Legislation, made readable

The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill aims to modify several Acts to improve the efficiency of the justice system. It proposes to increase the maximum number of High Court Judges from 55 to 65. The bill also introduces new provisions to address plainly abusive civil proceedings in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court, allowing Registrars to refer such cases to a Judge and enabling Judges to strike out these proceedings or issue directions. Furthermore, it establishes an automatic restraint on individuals from commencing or continuing civil proceedings if they have had two abusive proceedings struck out within two years. The bill also includes amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 to allow for the management of pre-trial processes for multiple charges in different District Court offices to be handled in a single office, and permits Court of Appeal Judges to remit certain first appeals to the High Court. Finally, it amends the Coroners Act 2006 to allow coroners to close inquiries under new circumstances.

The Resource Management (Duration of Consents) Amendment Bill proposes changes to the Resource Management Act 1991. Its main goal is to extend the expiry dates of certain resource consents that are due to expire before new resource management legislation is enacted. The bill automatically extends consents set to expire before 31 December 2027 until that date. It also reinstates and extends recently expired consents until 31 December 2027, provided a replacement application was made but not yet decided. Consents related to freshwater have a maximum total duration of 35 years, and certain wastewater consents already extended are excluded. Consent authorities will update records and notify holders, with no action required from consent holders for these extensions.

The Planning Bill establishes a new framework for land use and development in New Zealand. It introduces regional spatial plans, which will guide growth and infrastructure, and land use plans, which will set out detailed rules for districts. The bill outlines processes for creating these plans, including public notification, submissions, and independent hearings. It also details the system for planning consents, which are approvals required for certain activities, and sets out how these consents are applied for, considered, and decided. The bill includes provisions for enforcement, outlining duties, restrictions, and penalties for non-compliance. It also addresses the role of the Environment Court and the Planning Tribunal in this new system, and includes transitional arrangements for moving from existing legislation.

The Natural Environment Bill aims to manage New Zealand's natural resources and environment. It establishes a framework for setting environmental limits to protect both human and ecosystem health. The Bill outlines how national environmental instruments, such as national policy directions and national standards, will be developed and implemented by regional councils through natural environment plans. It also details the process for applying for, granting, and reviewing natural resource permits for activities affecting land, water, and the coastal marine area. The Bill includes provisions for enforcement, compliance, and the roles of central and local government, as well as addressing the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori customary rights in resource management.

This Bill amends the Climate Change Response Act 2002. It changes the 2050 target for reducing biogenic methane emissions from a 24% to 47% reduction to a 14% to 24% reduction from 2017 levels. The Bill also requires a review of this methane target in 2040 to assess its relevance and recommend a future target. It introduces a requirement for the Climate Change Commission and the Minister of Climate Change to consider the implications for domestic food production when advising on and setting emissions budgets. The deadline for setting the fourth emissions budget (for 2036-2040) is extended by 24 months to 31 December 2027. Additionally, the Bill removes the requirement for New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) unit settings and price control regulations to align with New Zealand's nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement.

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.

This bill amends the Employment Relations Act 2000 to create a formal process for 'pre-termination negotiations' — private talks between an employer and employee about ending the job by mutual agreement in exchange for a payment. Making such an offer cannot, by itself, be treated as a personal grievance (a formal complaint an employee can lodge about how they were treated at work). For the agreement to be legally binding, it must be in writing, signed by both parties, reference the relevant law, and the employer must advise the worker to seek independent legal advice and allow reasonable time to do so. Anything said during these negotiations is generally not admissible in later employment proceedings, unless there is evidence of dishonesty or fraud. The agreement can include a confidentiality clause preventing either party from telling the employer's current staff about the terms.

The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga is a government body that helps plan and promote New Zealand's infrastructure (things like roads, water systems, and public buildings). This bill updates its legal powers in two ways. First, it removes the Commission's current job of providing 'support services' to infrastructure projects — that responsibility was shifted to other Crown (government) entities in December 2024, so the law needs to reflect that change and avoid confusion about who does what. Second, it adds a new job: giving advice on current and proposed infrastructure projects. The idea is to focus the Commission on a higher-level advisory role — particularly for large, complex, or at-risk projects — rather than day-to-day project support. The bill takes effect the day after it receives Royal assent (the final legal sign-off that makes a bill into law).

This Members' Bill would add a new duty to existing financial markets law, requiring financial institutions (like banks) to provide services to any consumer — including businesses — unless they have a valid and verifiable commercial reason or a legal requirement to refuse. Institutions would be banned from refusing or limiting services based on a customer's political views, environmental or social values (sometimes called ESG considerations), climate-related reporting standards, or the industry a customer works in. The bill defines 'consumer' broadly to include potential customers and both everyday (retail) and business (wholesale) customers. Breaching the duty would be a criminal offence: individuals face up to 3 months' imprisonment or a $50,000 fine, and companies face fines of up to $500,000 per offence. The bill amends the Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Act 2022.

This Member's Bill amends the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 in three ways. First, it allows a shop that shares premises with a restaurant to hold an off-licence (a licence to sell alcohol for taking away), removing a current ban on 'shops within shops' in this situation. Second, it changes how the 85% alcohol-sales revenue test works for off-licences: goods that a business manufactures on-site (like cheese or cordials) would be excluded from the calculation, making it easier for food and drink makers to get an off-licence for their retail outlet. Third, it updates the rules for on-licence and club-licence venues (places like bars and restaurants) so they can satisfy their legal duty to offer low-alcohol options by stocking zero-alcohol beer, wine, or spirits (under 1.15% ethanol), not just traditional low-alcohol products (up to 2.5% ethanol). It also clarifies that zero-alcohol drinks do not count as the separate non-alcoholic drinks venues must already provide.

This bill changes the Maritime Rules — the regulations that govern safety on New Zealand waters — to require that all people under 15 years old wear a life jacket at all times when on a recreational boat with a hull length of 6 metres or less. The person in charge of the boat is responsible for ensuring this happens. Adults on the same small boats must have an accessible, appropriately sized life jacket available to them, but are not required to wear it. Boats longer than 6 metres must still carry enough life jackets for everyone on board. The bill measures boat length along the waterline (the part of the hull that sits in the water), so features like bowsprits or outboard motors are excluded from the measurement. Existing exceptions — such as for surfboards, windsurfers, supervised water sports events, and commercial rafting — are kept. The bill also replaces the older term 'personal flotation device' with 'life jacket' throughout the rules.

This bill amends the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, which set up Health New Zealand (the Crown body managing public health services). Key changes include: adding a new goal and function for Health New Zealand to plan and provide physical infrastructure like hospitals and facilities; requiring a new permanent committee focused solely on infrastructure; requiring the Government Policy Statement on Health to include measurable targets in areas like cancer care, immunisation, emergency departments, and primary care access; clarifying that Health New Zealand staff and contractors must follow public service political neutrality rules; giving the Minister power to direct Health New Zealand to involve the Public Service Commissioner in collective bargaining (pay negotiations) for staff; changing the role of Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards from having direct monitoring and commissioning functions to engaging local communities and reporting findings to a national Māori advisory committee; and renaming the Act to 'Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Act 2022'. The bill was examined by the Health Committee, which recommended it pass with amendments.

The Offshore Renewable Energy Bill creates a legal framework for developing renewable energy projects in New Zealand's territorial sea and exclusive economic zone (the ocean areas New Zealand controls). Currently no such framework exists. The bill introduces two-stage permits: feasibility permits (allowing study of a potential site, with exclusive rights to that area) and commercial permits (allowing actual construction and operation). Applicants must consult Māori groups including iwi authorities, hapū, and Treaty settlement entities before applying. Safety zones of up to 500 metres around structures would protect people and infrastructure. Permit holders must plan and fund decommissioning (removal) of infrastructure when it's no longer in use, and must provide financial security to cover those costs. The bill has been examined and amended by the Transport and Infrastructure Committee, which recommends it be passed.

Currently, businesses in New Zealand can charge customers a small extra fee — a payment surcharge — when they pay by card. These surcharges typically range from 0.7% to 2% of the purchase price. The Commerce Commission estimates consumers pay up to $150 million in surcharges each year, with $45–65 million of that likely exceeding businesses' actual costs. This bill would ban surcharges on in-store payments made using EFTPOS, Visa, and Mastercard debit and credit cards. If a business charges a surcharge anyway, the customer is legally entitled to a refund of that amount. The Commerce Commission (a government watchdog body) can issue warnings or seek financial penalties against businesses that break the ban. The bill also gives the government power to extend the ban in the future — for example to online payments — subject to consultation and published reasons. The ban would not cover payment types not listed (like American Express), where existing rules about fair surcharging would still apply.

New Zealand's Constitution Act 1986 requires government ministers to be members of Parliament (MPs). However, when a general election is held, MPs stop being MPs on election day, before new MPs are officially confirmed. To keep the government running, the law currently allows ministers to stay on for up to 28 days after the election. This bill replaces that fixed 28-day window with a flexible rule: ministers and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries (MPs given extra responsibilities to assist ministers) can remain in their roles until the day after the Electoral Commission officially declares which list candidates have been elected. This matters because in some situations — such as extreme weather or a judicial recount — the official election process can take longer than 28 days, potentially leaving a gap in government. The Justice Committee reviewed the bill and unanimously recommended it pass, with one clarifying amendment to confirm the new rule for Under-Secretaries only applies after a general election.

