On 23 April 2021 the Minister of Local Government (New Zealand) established a Review into the Future for Local Government.

The overall purpose of the review is, as a result of the cumulative changes being progressed as part of the government’s reform agenda, to identify how New Zealand's system of local democracy and governance needs to evolve over the next 30 years, to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the environment, and actively embody the Treaty partnership.