Government

How to become a regulatory affairs manager

Official title: Regulatory affairs manager

Also called: Regulatory manager, Regulatory affairs specialist, Regulatory support manager, Regulatory assurance manager, Internal affairs manager, Approvals manager, National legal services manager

Regulatory affairs managers oversee the production activities of organisations to make sure industry guidelines and legal requirements are followed.

Main tasks

Make sure production activities follow rules
Manage quality control systems in businesses
Keep up with new industry changes
Share information with external people
Create plans for ways of working
Check documents follow laws and rules
Set company rules and programmes
Check marketing material follows laws and rules

How to become one

You usually need experience to become a regulatory affairs manager and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 or University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Regulatory Practice (Core Knowledge) (Level 3); to do intermediate or advanced training in justice and law enforcement; a bachelor's degree in law, pharmacy, manufacturing, engineering and technology or similar area; a relevant tertiary qualification in medical studies, science or similar area.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Law & Justice degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
University: Pharmacy degrees, Offered by 2 universities in New Zealand
University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in justice administration. TEC links this job to study in justice and law enforcement. Qualifications: Cert in Criminal Justice. Usually 6 months.

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $73,000 to $143,000 a year (median $101,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $56,000 a year · Upper: $182,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Policy and Planning Managers: 30,096 at the 2018 Census and 28,914 at the 2023 Census (-3.9%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 620 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Policy and Planning Managers, 46% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Policy and Planning Managers work (2023 Census): Auckland 34.7%, Wellington 15.1%, and Canterbury 13%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a regulatory affairs manager?

How much does a regulatory affairs manager earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $101,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $73,000 to $143,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a regulatory affairs manager grown in New Zealand?

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a regulatory affairs manager?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026