This paper suggests that the regulatory regime evolving out of the post-GFC order should be termed 'retroliberalism'. This approach sees a return to the principles of classical liberalism with respect to the role of the state vis-a-vis the market whilst also perpetuating a number of the principles of neoliberalism. At the same time the rejuvenation of an active state also harks back to modernisation principles prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. The authors argue that in countries including New Zealand and Chile experiments in retroliberalism have been underway since the end of the 2000s. They provide evidence for this regulatory shift utilising evidence from recent reforms in the New Zealand and Australian aid sectors that suggest a return to state regulation that ultimately serves to facilitate and sustain private accumulation.