Everyone in Aotearoa interacts with the land transport in some way – whether that’s choosing what type of transport you will use or to deliver or collect goods and freight.

Effective regulation to keep people safe is an integral part of this. Whether learning to drive, walking along a street or running a transport business, people should feel safe, and the equipment used should be safe. Regulation helps ensure that.

To achieve this, we must ensure our regulations are easy to follow and hard to avoid and are effectively co-ordinated with things like land transport infrastructure design, planning and investment management.

Tū ake, Tū māia is our regulatory strategy and sets out how Waka Kotahi and our partners regulate the land transport system to keep it safe for New Zealanders.

First released in 2020, the refreshed Tū ake, Tū māia 2023–2032 builds on its strong foundation and achievements. It reflects recent changes in legislation, funding, and broader government strategy and outcomes, ensuring we continue to improve as a regulator that is firm and fair.

Underpinned by good practice, Tū ake, Tū māia 2023–2032 is grounded in the principles of te ao Māori and introduces a longer-term view of the land transport system, shows the harm reduction programmes, focus areas and key risks we need to work on. 

It also outlines the capability shifts that are important to improve and grow our maturity as a regulator. This includes embedding te ao Māori values into our mahi so we can better meet our obligations to Māori as a partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The shifts we are working towards:

  • embedding a te ao Māori view
  • making it easier to engage with us to achieve shared goals
  • enhancing monitoring of the land transport system to build insight and foresight
  • co-ordinating our regulatory levers in harmony with non-regulatory activity
  • applying modern, best practice regulation across Waka Kotahi and its land transport partners.

Tū ake, Tū māia 2023–2032 – our regulatory strategy [PDF, 3.7 MB]

Tū ake, Tū māia 2023–2032 – our regulatory strategy in Te Reo Māori [PDF, 3.8 MB]

Watch this video to understand more about our role as a regulator: