Territorial Authority Areas

A Territorial Authority is defined under the Local Government Act 2002 as a city council or district council. There are 67 territorial authority areas comprising 12 cities, 53 districts, Auckland Council and Chatham Islands territory. Representing just one territorial authority area but four ‘urban zones’, the Auckland Council was formed as part of new local government arrangements in 2010. It is the single-largest administrative area, in 2013 accounting for just on one-third of the New Zealand population. Territorial Authorities have both administrative and legal status.