Regions are the largest territories of local government in New Zealand. Twelve of the regions have a regional council and are further divided into territorial authorities, which have either a district council or a city council. However there are a few unitary authorities and one district which is considered a separate region (the Chatham Islands) due to its isolation.

Regional authorities are primarily responsible for regional transport (including public transport), water and river management, biosecurity and environmental regulation; while local territorial authorities are responsible for resource management (urban planning), city services such as water, sewage and refuse disposal, local roads, libraries, parks and reserves and community development. Property rates (land taxes) are used to fund both regional and local government activities. There is often a high degree of co-operation between regional and local councils as both have complementary roles.

Local Government Regions, roughly in north to south order:

• Northland
• Auckland
• Waikato
• Bay of Plenty
• Gisborne (unitary authority)
• Hawkes Bay
• Taranaki
• Manawatu-Wanganui
• Wellington
• Tasman (unitary authority)
• Marlborough (unitary authority)
• Nelson (unitary authority)
• West Coast
• Canterbury
• Chatham Islands (district)
• Otago
• Southland

ISO 3166-2-codes for each can be found in ISO 3166-2:NZ.

See also: Provinces of New Zealand, territorial Authorities of New Zealand

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