This reflects the structure of the diocese (since the passage of the Shared Diocesan Episcopacy Statute 2007),[2] with two bishoprics and two co-ordinary (presiding) bishops.

With the diocese unable to afford two bishops, Richardson established a commission in December 2018 to review the dual-episcopacy arrangement.

The incumbent Bishop of Waikato and Taranaki is Philip Richardson (who has been the archbishop of the New Zealand dioceses since 1 May 2013).

[6] Richardson had previously been the only suffragan Bishop in Taranaki in the Waikato diocese from 1999 until the co-diocesan arrangement started in 2008.

[8][9][10] The following individuals have served as the Bishop of Waikato and Taranaki, or any precursor title: