The New Zealand Government has announced major reforms to its mandatory climate-related disclosures regime, markedly reducing the number of companies required to report and easing liability settings. Reporting thresholds for listed issuers will jump from about NZ$60 million market capitalisation to NZ$1 billion. Managed investment schemes will be removed entirely from the scope, and directors will no longer be automatically liable solely because a reporting entity breaches the disclosure rules. This change follows feedback that the original regime had imposed significant compliance burdens and may have deterred capital-market listings.

For entities still subject to the regime, other obligations will remain, including mandatory disclosure of governance, strategy, risk management and metrics/targets related to climate risks and opportunities. The reforms will be introduced via the forthcoming amendment to the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and take effect once the bill passes in 2026. The shift signals a recalibration: maintaining climate-reporting ambitions, while reducing regulatory pressure on smaller market participants.