This bill amends the Copyright Act 1994 to add a new section (42A) creating a 'fair dealing' exception — meaning a permitted use — for parody and satire. Currently, using someone else's literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work without permission can be copyright infringement even if the purpose is humour or social commentary. The new section would make it clear that doing so for parody or satire does not break copyright law, provided the use is fair. The bill is modelled closely on a similar provision in Australia's copyright law. It is a Member's Bill, meaning it was introduced by an individual MP (Kahurangi Carter) rather than the Government.

This bill changes three existing laws — the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, the Bail Act 2000, and the Parole Act 2002 — to protect people from prosecution for certain minor drug offences when those offences only came to light because someone called for emergency help during a drug overdose or severe adverse drug reaction. The protection covers: the person who overdosed, anyone who in good faith called for help, and bystanders who stayed at the scene to assist. The offences covered include personal drug possession or use, possession of drug utensils, allowing a property to be used for these minor offences, cultivating up to two plants, and social sharing (friends sharing drugs with each other, not for money). Police are also prevented from using the emergency call as grounds to conduct a search. People on bail or parole who have drug or alcohol conditions will not be treated as having breached those conditions in these circumstances. The bill comes into force the day after receiving Royal assent.

This member's bill amends the Local Government Act 2002 to close a loophole that has kept port companies (and their subsidiaries) outside the usual accountability rules that apply to council-controlled organisations (companies owned by local councils). Currently, port companies are excluded from the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, which is the law that lets the public request information from publicly owned bodies. The bill inserts a new section 74A into the Local Government Act 2002, which means port companies must now follow three key rules: they must pursue their principal objective as a council-controlled organisation, they must consider significant decisions affecting land or water, and they must respond to official information requests from the public. Related sections of the Port Companies Act 1988 are also updated to reflect this change. The bill would come into force the day after it receives Royal assent.

This Member's Bill, introduced by Catherine Wedd, aims to protect children by requiring social media platforms to take all reasonable steps to stop under-16s from creating accounts. The platforms actually covered would be named later by government regulations (a law made by the Governor-General on the Minister's recommendation), meaning the bill itself sets up the framework rather than listing specific apps or websites. Companies that fail to comply could face court-ordered fines of up to $2 million, applied for by a government chief executive. A company has a defence if it reasonably relied on false information provided by a user. The bill also requires the government to check whether it is working after three years and report back to Parliament. It comes into force six months after receiving Royal assent.

This bill amends three existing laws: the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, and the Real Estate Agents Act 2008. For lawyers, it lets the Law Society's complaints service do an initial check on complaints and drop ones that are trivial, too old, or made in bad faith, rather than automatically sending every complaint to a Standards Committee. It also lets people enforce broken promises (undertakings) made by conveyancers in the High Court. For brothel operators, it corrects references to the specific crimes that disqualify someone from holding a licence. For real estate, it renames the Real Estate Agents Authority to the Real Estate Authority, gives it the power to demand documents from licensees and suspected unlicensed operators, removes the chairperson's requirement to be a lawyer, allows late licence renewals up to 12 months after expiry, and broadens what counts as unsatisfactory conduct by a real estate agent.

MetService is currently a State-owned enterprise — meaning the government owns it as a business. This bill removes MetService from that category so it can be taken over by the New Zealand Institute for Earth Science Limited (NZIES), a Crown Research Institute formed in July 2025 from the merger of NIWA and GNS Science. The goal is to bring weather forecasting, climate science, hydrology, and oceanography together under one organisation. The bill makes sure existing contracts, employment arrangements, and legal obligations are not disrupted by the ownership change. It also exempts the takeover from Commerce Act merger rules that would normally apply. Separately, the bill requires NZIES to publish a clear policy — within three months of the bill becoming law — explaining how commercial and non-commercial users can access raw observational weather data (readings from instruments), including pricing principles, access conditions, and timeframes for requests.

This is an omnibus bill — meaning it makes many small changes across lots of laws all at once — covering courts, coroners, juries, bail, criminal disclosure, and employment law. Key changes include: expanding the powers of Family Court Associates so they can make certain final orders (like parenting orders) when all parties agree, without needing a judge; allowing coroners to close an inquiry into a death early if it appears to be from natural causes and no further investigation is needed; updating jury rules so summonses can be sent by email and juror selection can happen electronically or at locations other than the court; removing court registrars' ability to grant bail in family violence cases (only judges can do this now); and clarifying what addresses of witnesses must be shared with defendants in criminal cases. The bill also includes nurse practitioners in coroner processes alongside doctors.

This bill amends the Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges Act 1918, which protects against people pretending to have earned military medals or badges, or illegally supplying them. The key change raises the maximum penalty from 20 pounds (an outdated amount set over 100 years ago) to $10,000, to make the fine a genuine deterrent. The bill also tidies up the law: it removes a separate penalty amount from one section so all penalties sit in one place (section 6), and it replaces the word 'himself' with 'themselves' to reflect that military service is open to everyone, not only men. A transitional provision ensures that offences committed before the new penalties take effect are still judged under the old amounts.

This bill amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to set up a registration system for boarding house landlords, run by a new Registrar of Boarding House Landlords within the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Before renting out a boarding house, a landlord must register and provide details including their name, contact information, and the addresses of their boarding houses. This information goes on a publicly searchable online register. Registration must be renewed annually. Certain people are barred from registering — for example, those who are undischarged bankrupts, have had their registration cancelled in the last seven years, or have recent convictions for violence, dishonesty, or serious drug offences. Landlords must also keep private records about their properties and tenancy agreements — including tenant names, rent amounts, and room details — which the chief executive can request in writing. Operating without registration or providing false information can result in fines of up to $10,000 for individuals or $30,000 for companies.

This Member's Bill amends the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 to improve transparency around international money transfer fees. Currently, financial institutions — including banks — can profit by offering exchange rates worse than the standard mid-market rate, which acts as a hidden fee that many consumers don't realise they're paying. The bill adds new requirements to 'fair conduct programmes' (internal rules that financial institutions must follow to treat customers well) so that providers must show customers the total cost of a transfer, including all fees and exchange rate margins, before the transfer goes ahead. It also gives the government power to make regulations specifying exactly how and where this cost information must be displayed — whether at a physical premises or on a website. The bill comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent.

This bill updates two existing laws — the Crimes Act 1961 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 — to cover sexually explicit deepfakes. A deepfake is a digitally created, altered, or combined image or video that makes it appear a real person is doing or showing something they never actually did. Currently, both laws protect people from having real intimate images shared without consent, but they do not clearly cover fake or synthesised images. This bill expands the legal definition of 'intimate visual recording' in both laws to include digitally created or altered images. This means people who make or share such fake images without the subject's knowledge or consent can face criminal charges and victims can seek removal of the content. The bill comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent.

This bill amends the Local Government Act 2002. It rewrites the purpose of local government to focus on delivering cost-effective infrastructure, public services, and regulatory functions — removing the broader 'four wellbeings' (social, economic, environmental, cultural) framing added in 2019. It lists core services councils must 'have particular regard to': network infrastructure, public transport, waste management and minimisation, civil defence emergency management, and libraries, museums, reserves, and community facilities. The bill increases central government oversight by letting the Minister make regulations prescribing how councils group and report their activities, and by empowering the Secretary to issue a standard code of conduct and standard standing orders (the rules for how council meetings are run) for all councils. Elected members gain a legal right to access council documents, with a process to appeal refusals to the full governing body. Chief executives can be reappointed for up to five years without advertising the role, up from two years.

The Regulatory Systems (Tribunals) Amendment Bill makes a set of smaller, technical changes to five existing laws and some related rules. Key changes include: allowing the Disputes Tribunal to order the losing side to repay a winning party's filing fee; updating how adjudicators (the decision-makers) for the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal qualify; transferring who sets Parole Board members' pay to the independent Remuneration Authority; strengthening how complaints against unlicensed security guards and private investigators are handled, including giving the investigating unit formal power to require documents for regulatory purposes (with fines of up to $10,000 for individuals who refuse); and clarifying that Tenancy Tribunal rules apply when it hears unit title disputes. The bill has been examined by the Justice Committee, which recommends it be passed.

Currently, the Constitution Act 1986 limits each Parliament to a maximum of three years before a general election must be held. This bill proposes changing that maximum to four years, but only if a majority of people voting in a public referendum support the change. The referendum would be held at the same time as a future general election, and voters would be asked to pick between keeping the three-year maximum or moving to a four-year maximum. If the referendum passes, the four-year limit would take effect from the first election after the result is officially declared. If no referendum is held alongside either of the next two general elections, the bill automatically cancels itself — no later than 31 October 2031. The Justice Committee reviewed the bill and recommended removing an earlier provision that would have made the four-year term conditional on how parliamentary committee memberships were set up, recommending instead a straightforward four-year maximum subject only to the referendum.

This bill amends the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 to increase the minimum publicly-funded inpatient postnatal care entitlement from 48 hours to 72 hours (3 days) for all new mothers and newborns. 'Inpatient postnatal care' means care provided in a facility immediately after labour and birth for post-birth recovery. The 72-hour period starts from the time of delivery or admission to care, whichever is later. Mothers with greater medical need can still receive longer stays. The bill also requires the Lead Maternity Carer — the midwife or doctor managing the pregnancy — to inform the mother of this entitlement. Health New Zealand would be required to ensure enough maternity facilities exist to meet this standard. The bill would come into force 6 months after receiving Royal assent.

