MPI has proactively released the Cabinet paper and its associated Cabinet minute relating to the publication of these terms of reference. Redactions have been made in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982.
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 The review was to determine whether the competition provisions that regulate Fonterra should be retained, repealed, or amended.
The first step in the review was to get your feedback on the questions outlined in the terms of reference.
This consultation closed on 29 June 2026.
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act statutory review begins – Beehive
DIRA terms of reference [PDF, 109 KB]
Review of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 held in 2018–19
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 – New Zealand Legislation
Any changes to the indicative timeframe will be posted on this website and stakeholders will be notified.
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MPI produces a report on whether the competition provisions that regulate Fonterra under the DIRA should be retained, repealed, or amended.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.
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 to 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation
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