New Zealand has confirmed the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026. New Zealand's minister of internal affairs Ms Brooke van Velden in a press statement said the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy.
Ms van Velden said, “The Government had agreed to a 2.2% increase to the rate of levy. Fire and Emergency publicly consulted on an increase of 5.2% earlier in the year 2024, however this was revised down as we were not convinced that such an increase is justified and requested an alternative solution from Fire and Emergency.”
FENZ has nationwide responsibility for fire safety, firefighting, hazardous substance incident response, vehicle extrication and urban search and rescue. It is almost entirely funded by a levy on contracts of insurance where property is insured against the risk of fire.
The fire and emergency levy are included on most insurance contracts that cover property, including vehicles, homes and contents and non-residential property. The insurance industry had requested the government that the regulations be finalised 18 months before coming into effect to give sufficient time to implement the new levy.
The minister said she is happy that the Government has approved the regulations in December 2024, providing confidence to businesses about how the levy will be applied and collected.
She said, “In deciding the rate of levy and how it applies to each type of property, the cost of living for New Zealanders was top of our mind, as well as ensuring Fire and Emergency is sufficiently resourced to continue delivering its services.”
“I have also asked FENZ to deliver savings of NZD60m ($34m) by the end of the three-year levy period. These savings will provide a reserve for significant unexpected costs or under-collection of the levy.”
The maximum annual levy on residential property (homeowners) will drop from NZD119.50 to NZD107.40. The maximum annual levy on personal property (contents insurance) will drop from NZD23.90 to NZD21.48 and vehicle insurance (including third-party only) will have a flat fee of NZD25, down from NZD40.12.