New Zealand currently has no permanent law setting out how to run a government-initiated referendum (a nationwide public vote on a specific question). This bill creates that framework. It allows the Governor-General, by formal order, to declare that a referendum will be held alongside a general election. The same polling places, electoral rolls, and returning officers used for the general election would also run the referendum. The bill sets rules for the voting paper, counting process, and how the Electoral Commission declares the official result. It also regulates referendum advertising — including spending limits, a register of promoters (people or groups who run referendum ads), and disclosure requirements. Breaches can result in fines up to $40,000 or, for serious offences, up to two years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. Groups of 200 or more electors can petition the High Court to challenge a result. The law covers only the first two general elections after it comes into force and is automatically repealed on 31 October 2031.

The Game Animal Council Act 2013 allows the Minister of Conservation to formally designate groups of game animals (such as deer, tahr, chamois, and wild pigs) on public conservation land as 'herds of special interest' (HOSIs). A HOSI is then managed under a special plan that maintains a sustainable population for hunting. However, the National Parks Act 1980 requires introduced species in national parks to be removed as far as possible. This bill clarifies that this removal requirement does not apply to animals that have been designated as a HOSI inside a national park. It also makes clear the Minister can designate a HOSI without needing a separate decision from the New Zealand Conservation Authority (an independent body that advises on conservation). A matching change is also made to the National Parks Act to flag this exception. The bill has been reported back from the Environment Committee, which recommends it be passed by majority, with Labour, the Greens opposing and ACT supporting it.

This Member's Bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 to increase penalties for two offences. Section 98 (dealing in slaves) and section 98AA (dealing in people under 18 for sexual exploitation, removal of body parts, or forced labour) currently carry a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. The bill raises both to match the penalty in section 98D (trafficking in persons): up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. The explanatory note states this creates consistency across related offences and reflects a stronger stance against human trafficking, noting New Zealand dropped from tier one to tier two in a 2021 US State Department human trafficking report.

This bill amends the Parole Act 2002. Currently, the Parole Board — the independent body that decides whether prisoners can be released early — considers rehabilitation programme completion as part of its assessment. This bill would make it a formal requirement: prisoners must have made reasonable efforts to undertake or complete any rehabilitation programmes listed in their case management plan (a personal plan for their time in prison) before the Parole Board can consider them for parole. A Parole Board panel convenor (a senior board member) would assess whether the prisoner made a reasonable effort, after receiving a report from the prison manager and hearing from the prisoner and victims. If the test is not passed, the parole hearing is delayed by up to 12 months. The bill excludes prisoners on indeterminate (open-ended) sentences, and only applies to offending that happens after the law comes into force. The bill would come into force 18 months after receiving Royal assent. The Justice Committee could not agree on whether it should pass.

The Mental Health Bill repeals and replaces the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. It sets out when a person can be placed under compulsory (forced) mental health care: they must have seriously impaired mental health that is causing or likely to cause serious harm, and they must lack the ability to make decisions about their own care. The bill introduces new rights for people under compulsory care, including the ability to write an 'advance mental health directive' — a document stating their care preferences before a crisis occurs. It creates a support network system, including a nominated person to represent someone's interests. It requires seclusion (confining someone alone in a room) to be reduced and eventually eliminated, places stricter rules around electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and improves complaints processes. The bill has been examined by the Health Committee, which recommends it be passed with amendments. Most provisions come into force on 1 July 2027.

Each year there is a gap between when the new financial year starts (1 July) and when Parliament finishes passing the main budget (called an Appropriation Act). This bill fills that gap by giving the government temporary permission — called imprest supply — to keep spending. It authorises up to $34 billion for day-to-day expenses (including things like benefits, health, and education), up to $6 billion for capital expenditure (buying or building assets, such as for Defence, Health, and Housing), and up to $1 billion for capital injections (putting money into government departments, including Housing). The bill comes into force on 1 July 2024 and is automatically repealed once the main 2024/25 Appropriation Act is passed. Any spending under this bill must be formally approved in an Appropriation Act by 30 June 2025.

When a local council or other organisation prosecutes someone for an offence, the courts impose a fine and the Crown (central government) collects it. Under the Public Finance Act 1989, the Crown keeps a percentage of what it collects to cover its collection costs, then passes the rest to the council or organisation. This bill raises that percentage from 10% to 14%, effective 1 July 2024. The 14% figure is said to be in line with what private debt collectors charge. The change applies only to fines imposed on or after 1 July 2024 — fines handed down before that date continue under the old 10% rule. The stated reasons are that collection costs have risen over time and that organisations benefiting from Crown collection services should contribute more to those costs.

Under New Zealand law, the government can only spend public money if Parliament has approved it through an appropriation (a formal spending authority). Sometimes spending happens slightly outside those approved limits — due to emergencies, timing, or administrative errors. The Public Finance Act 1989 requires Parliament to formally confirm or validate such spending after the fact. This bill does that for the 2022/23 financial year, covering items such as Inland Revenue debt write-offs ($282.6 million), Department of Conservation land and recreation spending, and Ministry of Health international health payments. It also validates two older items: $7.36 million spent by the Ministry of Education on school lunch providers during COVID-19, and $155,000 in incorrect Training Incentive Allowance payments by the Ministry of Social Development in 2021/22.

This bill repeals the New Zealand Productivity Commission Act 2010 and closes down the New Zealand Productivity Commission — an independent Crown entity (a type of government body that operates at arm's length from ministers) that was set up to carry out research on productivity and regulation. From 29 February 2024, the Commission ceases to exist. Its remaining assets, money, contracts, leases, and information are transferred to the Treasury. All staff and members of the Commission lose their positions. The Treasury is not required to finish any reports or work the Commission had under way. The bill also removes the Commission from two other laws — the Crown Entities Act 2004 and the Ombudsmen Act 1975 — which listed it as an independent Crown entity. The bill itself is then automatically repealed on 30 June 2025.

Road user charges (RUC) are fees paid per kilometre driven, used to fund roads. Most EV owners had been exempt since 2009; that exemption expired 31 March 2024. This bill formally ends the exemption and makes several adjustments. A two-month transition period (April–May 2024) means EV owners who had not yet bought a RUC licence will not be fined, provided they get one by 31 May 2024. Plug-in hybrid EVs — which run on both electricity and petrol and already pay some petrol tax — get a reduced RUC rate of $53 per 1,000 km instead of the standard $76. Very light electric vehicles weighing one tonne or less (such as electric motorbikes) are fully excluded from RUC. Electric all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) weighing one tonne or less get an automatic exemption. The bill also updates the legal definition of ATVs to include electric-powered ones. Heavy EVs (over 3.5 tonnes) remain exempt until 31 December 2025 under separate rules.

The bill does two main things: it ends the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax — a 10-cent-per-litre charge added to petrol and diesel in Auckland since 2018 — and it wipes out the legal ability for any New Zealand region to create a similar tax in the future. The Auckland tax is switched off from 1 July 2024. Before the bill takes effect, it also narrows the list of transport projects that remaining tax money can be spent on, from 14 projects down to 3 (the Eastern Busway, electric trains and stabling, and road corridor improvements). The bill sets up a winding-up process: NZ Transport Agency must keep records, process any outstanding refunds (up to October 2024), and do a final financial settlement with Auckland Council by around mid-2025. Auckland Council must keep running its reserve fund until it is fully spent.

The Fair Pay Agreements Act Repeal Bill scraps the Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022, which created a system allowing unions and employer associations to bargain for minimum pay and employment conditions across an entire industry or occupation. Those agreed terms (called fair pay agreements) would have applied to all workers and employers in that sector, not just union members. The Employment Relations Authority could also set those terms if bargaining broke down. Because no fair pay agreements were finalised before this repeal bill was introduced, repealing the law means no such agreements can ever be completed. The bill also removes all related regulations and reverses changes the 2022 Act made to several other laws, including the Employment Relations Act 2000, the Minimum Wage Act 1983, and the Equal Pay Act 1972. It comes into force the day after receiving Royal assent, and the repeal bill itself then automatically expires 28 days later.

The Reserve Bank sets interest rates (called monetary policy) to manage the economy. Under the current law, it must pursue two goals: keeping inflation low and stable, and supporting maximum sustainable employment. This bill amends the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021 to remove the employment goal entirely, leaving price stability as the only economic objective. A number of related housekeeping changes are also made throughout the Act, updating references from 'economic objectives' (plural) to 'economic objective' (singular). A regulation-making power is retained so a future government could add or change objectives by Order in Council. The bill comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent.

The Taxation Principles Reporting Act 2023 required the government to measure and publicly report on how the tax system performed against a set of defined tax principles. This repeal bill, introduced by Hon Simon Watts, would remove that law entirely. Once this bill receives Royal assent (formal approval from the Governor-General, the final step before a bill becomes law), the Taxation Principles Reporting Act 2023 is immediately repealed — meaning those reporting obligations end. A small related change is also made to a schedule in the Tax Administration Act 1994 to remove a reference to the repealed Act. The repeal bill itself is then automatically repealed on 1 January 2025, as it has no further purpose after that. The explanatory note states this reflects the new Government's priorities.

Currently, main benefits such as Jobseeker Support and Sole Parent Support are adjusted each year based on rises in average wages. This bill removes that rule and replaces it with annual adjustments based on the Consumers Price Index (CPI) — a measure published by Statistics New Zealand that tracks how much prices for everyday goods and services have changed. The bill also increases the Minimum Family Tax Credit threshold from $34,216 to $35,204 from 1 April 2024. The Minimum Family Tax Credit is a top-up payment that ensures low-income families working full-time are financially better off than they would be on a benefit. Because main benefits are going up, this threshold also needs to rise to keep that gap in place. Part 1 (the benefit change) takes effect the day after the bill receives Royal assent; Part 2 (the tax credit change) takes effect from 1 April 2024.

