Territorial authorities is the formal term for the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 74 territorial authorities: 16 city councils, 57 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. Five territorial authorities (Nelson City Council, Gisborne, Tasman and Marlborough District Councils and the Chatham Islands Council) also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions, as such, of regional council districts and some of them fall within more than one regional council area. Franklin District Council, for example, falls within both the Auckland and Waikato regional council areas.

For standard abbreviations of names, see ISO 3166-2:NZ.

Territorial Authorities

North Island

• Northland Regional Council
  • Far North District Council
  • Whangarei District Council
  • Kaipara District Council
• Auckland Regional Council
  • Rodney District Council
  • Auckland City Council
  • North Shore City Council
  • Waitakere City Council
  • Manukau City Council
  • Papakura District Council
  • Franklin District Council (part)
• Waikato Regional Council (Environment Waikato)
  • Thames-Coromandel District Council
  • Franklin District Council (part)
  • Hauraki District Council
  • Waikato District Council
  • Matamata-Piako District Council
  • Hamilton City Council
  • Waipa District Council
  • South Waikato District Council
  • Otorohanga District Council
  • Rotorua District Council (part)
  • Waitomo District Council
  • Taupo District Council (part)
• Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Environment BOP)
  • Western Bay of Plenty District Council
  • Tauranga City Council
  • Opotiki District Council
  • Whakatane District Council
  • Rotorua District Council (part)
  • Kawerau District Council
  • Taupo District Council (part)
• Gisborne District Council (unitary authority)
• Hawke's Bay Regional Council
  • Wairoa District Council
  • Taupo District Council (part)
  • Hastings District Council
  • Napier City Council
  • Central Hawke's Bay District Council
• Taranaki Regional Council
  • New Plymouth District Council
  • Stratford District Council (part)
  • South Taranaki District Council
• Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council (Horizons Regional Council; horizons.mw)
  • Ruapehu District Council
  • Stratford District Council (part)
  • Rangitikei District Council
  • Wanganui District Council
  • Manawatu District Council
  • Palmerston North City Council
  • Tararua District Council
  • Horowhenua District Council
• Wellington Regional Council (Greater Wellington Regional Council; Greater Wellington -- The Regional Council)
  • Masterton District Council
  • Kapiti Coast District Council
  • Carterton District Council
  • South Wairarapa District Council
  • Upper Hutt City Council
  • Porirua City Council
  • Hutt City Council *
  • Wellington City Council

South Island

• Tasman District Council (unitary authority)
• Nelson City Council (unitary authority)
• Marlborough District Council (unitary authority)
• West Coast Regional Council
  • Buller District Council
  • Grey District Council
  • Westland District Council
• Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury)
  • Kaikoura District Council
  • Hurunui District Council
  • Selwyn District Council
  • Waimakariri District Council
  • Christchurch City Council
  • Banks Peninsula District Council
  • Ashburton District Council
  • MacKenzie District Council
  • Timaru District Council
  • Waitaki District Council (part)
  • Waimate District Council
• Otago Regional Council
  • Queenstown Lakes District Council
  • Central Otago District Council
  • Waitaki District Council (part)
  • Dunedin City Council
  • Clutha District Council
• Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland)
  • Southland District Council
  • Gore District Council
  • Invercargill City Council

Stewart Island

• Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland)
  • Southland District Council

Chatham Islands

• Chatham Islands Council (district) [*]

[*] With the exception of Hutt City Council and Chatham Islands Council, each territorial authority is directly named after the area it covers (with just the word "Council" added). Hutt City Council covers Lower Hutt City (Lower Hutt City (Name of City Council) Act 1991). The Chatham Islands Council covers a district known as Chatham Islands Territory, and has no encompassing region (Chatham Islands Council Act 1995).

Offshore islands

There are eight islands where the Minister of Local Government is the territorial authority, three of which have a 'significant population and/or permanent buildings and structures.'

• Mayor Island/Tuhua
• Motiti Island
• White Island

Changes since 1989

Since the 1989 reorganisations conducted by the Local Government Commission, there have been few major reorganisations or status changes in local government. Incomplete list:

• 1991: Invercargill re-proclaimed a city.
• 1992: (by a Local Government Amendment Act) Abolition of Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council - Kaikoura was transferred to the Canterbury Region, and Nelson City and two districts (Tasman and Marlborough) became unitary authorities.
• 1995: Chatham Islands County dissolved and reconstituted as a district council with regional council functions by a special Act of Parliament.
• 2004: Tauranga became a city again on 1 March.

Reports on completed reorganisation attempts since 1999 are available on the Commission's site (link below).

External links and sources

• Local Government Services at the Department of Internal Affairs site (includes the Local Government Directory at the bottom of the page)
  • Administration of Offshore Islands
• Local Government Commission site
• Local Government Online Limited site (portal site owned by the Society of Local Government Managers and the Association of Local Government Information Management)
• Local Government New Zealand region and district boundaries - North Island
• Local Government New Zealand region and district boundaries - South Island
• Statistics New Zealand clickable map for local body and area unit detail over all NZ