the assets they own.

Water services providers will not be able to take ownership of, or accept connections from, infrastructure that does not meet the standards.

The NEDS will be supported by national codes of practice. These will provide detailed technical specifications and guidance to enable compliance with the standards. The codes will provide one pathway for compliance with the standards. Water service providers may also approve alternative solutions but they must be satisfied that those alternatives will result in compliance with the standards.

Work on national engineering design codes began under the previous government. Draft national codes were developed and tested with the sector. This work paused during the shift to Local Water Done Well. Since then, changes to the Water Services Act have introduced a requirement for the Authority to set NEDS. The earlier draft documents are better understood as codes of practice under the current framework.

The earlier drafts are still a useful starting point but they need to be updated to fit the new framework and a wider range of providers. As mentioned above, the codes the Authority develops will be one way to meet the standards but they are not the only way. This outcomes-based approach leaves room for innovation so long as the right results are achieved.

These documents are provided for context only and do not necessarily reflect the content of the Authority’s future codes.

National Transition Unit draft NEDS

There are about 45 different codes of practice for three waters infrastructure around New Zealand. These local codes meet local needs but they also create inconsistency across the sector.

A national approach will bring national consistency to the way that our three waters infrastructure is managed. It will reduce uncertainty and help reduce time and cost for developers. It will also make design, approvals and construction more efficient.

The NEDS will set the outcomes that water infrastructure must meet, much like the Building Code does for buildings. They will help make sure infrastructure is practical, resilient and fit for the future.

We’re working on options for how the NEDS will be structured, and on the likely costs and benefits. We expect to start engaging with the sector through August and September 2026 before detailed technical work begins.

We’ll keep working with the sector as we develop the technical detail. The standards will need Cabinet approval.

Public consultation is planned for mid-2027. After consultation, we’ll refine the standards and codes. We aim to have the standards and associated codes of practice approved and published in early 2028.

We’re also planning a transition period and support to help the sector understand and apply the NEDS.

Once the standards are in place, we’ll review them regularly to keep them up to date.

We have begun work to develop options for the structure of the NEDS and the codes of practice.

We started by commissioning a review of international jurisdictions and their approaches to regulating three waters infrastructure.

Read a summary of this review

If you are aware of any other approaches we should consider, please get in touch.