The Business Payment Practices Act Repeal Bill removes the Business Payment Practices Act 2023, which had required large businesses (called 'large entities') to disclose — make publicly available — how long they took to pay invoices from suppliers. That information was to sit on a public register run by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment. This repeal bill also cancels the Business Payment Practices Regulations 2023, which contained the detailed rules supporting that Act. A small amendment is made to the Tax Administration Act 1994 to tidy up a related reference. The bill itself automatically disappears 28 days after it becomes law, as it has done its job by then. The government's stated reason is that the compliance burden on large businesses outweighs the practical benefit to small businesses.

The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 already charges a levy (a fee per tonne) on waste dumped at licensed facilities, with the money going toward reducing waste and environmental work. This bill expands the list of things that money can pay for: cleaning up contaminated land (like old mine sites or closed rubbish dumps), helping local councils manage the extra rubbish created by emergencies such as floods or cyclones, repairing or replacing damaged waste infrastructure, restoring waterways and wetlands, and funding the Ministry for the Environment's day-to-day work on waste and hazardous substances. The bill also lets the government waive the levy for waste removed during contaminated-site clean-ups, so the fee doesn't make clean-ups harder. Finally, it raises the levy rate in steps from 2025 through to 2027 — for example, the rate for standard municipal (everyday household and business) rubbish facilities rises from $60 per tonne now to $75 per tonne from July 2027.

ACC collects levies (compulsory fees) from employers to fund the injury compensation scheme. Some employers pay these in instalments over 3, 6, or 10 months. ACC has been charging interest on the 10-month plan, but it turns out the law did not clearly give them the power to do so. This bill fixes that in two ways: first, it formally grants ACC the power to charge interest on instalment plans, with the actual rate to be set by government regulations after ACC consults levy payers; and second, it retrospectively validates (legally backs up) all interest ACC has already charged in the past, treating it as if it was always lawful. Until new regulations set a rate, the bill temporarily sets the rate at 0% for 3-month and 6-month plans, and 2.73% for the 10-month plan — matching what ACC has been charging.

The Clean Vehicle Standard (CVS) requires importers of new and used light vehicles to meet annual CO2 emissions targets. Currently, the targets for 2023–2027 are written directly into the Land Transport Act 1998, meaning Parliament must pass new legislation to change them. This bill removes the 2025–2027 targets from the Act and allows all targets from 2025 onward to be set through regulations — secondary legislation (rules made by the Government without a full Act of Parliament), which can be changed more quickly. The bill also creates a cost-recovery scheme: fees can be charged to vehicle importers and to people registering certain previously-unregistered vehicles for the first time, to cover the Transport Agency's costs of administering the CVS. If those fees go unpaid, vehicle registration applications can be put on hold until payment is made.

This bill repeals (cancels) two laws passed in 2023 — the Natural and Built Environment Act and the Spatial Planning Act — and restores the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) as New Zealand's main resource management law. The RMA sets the rules for things like building, land use, and environmental protection. Because some parts of the 2023 laws were already being used, the bill includes temporary arrangements to avoid disruption. Most importantly, it keeps alive a 'fast-track consenting' process — a quicker way to get approval for large infrastructure projects — until a replacement can be added to the RMA. The bill also protects Treaty of Waitangi settlements so they continue to apply under the restored RMA, and it extends a deadline for freshwater planning rules. Dozens of other laws that had been updated to refer to the 2023 acts are amended to refer back to the RMA instead.

Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient found in many cold and flu medicines. Under the current Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, it is a Class B2 controlled drug — a category for substances considered to have a high risk of harm — which means it requires a prescription. This bill moves pseudoephedrine to Class C3, a lower category for substances with moderate risk of harm. Within Class C3, it will be a 'partially exempted drug', which under existing rules means it can be sold at a pharmacy without a prescription. The bill also removes an existing dosage restriction that limited when pseudoephedrine could be treated as partially exempted, and removes a now-unnecessary regulation restricting how pharmacists can supply it. The bill comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent.

This bill makes two main sets of changes. First, it overhauls the rules for Māori wards and Māori constituencies — dedicated seats on local councils for Māori representation. Councils that established these wards since 2020 must decide by 6 September 2024 whether to keep or remove them. Councils that keep them must hold a binding public vote (a poll) alongside the 2025 local elections to decide whether the wards continue from 2028. The bill also creates a new ongoing system where 5% of enrolled local voters can demand a poll on whether their council should have Māori wards, and councils can also choose to hold such a poll themselves. Second, the bill adjusts various administrative timelines in the local electoral system — for example, extending the nomination day deadline from 57 to 71 days before an election, extending the voting period, and tweaking roll-closing dates — to allow more time for election preparation.

Every year, Parliament must formally approve (called 'appropriation') all government spending. This bill updates the original spending plan (the 2023/24 Estimates) for the financial year ending 30 June 2024, through what are called Supplementary Estimates. It adjusts hundreds of individual spending lines across all government departments — some go up, some go down. It also approves spending that can run across more than one financial year (multi-year appropriations), cancels 14 spending programmes that are no longer needed, and authorises cash injections into certain government departments to top up the money they hold. Major items include large adjustments to health, transport (especially North Island weather event road repairs), housing, and social development spending.

The Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme started in July 2021. It gave rebates to buyers of low-emission vehicles (such as electric cars) and charged fees to buyers of high-emission vehicles, to encourage a shift away from petrol and diesel cars. This bill ends the scheme from 1 January 2024 by removing all the legal rules that created it across several laws and sets of regulations. Any rebate application received by 31 December 2023 will still be processed, and the Government agency running the scheme has until 30 June 2024 to finish winding it down and return any leftover money to the Crown. The fuel-economy labels that car dealers must display on vehicles for sale will also be updated to remove the rebate and charge information.

This bill changes the Legal Services Act 2011 to remove legal aid funding — that is, government financial help for people who can't afford legal costs — for reports used at sentencing hearings under section 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002. Those reports let people speak in court about an offender's background and community support, which judges use when deciding on sentences. Currently, if an offender receives legal aid, the cost of arranging these reports can also be covered. The bill directs the Legal Services Commissioner to decline any such claims going forward. The explanatory note states costs grew from $17,164 in 2017 to $6.45 million in 2022. The bill takes effect 14 days after Royal assent, with transitional rules protecting already-approved funding arrangements.

This bill repeals three Acts passed under the previous government — the Water Services Entities Act 2022, the Water Services Legislation Act 2023, and the Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Act 2023 — which together were creating a new system of large water services entities (organisations) to take over drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater from local councils. By repealing those Acts, responsibility for water services returns to local councils (local authorities). The bill also closes down the Northland and Auckland Water Services Entity, the one entity that had already been partly established, and makes its staff redundant with entitlement to redundancy payments. Any assets or liabilities of that entity transfer to the Department of Internal Affairs. The bill gives councils extra flexibility in updating their long-term plans — including extended deadlines and the option to delay their 2024–2034 plan by a year. Some technical improvements to water services regulation by Taumata Arowai (the Water Services Regulator) are kept in place, as are certain obligations under Treaty settlement laws relating to the Waikato River and Whanganui River.

This bill changes the Resource Management Act 1991 to automatically extend all current coastal permits (official approvals) held by marine farms by up to 20 years, with a hard cut-off of 31 December 2050. No application is needed — the extension happens automatically. About 200 farms have permits expiring by the end of 2024, mostly in Marlborough, Southland, Northland, and Waikato. The bill also creates a one-off review process: councils can choose to review the conditions (rules) attached to any extended permit, but must start within two years, cannot change the farm's size, species, or permit length, and must get approval from the Director-General of the Ministry for Primary Industries before starting. Councils cannot charge the farm owner for the cost of this review. The bill was reported back from the Primary Production Committee and is recommended for passing by a majority — Labour and Green Party members oppose it.

This bill amends a range of existing New Zealand laws to bring them into line with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between New Zealand and the European Union on 9 July 2023. Key changes include: updating clothing and footwear labelling rules so 'European Union' can appear as a country or territory of origin; amending the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act to replace old EU export licence arrangements with new FTA-based tariff quotas (agreed amounts New Zealand dairy products can enter the EU at reduced tariffs) for milk powder, butter, cheese, and whey; significantly expanding the Geographical Indications (place-name product labels) Act to cover a new category of EU FTA geographical indications — like protected regional food and drink names — with rules on registration, use, and enforcement including inspections, search warrants, and border controls; and making related adjustments to overseas investment thresholds and import tariff rules.

This bill amends the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 to disestablish (shut down) the Māori Health Authority, a Crown entity — a government-owned organisation — created in 2022 to work alongside Health New Zealand on Māori health. From 30 June 2024, the Authority is dissolved and virtually all its staff, assets, contracts, and obligations transfer automatically to Health New Zealand. Health New Zealand takes on new duties to engage with Māori about their health needs and to support Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards, which are local groups that help shape health services for Māori communities. The Hauora Māori Advisory Committee — an expert group that advises the Minister on Māori health — continues, but its eight members will now be appointed directly by the Minister rather than nominated by outside organisations. Rules about local health planning areas called 'localities' are delayed, with key deadlines pushed out to 2029 and 2030.

