Bills Tracker

Police vetting is when the New Zealand Police share information about a person's criminal history and other relevant records with an organisation — for example, to check if someone is suitable to work with children or in a role involving national security. Currently this service runs without a specific law behind it. This bill puts it on a formal legal footing by setting out who can request a check (called 'authorised agencies' or in some cases the person themselves), what information a vet can include, and that the person being checked must give their consent. The bill also introduces automatic update vets: if someone working with children is later charged with or convicted of a serious offence, relevant organisations are automatically told. A new option lets individuals request a vet on themselves and share it with multiple organisations at once. The bill comes into force two months after it receives Royal assent, giving organisations time to adjust.

The Māori Purposes Bill is an omnibus bill — meaning it amends many different laws in one go — focused on minor, technical, and administrative changes to legislation affecting Māori affairs. Key changes include: allowing meetings of a wide range of Māori bodies (such as Māori Associations, Trust Boards, Māori land trusts, and the Māori Soldiers Trust Committee) to be held electronically; enabling these bodies to elect or appoint two co-chairpersons instead of being limited to one chairperson; updating the Māori Trustee Act 1953 to change how investment income is calculated and reported to account holders (with a $50 reporting threshold set in regulations); clarifying the Māori Land Court's powers over easements, covenants, and contracts involving minors; updating the Māori Language Act 2016 to clarify Te Mātāwai's purposes and leadership arrangements; and replacing old-fashioned language and repealed legal references throughout. Three old Māori Purposes Acts (1939, 1945, and 1973) that no longer contain any active rules are also repealed.

The bill amends the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 to create two new responses to serious youth offending. A 'young serious offender' (YSO) declaration can be made by the Youth Court for people aged 14–17 who have at least two proven serious offences (each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 or more years) from separate incidents, and where the court believes reoffending is likely. The declaration, which lasts up to two years, gives police powers to arrest without a warrant for bail breaches, reduces the requirement to hold Family Group Conferences before each new charge, and allows courts to impose longer supervision orders, electronic monitoring, and curfews. A new military-style academy order — available only to those already declared a YSO and aged 15–17 at the time of offending — requires them to live in an Oranga Tamariki residence and complete a structured programme of 3–12 months, followed by a supervision period of 6–18 months. Staff can use reasonable physical force to prevent absconding or harm. Absconding from custody under either order becomes a criminal offence.

The Gene Technology Bill replaces New Zealand's current GMO rules (under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996) with a new risk-tiered regulatory regime. A new Gene Technology Regulator — an independent statutory decision-maker sitting within the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) — would oversee all activities involving regulated genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Regulator would be supported by a Technical Advisory Committee (providing scientific advice) and a Māori Advisory Committee (advising on kaitiaki relationships with indigenous and certain non-indigenous species). Activities involving regulated GMOs would be banned unless authorised or exempt. The bill allows for licences, pre-assessed activities, notifiable and non-notifiable activities, and streamlined 'equivalent medical authorisations' based on overseas approvals. The Ministry for Primary Industries would enforce the law. The bill was reported back from the Health Committee, which recommended it pass with a range of amendments, though Labour, the Greens, and New Zealand First each expressed significant concerns.

The Plain Language Act Repeal Bill scraps the Plain Language Act 2022, which had required public service agencies (government departments and similar bodies) to meet certain standards for writing clearly and simply. The government argues that the compliance requirements — the rules agencies had to follow and report on — do not actually improve plain language use, are not an efficient use of resources, and that legislation is not the right tool for this goal. The bill comes into force the day after Royal assent (when the Governor-General officially signs it into law), at which point the 2022 Act is immediately repealed. The repeal bill itself then automatically ceases to exist 28 days later. Agencies would still be free to pursue plain language in their own communications, just without a legal obligation to do so.

The Valuers Bill is a revision bill — meaning it rewrites an old law (the Valuers Act 1948) in clearer, more modern language without making large policy changes, but with some specific updates. The main changes include: removing the requirement that a valuer must be at least 23 years old to register (the Attorney-General flagged this as discriminatory under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990); increasing financial penalties that had not changed since 1977 and 1994; restructuring how complaints against valuers are handled, including making disciplinary hearings public by default and requiring decisions to be published online; allowing the Valuers Registration Board to delegate disciplinary decisions to a smaller committee; making the Board subject to the Official Information Act 1982 (meaning people can request information from it); adding conflict-of-interest rules for Board members; and requiring the Board to produce an annual report. The bill has been reported back from the Primary Production Committee, which recommends it be passed with amendments.