New Zealand's evolving approach to regulating space activities

For World Space Week 2025, DLA Piper is exploring how the space industry is evolving in jurisdictions around the world. To read about developments in other countries, including in relation to the European Union (EU) Space Act, see the firm’s landing page.

New Zealand’s space industry has grown rapidly in recent years, with a recent government-funded report hailing that:

“In the five years since 2019, the New Zealand Space sector has expanded from an estimated $1.75 billion to $2.68 billion, marking a 53% increase or year-on-year growth of 8.9%. This outpaced Global Space sector’s growth of 40.6% over the same period. New Zealand’s Space sector has also outpaced local economic growth over this period, which was 8.7%, or year-on-year growth of 1.9%.”

This is, in part, due to the country’s geographic location: The country offers relatively rare Southern Hemisphere ground-based space infrastructure (GBSI) coverage for satellites that are reliant on near-continuous communication between space and Earth.

New Zealand space industry regulation, adaptation to international space law, and local innovation have also contributed to the industry’s development. Key players within the New Zealand space industry include:

• Rocket Lab, which made New Zealand the country with the third highest number of launches in the world in 2024
  
  
• Dawn Aerospace and Kea Aerospace, which develop spaceplanes with increasingly satellite-like capabilities
  
  
• Tāwhaki Aerospace Centre, the world’s first Indigenous-led aerospace center, which recently received New Zealand's first permanent special-use airspace designation for testing spaceplanes, such as those of Aerosearch, Dawn Aerospace, Insitu Pacific, Kea Aerospace, and Wisk NZ

Further, in September 2024, New Zealand adopted its Space and Advance Aviation Strategy 2024-2030 (Space Strategy) in an effort to double the size of New Zealand’s space and advanced aviation sectors by 2030.

Against the backdrop of the EU Space Act, New Zealand’s space industry may be poised for increased regulation – as well as opportunities for innovation.

What does the EU Space Act mean for New Zealand?

Historically, New Zealand's space regulation developed in response to commercial needs, rather than to the needs of government defense and exploration projects. According to the government, New Zealand’s Space Strategy was designed to facilitate emerging technology in an agile regulatory landscape. One component of this was the creation of a sandbox for safely and freely testing space and advanced aviation technologies.

In contrast, the EU Space Act is more prescriptive. Once the law comes into force, New Zealand will need to adopt an equivalent – or at least compatible – regulatory approach to that proposed in the EU Space Act in order to benefit from mutual recognition principles under that Act. Regulatory alignment may be crucial for New Zealand's space industry, as it relies on international collaboration and generates almost 29 percent of revenue abroad. This is a higher export share than the New Zealand economy overall (which was 24 percent in 2023). Export markets include the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, India, Japan, and Korea.  

New Zealand regulators are likely considering how to ensure access to European markets remains open once the EU Space Act comes into force. Meanwhile, they are also seeking harmonization with other jurisdictions, as shown in recent announcements of a space science partnership with the United Kingdom and Memorandum of Co-operation with Colorado, as well as demonstrated by its attendance at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. Read our previous alert for more details.

Three pillars of regulating the space sector

New Zealand's regulators are responding to issues raised by the three pillars of the EU Space Act: safety, resilience, and sustainability.

Safety and resilience: Security-conscious space regulation

New Zealand’s Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Amendment Act 2025 (Space Amendment Act) promotes the safety of space objects and resilience of space infrastructure (two of the three pillars of the EU Space Act). It is intended to reduce the risk of foreign interference on GBSI.

From July 22 to 23, 2025, the previously unseen draft bill passed through Parliament under urgency. It received full cross-party support – a generally uncommon occurrence in New Zealand's parliamentary system. On July 29, 2025, the Space Amendment Act came into force.

The Space Amendment Act stemmed from concerns that nonregulatory measures, such as education and outreach, had become inadequate to prevent national security threats. The Space Amendment Act creates a new operating license regime and enforcement powers, including the ability to refuse operator authorizations, require divestment of assets, and/or restrict access to utilities services on national security grounds. Yet-to-be-released regulation under the Space Amendment Act will provide further details of authorization and ongoing obligations for those authorized. Whether this regulation goes further to align with the EU Space Act – for instance, with tailored cybersecurity requirements – remains to be seen.

Read our previous alert for a detailed breakdown of the Space Amendment Act.

Simultaneously, the role of space technology in New Zealand's defense strategy has also increased. This has included increased funding of space capabilities to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance communication, as well as navigation and targeting within the New Zealand Defence Force (which currently leverages GBSI but does not own any space assets in orbit). Another example is the Royal New Zealand Air Force's new dedicated space unit, tasked with monitoring, analyzing, and understanding space activity to safeguard national and international interests.

Safety and sustainability: Monitoring space debris

New Zealand’s government is reviewing regulations that manage the deposition of space vehicle (rocket) jettison debris in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Extended Continental Shelf (EEZ). These regulations currently allow for up to 100 launches to deposit debris in the EEZ without requiring a marine consent.

That limit is expected to be reached in 2026, according to a recent report by Earth Sciences New Zealand (and commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment). This estimate was achieved, in part, following an ecological risk assessment of debris from space vehicle launches on the marine environment, using debris location data supplied by Rocket Lab to calculate the cumulative risk from 1 to 10,000 launches. The report fits into a larger process for monitoring space debris. Now, the Ministry for the Environment is seeking public feedback on whether the current launch limit should be changed, and if so, how.

The New Zealand government has also sought opportunities to invest in sustainable space technology, with several high-profile investment announcements this year. However, there may be hurdles ahead. For instance, New Zealand's first taxpayer-funded space mission, MethaneSAT, lost contact and is likely irrecoverable after only 15 months in orbit. That technology was intended to track and quantify global methane emissions with unprecedented precision. The loss of MethaneSAT will likely shape the future of government-backed space projects, as questions regarding transparency, public spending, and decision making have already arisen.

Looking ahead: A connected space economy

As the global space economy moves forward, New Zealand's regulators have committed to positioning the country as a global leader in space technology. However, it is likely crucial that the resulting regulation is competitive, safe, and compatible with other jurisdictions. As to what comes next, New Zealand's Minister of Space has promised an announcement on sovereign space capabilities before the end of 2025.

For more information, please contact the authors.