Announced as part of Budget 2024, this bill makes several tax changes. It raises the three lowest income tax brackets from 31 July 2024 — for example, the 10.5% rate now applies up to $15,600 instead of $14,000, and the 17.5% rate up to $53,500 instead of $48,000 — so workers pay a little less tax overall. It also expands the Independent Earner Tax Credit (a tax reduction for people not receiving government support payments) to people earning up to $70,000. A new quarterly payment called FamilyBoost reimburses eligible families up to 25% of early childhood education fees, capped at $975 per quarter, reducing for households earning over $140,000 and stopping at $180,000. The In-Work Tax Credit (a payment for working families with children) increases by $25 per week. For people living overseas with student loans, the interest rate rises by 1% for five years from April 2025.

This bill reverses three major tobacco measures that were introduced by the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 but had not yet come into force. Specifically, it removes: (1) the requirement for tobacco retailers to get government approval, and the cap on how many retailers could exist; (2) the requirement for tobacco products to have a very low nicotine level (0.8 mg/g); and (3) the 'smokefree generation' rule, which would have banned selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. The minimum purchase age remains 18. The bill also removes related offences, fees, and Treaty of Waitangi provisions that were tied to those three measures, and makes various technical clean-up changes to regulations. People who had already paid fees to apply to become an approved tobacco retailer may be refunded by the Director-General of Health.

This bill removes the registration scheme for log traders and forestry advisers that was set up under Part 2A of the Forests Act 1949. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) must refund all application fees and levies already paid, and waive any that are still owed. Any unresolved complaints, reviews, or formal notices issued under the old scheme are cancelled. Related rules and regulations (secondary legislation) are also revoked. Separately, the bill delays the start of the Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Act 2023 — a law about checking that timber has been harvested legally — from May 2026 to August 2027, to allow more time for consultation and to develop the supporting rules carefully. Technical adjustments are made to that future law to account for the removal of the registration scheme.

This bill amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. It reintroduces 90-day 'no-cause' termination notices, meaning a landlord can end a periodic tenancy (one with no fixed end date) without needing to give a reason. Some specific circumstances allow a shorter 42-day notice, such as the owner needing to move in. The minimum notice a tenant must give to end a periodic tenancy drops from 28 days to 21 days. For fixed-term tenancies (ones with a set end date), either party can give notice between 90 and 21 days before the end date without stating a reason. The bill also creates a framework for tenants keeping pets: landlords must have reasonable grounds to refuse, must respond to written requests within 21 days, and can require a separate pet bond of up to two weeks' rent. Tenants who keep a pet without permission would commit an unlawful act. Rules around retaliatory termination notices and smoking bans in rental properties are also updated.

Every year, the government must ask Parliament for formal permission — called an appropriation — before it can spend public money. This bill provides that permission for the 2024/25 financial year (ending 30 June 2025). It sets out, in detailed schedules, the maximum amount that can be spent in each area of government, from health and education to defence and social welfare. It also approves 'capital injections' — one-off transfers of money — to specific government departments so they can maintain or increase their assets. Some larger projects, such as the Auckland City Rail Link and international development aid, are approved for spending over multiple years, up to 2029. The bill is introduced by the Minister of Finance and repeals several older appropriation laws that are no longer needed.

This bill changes the Building Act 2004 to reduce barriers to using overseas-certified building products in New Zealand. It creates two new recognition pathways: the chief executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment can officially recognise building products or methods certified under overseas certification schemes, and the Minister for Building and Construction can recognise overseas building standards and standards certification schemes. A new 'building product specifications' instrument is also created to make it easier to cite international standards in the documents builders use to show their work meets the building code. Councils (building consent authorities) must accept products that have been officially recognised under these new pathways. Importantly, all building work must still comply with the New Zealand Building Code regardless. Councils are protected from legal liability when acting in good faith on recognised overseas certifications. The bill does not replace existing local certification schemes — it adds a new option alongside them.

This bill amends the Racing Industry Act 2020. Its main changes are: creating a formal ban stopping any organisation other than TAB NZ from offering racing or sports betting to people in New Zealand, including overseas-based operators; removing a 'consumption charge' that offshore betting companies previously had to pay; giving the Minister and government department the power to demand information from TAB NZ to check how it is performing; creating new regulations around consumer protection for bettors (such as rules on minimum bet limits, odds, and complaints processes); strengthening harm-reduction tools like spending limits and problem-gambler exclusions; and clarifying that individual bettors cannot be personally convicted for placing bets with overseas operators. TAB NZ must fund the government's costs of monitoring compliance with the offshore betting ban.

This bill restructures two oversight bodies that monitor the Oranga Tamariki system — the system that cares for vulnerable children and young people in New Zealand. First, it turns the Independent Children's Monitor (currently housed inside the Education Review Office as a departmental agency) into a standalone Crown entity — meaning it becomes its own independent organisation with a three-person board. Second, it dissolves the Children and Young People's Commission (currently a board of five commissioners) and replaces it with a single Children's Commissioner, supported by a Deputy Commissioner. A nominations panel helps select the Commissioner. The Act that created the Commission is also renamed the Children's Commissioner Act 2022. Both changes come into force on 1 July 2025, with transitional provisions to ensure staff, assets, contracts, and ongoing work carry over smoothly. An independent review of each change must begin within five years. The bill was reported back from the Social Services and Community Committee, which recommended it be passed with minor drafting corrections.

This amendment to the Social Security Act 2018 overhauls how the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) responds when beneficiaries don't meet their obligations — for example, failing to look for work or attend appointments. Alongside existing financial penalties (cutting payment by half or to zero), the law adds new 'non-financial sanctions': money management (where part of a payment is controlled), community work experience (unpaid work with a community organisation), reporting on job-search activities, and attending employment training (upskilling). A new 'jobseeker profile' form — recording work history, qualifications, and preferences — must be completed before MSD processes most jobseeker or sole parent support applications. If someone continues not to comply for 13 weeks after a sanction starts, their benefit can be cancelled entirely. Special rules apply to protect children in families where a sanction applies to one or both parents. Most changes take effect from 26 May 2025, with some from 1 July 2025 and others from 20 October 2025.

The Building Act 2004 requires owners of earthquake-prone buildings to carry out 'seismic work' — strengthening or demolishing their building — by set deadlines. This bill extends those deadlines by four years for buildings already under notice. It also lets the Government add up to two more years via an Order in Council (a type of law made by Cabinet without going through the full Parliament process), which can only be used once and expires in 2028. A government review of the earthquake-prone building system is underway, and the extensions are meant to provide certainty while that review happens. The bill also introduces a new offence for independently qualified persons (building inspectors) who falsely state that safety systems like lifts or ventilation have been properly checked — fines can reach $50,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a company. Several other technical changes are made, including clarifying how building levies and information-sharing work between different types of building consent authorities.

This bill permanently changes the Gambling Act 2003 so that licensed 'class 3' gambling operators — which are typically charities and community organisations running lotteries for fundraising — can sell lottery tickets remotely, such as through internet banking or phone. Currently, a temporary exemption allows this, but it was set to expire on 31 October 2024. The exemption was first introduced in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic for three specific organisations, then extended more broadly. This bill removes the need for repeated renewals by permanently excluding charity lotteries from the ban on 'remote interactive gambling' — that is, gambling conducted at a distance using electronic means. The bill comes into force on 1 November 2024 or the day after it receives Royal assent, whichever is later.

The Fast-track Approvals Bill sets up a new streamlined approval process for infrastructure and development projects that have significant regional or national benefits. A project can either be pre-listed in Schedule 2 of the bill, or an applicant can apply to have their project referred into the process by the Minister for Infrastructure. Once referred, an expert panel handles all the required approvals — such as resource consents, conservation concessions, mining permits, and heritage authorities — in a single coordinated process, instead of the applicant going to multiple agencies separately. Appeals against panel decisions are limited to questions of law only. The bill includes specific protections for Māori land, Treaty settlements, and customary rights — certain activities on identified Māori land or in customary marine title areas are ineligible unless the relevant owners or groups agree in writing.

This is an 'omnibus' bill — one bill that changes several different laws at once — focused on tidying up and updating rules in the areas of energy safety, workplace relations, and immigration. Key changes include: employers must ensure they hold their own accessible copy of an employment agreement (not just leave it with the worker); parents of premature babies will have preterm baby payments counted separately so they do not reduce parental leave or parental leave payments; the rules around licensed immigration advisers are updated, including clearer complaints processes, privacy protections for advisers' details on the public register, and new disciplinary options such as downgrading a licence; WorkSafe gets a formal role developing electricity and gas safety instruments (technical safety documents); and various technical corrections are made to health and safety laws. The bill was examined by the Education and Workforce Committee, which recommended it pass with minor amendments.

The Customer and Product Data Bill sets up a 'consumer data right' framework across the New Zealand economy. It requires businesses designated as 'data holders' (companies that hold data about you as a customer) to share that data with you directly, or with approved third parties called 'accredited requestors', when you give permission. Banking and electricity are signalled as likely first sectors. The bill sets out when data holders can refuse requests — for example, if there is a risk of fraud, financial harm, or physical threat. It requires accredited requestors to go through an approval process and meet character and security standards. Detailed rules will be set through secondary legislation (regulations and standards made after the bill passes). A dispute resolution scheme and penalties for breaches are also included. The bill was reported back from the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee with recommended amendments.

