The National Code of Practice for Utility Operators’ Access to Transport Corridors (the Code) is a legislated requirement under the Utilities Access Act 2010.

The Code applies to the activities of all transport corridor managers and utility operators throughout New Zealand.  It provides a nationally consistent and cooperative framework for corridor managers and utility operators, to manage transport corridors while also providing for the access rights of utility operators

The Code was developed as an industry-lead initiative to define the roles of the various stakeholders in the management of access to the transport corridors (road and rail) by utility operators. Representatives of all utilities, local authorities, the NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail have collaboratively developed the Code and it underwent several rounds of public consultation before being approved by the Government.

The Code enables access by utility operators to transport corridors to be managed in a way that:

• maximises the benefit to the public while ensuring that all utility operators are treated fairly and reasonably
• ensures that disruptions to transport corridors and utility services caused by work by another party are kept to a minimum, while maintaining safety
• provides a nationally consistent approach to managing access to transport corridors; and
• provides for corridor managers to place reasonable conditions on utility operators by agreement, balancing perceived risks of the activities with costs collectively.

Specifically the code recognises that transport corridors are utility corridors and there is no primacy of one utility over another. The beneficiaries of this pragmatic approach are the same community and businesses which the transport corridors and utility operators share as customers.

The Code requires corridor mangers to coordinate the work of the various utilities within their districts, including their own, in a way which ensures the best outcomes for all New Zealanders in terms of the performance and longevity of the utility services and the transport corridor.

An updated version 2 of the Code was approved on 27 February 2019 and came into force on 15 July 2019.

The NZ Utilities Advisory Group (NZUAG) Inc is responsible for the administration of the Code, including monitoring compliance and conducting triennial reviews.