Have your say
A review of the competition provisions that regulate Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (Fonterra) under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 (DIRA) was announced by the Minister of Agriculture in May 2026. The review is to determine whether the competition provisions that regulate Fonterra should be retained, repealed, or amended.
The first step in the review is to get your feedback on the questions outlined in the terms of reference.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking your feedback by 5pm on 29 June 2026. This consultation opened on 19 May.
Minister's press release
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act statutory review begins – Beehive
Consultation document
DIRA terms of reference [PDF, 109 KB]
Previous consultation
Review of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 held in 2018–19
Related information
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 – New Zealand Legislation
Our process steps and indicative timeframe
- 19 May 2026: Publication of the terms of reference, issuing a call for feedback.
- 29 June: Submissions on the questions set out in the terms of reference close.
- September: Publication of the issues paper.
- November: Submissions are due on the issues paper.
- February 2027: Publication of MPI's draft report for consultation.
- March: Submissions are due on the draft report.
- April: MPI's final report sent to the minister.
- May: Cabinet to consider MPI's final report.
- 1 June: MPI's final report presented to Parliament.
Any changes to the indicative timeframe will be posted on this website and stakeholders will be notified.
Making a submission
Email your feedback on the questions set out in the terms of reference to dira@mpi.govt.nz
We must get your submission by 5pm on 29 June 2026.
Background to the consultation
The DIRA was introduced to enable the creation of Fonterra and included competition-enabling regulatory measures to promote the efficient operation of dairy markets in New Zealand.
These measures regulate Fonterra's activities in relation to its farmers and other dairy processors and apply over and above the general competition provisions under the Commerce Act 1986.
They are contained in Subparts 5 and 5A of Part 2 of the DIRA and the Dairy Industry Restructuring (Raw Milk) Regulations 2012 and are the subject of this review.
As required by section 147 of the DIRA, the Minister of Agriculture has requested that MPI produces a report on whether the competition provisions that regulate Fonterra under the DIRA should be retained, repealed, or amended.
The DIRA also provides for the dairy export quota management system and regulates herd testing and the dairy core database. These parts of the DIRA are not part of this review.