The Wildlife Act 1953 protects most native birds, reptiles, frogs, bats, and some other species. Normally you need official permission to kill any of them. In 2025, the High Court ruled that existing law only allowed the Department of Conservation to grant permission to kill wildlife when there was a direct link between the killing and protecting wildlife — meaning permissions for unavoidable, accidental killing during legal activities like construction or pest control were legally uncertain. This bill responds by explicitly allowing the Director-General of Conservation to grant permissions for wildlife killed incidentally (accidentally but foreseeably) during lawful activities, provided the overall result still protects wildlife populations. The person holding the permission must take reasonable steps to avoid, minimise, and reduce harm to individual animals. The bill also validates past permissions that were granted under the old approach, with some exceptions — including the specific case that triggered the court ruling.

The Invest New Zealand Bill sets up a new standalone government agency — Invest New Zealand — whose sole focus is encouraging foreign investment into New Zealand. It will be a Crown entity (a government-owned organisation that operates independently day-to-day) with a board of between 3 and 9 members. Its core job is to connect overseas investors with New Zealand opportunities, build knowledge about the investment environment, and advise the government on policies and laws that could attract more foreign investment. Some functions and relevant staff are transferred from the existing agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which currently handles both trade promotion and investment attraction. The bill sets 1 July 2025 as the start date. A government minister's department head can sit as a non-voting special adviser to the board to share policy information.

The bill enacts three main changes from Budget 2025. First, it creates 'Investment Boost': businesses buying brand-new assets (equipment, machinery, buildings, etc.) can immediately deduct 20% of the purchase cost from their taxable income in the year they buy it, on top of normal depreciation. Second, it reforms KiwiSaver: minimum contributions for both employees and employers rise from 3% to 3.5% from April 2026, then to 4% from April 2028. Employees can apply to Inland Revenue to temporarily stay at 3%. The government's annual top-up contribution (a tax credit matching what members put in) is halved from 50 cents to 25 cents per dollar, capped at $260.72 per year instead of $521.43, and removed entirely for people earning over $180,000. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds become eligible for employer contributions and the government top-up. Third, the income threshold at which Working for Families payments start reducing is lifted from $42,700 to $44,900, while the reduction rate rises slightly from 27% to 27.5%, and the Best Start payment for children under one becomes income-tested for children born from April 2026.

This bill repeals section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, which required the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki — the government agency responsible for children's welfare and care — to carry out specific duties linked to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. These duties included reducing disparities for Māori children and reporting on progress. The Social Services and Community Committee reviewed the bill and recommended, by majority, that it pass — but with changes. The committee proposed keeping the requirement to develop strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations by moving those duties into a different section of the Act (section 7). Reporting requirements were also changed: instead of reporting on how the chief executive performed section 7AA duties, reports must now focus on outcomes being achieved for Māori children and their whānau. Green Party, Labour, and Te Pāti Māori members of the committee opposed the bill, arguing it breaches the Treaty and risks harm to Māori tamariki (children).

This is an 'omnibus' bill — meaning it bundles together many small, technical changes to 24 separate laws, mostly overseen by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The changes cover commerce, consumer affairs, energy, media, and science. Key fixes include: requiring building societies to have a genuine New Zealand presence; streamlining how charitable trust boards are registered and renamed; updating financial reporting rules so more organisations must report publicly; extending temporary laws that let fibre internet providers install cables through shared properties (like apartment blocks) for three more years without needing consent from every owner; and modernising older laws by replacing outdated terms like 'fax' with 'email'. The select committee recommended the bill be passed with several mostly minor amendments.

The bill amends the Sentencing Act 2002 to tighten how sentences are reduced. A 40% cap is placed on total reductions to a prison sentence based on personal mitigating factors (personal circumstances of the offender, such as age, remorse, or guilty plea). Youth and remorse can only be used once as reasons to reduce a sentence — if a judge has already reduced a sentence on those grounds for earlier offending, they generally cannot do so again for later offending, unless not doing so would produce a clearly unjust result. A sliding scale limits guilty plea discounts based on how early the plea is entered, from up to 25% at the earliest opportunity down to 5% just before or during trial. New aggravating factors are added, including offending involving children, livestreaming or posting crimes online, and offending against public transport workers or lone workers. Courts are encouraged to give separate, additional sentences for crimes committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole. Courts can also order forfeiture of weapons used in offending.

New Zealand holds the right to manage access to dairy export quotas — agreements that allow NZ dairy products to enter five overseas markets (USA, UK, EU, Japan, Dominican Republic) at reduced import tax (tariff) rates. Currently, permits to use these quotas are allocated based on the proportion of cow's milk solids a company collects from farmers. This bill changes that so permits are instead allocated based on a company's history of actual export volumes over the previous three seasons. It extends access to exporters of non-cow dairy (e.g. sheep cheese). It also creates a power to set aside up to 10% of permits for smaller or newer exporters as a "reserve" pool. A new rule requires exporters who previously received permits but didn't complete a compliance document (showing their product meets overseas market requirements) to explain why, before they can receive future permits. An older reallocation order from 2007 is also cancelled.

In New Zealand, some rules made by government departments (called secondary legislation or subordinate legislation — rules created under the authority of a main Act of Parliament) automatically expire unless Parliament confirms them before a deadline set in the Legislation Act 2019. This bill confirms 13 such instruments made between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, keeping them legally valid. The instruments cover: fees and levies for agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines; commodity levies on arable crops, cereal silage, kiwifruit, maize, and seafood; excise duties on alcohol and tobacco; a new levy on food importers and food businesses; rates of social security benefits, allowances, and superannuation; and customs rules for duty-free entry of passenger goods and household effects. One instrument — the Tariff (Specified Tobacco Products) Amendment Order 2024, covering classification of heated tobacco products — was added by the Regulations Review Committee after being accidentally left out of the original bill.

The Therapeutic Products Act Repeal Bill scraps the Therapeutic Products Act 2023 (TPA) before it ever takes effect. The TPA was due to start on 1 September 2026 and would have replaced the Medicines Act 1981 and the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 with a single updated law covering medicines, medical devices, and natural health products. By repealing the TPA now, those older laws remain in force. The bill also fixes some knock-on changes the TPA had made to the Food Act 2014 and resets a deadline in the Dietary Supplements Regulations back to 1 March 2026. The Government says it will develop new proposals for regulating these products separately. Notably, this repeal bill itself automatically expires 28 days after it becomes law, as its job is done once the TPA is removed.

This bill adds a new offence to the Racing Industry Act 2020 in response to the government's plan to close the greyhound racing industry from 1 August 2026. It makes it illegal for anyone (other than a vet or a vet student under direct supervision) to intentionally kill — or knowingly help arrange the killing of — a greyhound that is or was registered with New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association Incorporated (GRNZ), or the offspring of a registered breeding female. The only lawful ways a greyhound can be put down are: a vet carries it out for a welfare reason listed in GRNZ's euthanasia policy (for example, the dog has a serious injury or illness causing significant suffering), or it is done under the authority of another law. Killing a dog purely for economic reasons remains prohibited under that policy. The penalty on conviction is up to 12 months' imprisonment, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.

This bill modernises New Zealand's insurance contract law. For everyday consumers, it replaces a strict old duty of 'utmost good faith' with a simpler duty to take reasonable care not to mislead your insurer. Businesses have a duty to give a 'fair presentation' of their risk. Insurers must tell policyholders about their duties before a contract is signed. The bill restricts certain unfair contract terms — for example, insurers cannot force home and contents customers into 'pro rata average' clauses (which reduce payouts if you are underinsured), and arbitration clauses in consumer policies are not binding. It allows people harmed by an insolvent or dissolved party to claim directly against that party's insurer. It also regulates insurance brokers, sets rules for life insurance (including for minors), and enables regulations to control how insurers can use genetic test results.

This Act creates a framework for local councils (called territorial authorities) to plan and manage water, wastewater, and stormwater services. Each council must prepare a 'water services delivery plan' covering at least 10 years, showing how services will be funded, what condition the pipes and infrastructure are in, and how the council will meet regulatory standards. Plans must be submitted to the Secretary for Local Government for approval and published online. Councils can team up and submit a joint plan. If a council can't or won't produce an acceptable plan, the Minister can appoint a Crown facilitator to help, or a stronger 'Crown water services specialist' who can direct the council. The Commerce Commission gains powers to require certain water service providers to publicly disclose financial and performance information. Watercare Services Limited (Auckland's water company) is set up to be financially separate from Auckland Council, with a Crown monitor appointed to oversee it. A separate charter for Watercare sets out how it must operate.

This bill makes three changes to the rules about remote participation in New Zealand courts. First, it creates a presumption — a starting assumption — that victims of crime can watch criminal trials and sentencing remotely by video or phone, unless a judge or court registrar decides that would not be in the interests of justice. Second, it allows audio-only connections (like a phone call) to be used for certain court hearings, as an alternative to video calls — but not for criminal hearings where the defendant wants to attend, and not for some compulsory mental health or disability hearings. Third, it makes permanent a rule that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic: that holding a court hearing remotely does not conflict with the public's right to see justice done — courts can require the public and media to observe remotely too. The bill aims to reduce delays in the court system and make it easier and safer for people, especially victims, to take part in court proceedings.

This bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 to make three main changes. First, it creates a legal framework for charter schools (kura hourua) — a new category of school run by approved private governing bodies called 'sponsors', funded by the Crown under a contract. A new Charter Schools Authorisation Board will approve and oversee sponsors. Existing state schools can apply or be directed to convert to charter schools. Charter schools can hire staff holding a 'limited authority to teach' (a teaching permit for people without full qualifications) more freely than state schools can. Second, it removes the requirement for anyone wanting to open a new licensed early childhood education service to first get 'network approval' from the Minister of Education. Third, it gives the Secretary for Education the power to make rules requiring schools to collect and record student attendance data. The bill has been reported back from the Education and Workforce Committee, which recommends it be passed by a majority vote.

Each year there is a gap between when the new financial year starts (1 July) and when Parliament finishes passing the main Appropriation Act (the law that formally approves all government spending). This bill bridges that gap for the 2025/26 year by giving the Government advance authority to spend. 'Imprest supply' is the legal term for this temporary permission. The bill authorises up to $39 billion for day-to-day expenses (including things like benefits, health, and education), up to $7 billion for capital expenditure (buying or building assets, such as for Defence and schools), and up to $1 billion for capital injections (funding put directly into government departments). All spending under this bill must be formally approved in an Appropriation Act by 30 June 2026. The bill automatically repeals itself once the main budget law comes into force.

This bill amends the Resource Management Act 1991 in several ways. First, it suspends for three years certain parts of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity 2023 — specifically the rules requiring councils to identify and map 'significant natural areas' (places with important native plants and animals). Second, it restricts how the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020's 'hierarchy of obligations' can be used when councils assess resource consent applications. Third, it removes the requirement for freshwater farm plans in areas where they had been introduced, revoking the related regulations. Fourth, it delays when regional councils must publicly notify freshwater planning rules, generally until at least 31 December 2025 or when a new national freshwater policy is issued. Fifth, it streamlines the government's process for making and changing national environmental standards and policy statements, removing several steps and replacing them with a simpler consultation process.

The bill amends the Overseas Investment Act 2005, which is the law that controls when people or companies from overseas can buy land or property in New Zealand. Currently, overseas investors wanting to buy or develop residential land must meet strict criteria. This bill adds a new approval pathway called the 'large rental development test.' To pass this test, an overseas investor must be buying or developing a site with at least 20 dwellings (homes), and at least 20 of those homes must be made available to rent under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 within a timeframe approved by the relevant Ministers. The bill also adjusts a related rule so that investors who use an intermediary — a business that manages the rental properties between the investor and tenants — are not disadvantaged compared to those who rent directly to tenants.

This is a short, focused bill that changes the District Court Act 2016 to allow one additional District Court judge to be appointed. The legal cap (the maximum number allowed at any one time) goes from 182 to 183 full-time equivalent positions. 'Full-time equivalent' means the total is counted in full working positions, so part-time judges are counted as fractions. The bill comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent (formal approval from the Governor-General). The government says the District Court's workload has grown in both volume and complexity in recent years, pushing judge numbers close to the existing cap. The extra position is specifically linked to anticipated increases in sentencing hearings arising from the separate Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill.

The bill puts into law a 2023 agreement between the Crown and three iwi — Maniapoto, Raukawa, and Waikato (collectively Ngā Ahi e Toru) — about the Ō-Rākau site near Kihikihi, Waikato. The battle of Ō-Rākau in 1864 was the last major battle of the Crown's invasion of Waikato. The bill transfers full legal ownership of the 9.7-hectare site to a list of named Māori ancestors (tūpuna) who were present at the battle or had prior connections to the land. Ngā Ahi e Toru will hold and manage the land on behalf of those ancestors. The list of ancestors can be updated in future. The land will be free from local government rates. The bill was examined by the Māori Affairs Committee, which recommended adding 41 names and correcting 5 names in the list of ancestors following public submissions.

People on electronic monitoring bail (EM bail) must stay at their home address but can be allowed to leave for specific reasons — for example, medical appointments, legal meetings, or essential shopping. Under the current law, courts grant these permissions. This bill formally allows court-appointed electronic monitoring assessors (trained staff, usually from the Department of Corrections) to approve individual trips away from home, as long as the court has already set the permitted reasons. The court can still set all the details itself if it wants to. The bill also validates past permissions that were granted in this way before the bill's passage, in case they were technically unlawful. Any old permissions not involving a Corrections employee or EM assessor will automatically end 60 working days after the bill comes into force, giving time to put proper arrangements in place. The bill takes effect the day after it receives Royal assent.

This bill amends the Social Workers Registration Act 2003, following a review the Social Workers Registration Board carried out in 2020. The main changes are: expanding the reasons a social worker can be temporarily suspended while an investigation is being considered; replacing the fixed 10-working-day limit on extended suspension periods with a flexible period that must be 'reasonable and necessary'; allowing professional conduct committees — groups that handle complaints — to reach more than one decision on a single complaint, helping with complex cases; letting the Board delegate its registration functions to others; adding a duty for the Board to monitor approved training qualifications; and moving the power to investigate unregistered people practising as social workers from the Ministry of Social Development to the Board. A number of technical and gender-neutral language updates are also made. The bill was reported back from the Social Services and Community Committee with unanimous recommendations for amendments.

Pay equity claims are a legal process where employees in jobs done mainly by women can argue their pay is unfairly low because of historical gender bias. This bill rewrites the rules under the Equal Pay Act 1972. Key changes: the job must now be at least 70% female (up from about 60%) and must have been so for at least 10 consecutive years before a claim can be made; claimants must provide stronger evidence upfront; employers get new powers to stop claims they consider out of scope; pay rises from successful claims are phased in over up to 3 years; no back-pay can be awarded; settled claims cannot be reopened for 10 years; and review clauses in existing settlements become unenforceable. All currently active claims that have not been fully settled are cancelled on the day the bill becomes law — those workers can lodge a fresh claim under the new rules.

This bill changes how housing subsidies — government payments that help people afford their home — are calculated when someone has boarders living with them. Currently, only payments from the third boarder onwards affect a person's accommodation supplement (a payment to help with housing costs) or income-related rent (reduced rent for social housing tenants). From 2 March 2026, payments from all boarders will be counted. Specifically, 62% of what a boarder pays counts toward the household's accommodation costs, and any amount above that threshold counts as income. The bill also creates rules for what happens if the information given by a boarder and the person receiving board payments doesn't match — housing assistance can be suspended and eventually cancelled if the mismatch isn't resolved. The bill also removes MSD's discretion to decide whether or not to grant an accommodation supplement — eligible people will be entitled to it automatically, though it must be refused or cancelled if it would be paid at zero.

This bill changes the Social Security Act 2018 to make yearly benefit checks compulsory. Currently, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) can choose when to review a beneficiary's situation, but there is no requirement to do so regularly. Under the bill, MSD must review certain benefits — called 'specified benefits' — at least once every 52 weeks to confirm a person is still eligible and receiving the correct payment amount. Specified benefits initially include the supported living payment, emergency benefit (long-term), accommodation supplement, disability allowance, and New Zealand Superannuation paid with a non-qualified partner. Beneficiaries must respond to review requests. If they do not, payments are suspended and, after a further period (8 weeks for most benefits, 2 years for NZ Superannuation), cancelled. Exceptions, exemptions, and short extensions exist for people who cannot respond. Automated computer decision-making can be used for parts of the process. The bill takes effect on 2 March 2026.

The Rates Rebate Scheme helps low-income homeowners by giving them a partial refund (rebate) on their council rates bill. Eligibility is based on income — the more you earn above a set threshold, the smaller your rebate. The current threshold of $32,210 means that couples whose only income is New Zealand Superannuation are often shut out of the full rebate. This bill creates a separate, higher income threshold of $45,000 specifically for people who hold a SuperGold Card (a card issued to New Zealanders aged 65 and over). The change takes effect from 1 July 2025 and does not apply to earlier rating years. The government will also retain the ability to adjust the new $45,000 threshold in future through a regulation called an Order in Council, without needing a new Act of Parliament.

Under New Zealand law, the government can only spend public money if Parliament has approved it through an appropriation (a formal spending permission). When departments spend slightly more than approved, or spend in an area not covered by an existing approval, that spending must be formally confirmed or validated by a new Act of Parliament. This bill does that for the 2023/24 financial year. It also covers some older spending by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (for 2021/22 and 2022/23) and the Inland Revenue Department (for 2022/23). The largest items include $513 million for Inland Revenue debt write-offs, about $494.5 million for North Island severe weather event payments to local authorities, and $100.7 million for early childhood education. Two unauthorised capital injections — money paid into government departments — are also validated: $13.1 million to MBIE and $2.6 million to the Office of the Ombudsman.

A partial strike is when employees continue working but reduce what they do — for example, refusing specific tasks or working more slowly — rather than walking off the job entirely. Currently, employers can only respond by doing nothing, or by suspending workers and stopping all their pay. This bill adds a third option: making a targeted pay cut ('specified pay deduction') tied to the partial strike. Employers must give written notice before cutting pay, and can choose between two calculation methods — a flat 10% cut, or a proportionate cut based on estimated time not worked. Certain situations are excluded, such as safety-related strikes or overtime refusals. Unions can request information from employers about how the deduction was worked out, and can raise a formal dispute if something seems wrong. Strike notices will also need to state whether workers plan to keep doing some work during the action. The bill also extends these rules to schools and to the Public Service Commissioner.

New Zealand had a 'three strikes' sentencing law from 2010 to 2022, which was then repealed. This bill reinstates it with some changes. It covers 42 serious violent and sexual offences listed in the Crimes Act 1961. A first conviction (stage 1) triggers a formal warning — but only if the prison sentence is more than 12 months. A second conviction (stage 2) results in serving the full sentence with no parole (early release), but only if the sentence exceeds 24 months. A third conviction (stage 3) means the maximum possible sentence for that offence, also served without parole. Judges can depart from these mandatory rules only if following them would be 'manifestly unjust' — meaning grossly unfair. Strike warnings issued under the old pre-2022 regime can carry over and count under the new system, as long as they meet the new sentence thresholds. The bill was reported back from the Justice Committee, which recommends by majority that it be passed.

This bill amends the Corrections Act 2004 to better protect people — especially victims of crime — from unwanted contact by prisoners. It adds a new prison offence: a prisoner who contacts, or asks someone else to contact, a person they know (or should reasonably know) doesn't want to be contacted can be disciplined. It also requires the chief executive of Corrections to set up and maintain processes that inform visitors and recipients of prisoner communications about how to avoid unwanted contact. When deciding conditions on outgoing prisoner phone calls, decision-makers must now formally weigh the interests of victims, specifically their interest in being free from unwanted contact. The same victim-interest consideration is clarified in the existing rules about prisoner mail. The bill was introduced in February 2024 and has passed through the committee of the whole House (a line-by-line review stage in Parliament).

A Firearms Prohibition Order (FPO) is a court order that bans a person from holding a gun licence or accessing firearms and related items. Currently, courts can impose FPOs on people convicted of serious offences. This bill expands the list of qualifying offences to include a range of offences under the Arms Act, Misuse of Drugs Act, Psychoactive Substances Act, and specific parts of the Crimes Act (crimes against the person, property crimes, and threatening or conspiracy offences), but only where the offender is aged 18 or over and was a gang member or associate at the time. The bill also creates a process for people to apply to the court to vary or revoke their FPO after it has been in place for 5 years. A key change is giving Police the power to search a person subject to an FPO — and any premises or vehicle they are in or control — without a warrant, specifically to check whether they are complying with their order's conditions. The Justice Committee recommended raising the threshold for that search power from 'reasonable grounds to suspect' to 'reasonable grounds to believe'.

Imprest supply is a temporary mechanism that gives the Government permission to spend money before Parliament passes a full, detailed budget (called an Appropriation Act). This bill — the second such bill for the 2024/25 financial year — provides extra spending authority on top of what was already approved in the main budget bill. It allows up to $16 billion in operating expenses (day-to-day costs), up to $12 billion in capital expenditure (long-term investments and purchases), and up to $1 billion in capital injections (funds paid directly into government departments). The money covers Cabinet decisions made after the main budget was finalised, technical adjustments, and a contingency buffer. All spending must still be formally approved by Parliament in an Appropriation Act before 30 June 2025, or it will need to be validated later. The bill automatically repeals itself on 30 June 2025.

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a system where businesses that produce greenhouse gases must surrender units (like credits) to cover their emissions. The Climate Change Response Act 2002 had set up a timetable to bring agriculture into this scheme — processors (like meat and dairy companies) were due to pay for farming emissions from January 2025, and individual farmers were due to report emissions from 2026 and pay from 2027. This bill removes all of those agricultural obligations by repealing the relevant parts of the Act and related regulations. People already registered as ETS participants for farming activities will automatically cease to be participants when the bill takes effect, and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) must remove them from the register within six months. Former participants must keep records they already collected for at least seven years. No emissions returns will be required for farming activities for 2024 or later.

This bill changes the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 to reduce young people's access to vaping products. The main change is a ban on selling, making, supplying, or giving away disposable vaping devices — those not designed to be recharged or refilled by the user. Pre-filled pods or cartridges that fit inside a reusable device are not included in the ban after the select committee (a group of MPs who examine bills in detail) narrowed the definition. Shops selling vaping products must not display them so they can be seen from outside the store. Specialist vape stores must be at least 100 metres from early childhood education centres. Fines for selling vapes to under-18s rise from $10,000 to $100,000 for businesses. Free giveaways and loyalty rewards involving vaping products at specialist stores are also banned. Child safety mechanisms on devices must not be able to be turned off by users.

This bill updates the Land Transport Act 1998 to overhaul how drug driving is detected and prosecuted. Currently, two positive roadside oral fluid (saliva) tests can lead to charges. Under this bill, a positive roadside screening test triggers a requirement for the saliva sample to be sent to an approved laboratory for analysis by a qualified analyst. Only a positive lab result — showing a drug at or above a set concentration level — can result in an infringement notice (an on-the-spot fine). Drivers who receive an infringement notice have 28 days to apply to have their sample tested by a private analyst at their own cost. New infringement offences are created for refusing to undergo the roadside screening test or refusing to provide a saliva sample, with fines of up to $1,000. The Minister of Police gains powers to approve screening devices and set which drugs labs must test for, after consulting other ministers. A formal review of the new system must be completed within five years of the law coming into force.

This is an 'omnibus' bill — meaning it changes many different laws in one go, mainly tax laws. First, it confirms the income tax rates for the 2024–25 tax year, which is a routine step Parliament takes every year. Second, it creates a standing set of tax relief powers the government can activate by a special order (called an Order in Council) when an emergency like an earthquake, cyclone, or flood occurs, rather than having to rush new legislation through Parliament each time. Third, it introduces the Crypto-asset Reporting Framework, meeting New Zealand's international (OECD) obligations to report on crypto trading. Fourth, it makes dozens of smaller 'remedial' fixes to existing tax laws covering areas such as trusts, the bright-line property rule (a tax on quick property sales), KiwiSaver transfers from overseas pensions, the FamilyBoost childcare payment, forestry, and GST (goods and services tax). The bill was examined by the Finance and Expenditure Committee, which recommended a number of amendments before passing it on.

The bill amends the Arms Act 1983 to create two separate regulatory tracks for shooting clubs and ranges. Pistol clubs must still get a certificate of approval from the Police Commissioner and pistol ranges must be certified — both with stricter ongoing requirements. Non-pistol clubs (rifle, shotgun, etc.) and non-pistol ranges would move to a lighter 'enrolment' system: they register with the Commissioner by providing required information and declarations, rather than going through a full approval or certification process. Police inspections of non-pistol ranges would happen at enrolment and then at intervals of at least five years (unless circumstances change). Temporary non-pistol ranges can be set up for up to two events per year, each lasting no more than four days, by shooting clubs, club members, or existing certified or enrolled range operators. The bill also transfers various powers (regulations, cost recovery, advisory group oversight, and the review of the Act) from the Minister of Police to whatever minister is responsible for the Arms Act at a given time.

Each year the government sets its spending plan (called Estimates) and then comes back mid-year to make adjustments (called Supplementary Estimates). This bill turns those adjustments into law for the 2024/25 financial year (ending 30 June 2025). It increases or decreases existing spending allowances across dozens of government areas — from health, education, and social services to transport, defence, and environment. It also authorises multi-year spending programmes (some new, some extended, some cancelled), and approves or adjusts direct money injections into specific government departments. Parliament must pass a bill like this to maintain legal oversight over how public money is spent, as required by the Public Finance Act 1989.

Every year, the Government must get Parliament's formal approval before it can spend public money. This bill — called an Appropriation (Estimates) Bill — does exactly that for the year ending 30 June 2026. It sets out, in detailed schedules, the specific amounts approved for each government department and spending programme across areas like health, education, social development, defence, transport, and many others. It also approves 'capital injections' — lump-sum transfers of money into certain government departments so they can maintain or grow their assets. Some spending is approved for periods of up to five years rather than just one year, where projects span multiple financial years. The bill is sponsored by the Minister of Finance, Hon Nicola Willis, and is part of the 2025 Budget package.

This bill amends three existing laws. Part 1 allows the government to create levy orders requiring certain people or businesses to pay fees to Customs to cover the cost of managing goods — including imports, exports, and transport of goods. These levies cannot duplicate costs already recovered elsewhere. Part 2 updates the Waste Minimisation Act to allow Customs to collect product stewardship fees (charges tied to managing waste from certain products) using the same processes it uses for duties. Part 3 fixes a GST issue for imported goods worth over $1,000: it extends the window for claiming a GST refund on returned goods to 12 months (or the warranty period if longer), broadens who qualifies for a refund when returning goods, and ensures GST is only charged once on goods repaired or replaced under warranty and then reimported.

Under current law, patent applications originally filed before the Patents Act 2013 came into force — and any 'divisional applications' (new applications split off from those older ones) — are still assessed under the older, less demanding Patents Act 1953. The 1953 rules are easier to meet, meaning patents can be granted for inventions that might not qualify under today's stricter standards. Other businesses can challenge these patents, but doing so is expensive and uncertain. This bill amends the Patents Act 2013 so that any new divisional applications filed after the bill comes into force must satisfy the stricter 2013 criteria — the invention must be genuinely new (novel), involve a real inventive step, and be properly supported by the application documents. The same stricter criteria will also apply if someone opposes the grant, or if a patent is later re-examined or revoked.

The Regulatory Standards Bill creates a system to improve the quality of laws made by the New Zealand government. When a Government Bill, a government-proposed change to a bill, or a piece of secondary legislation (rules made under an existing law, like regulations) is introduced, the chief executive of the agency responsible must review it against a set of 'principles of responsible regulation' — covering things like rule of law, protection of rights and property, fair taxes and fees, and whether the law is cost-effective. Any problems found must be disclosed in writing, along with the minister's reasons for proceeding anyway. Government agencies must also develop plans to regularly review existing laws against these principles. A new Regulatory Standards Board — an independent body of five to seven members — is established to investigate whether existing laws breach the principles and to review consistency statements for government bills going through Parliament. All reports must be presented to Parliament and published online.

Statutes Amendment Bills are a regular tool Parliament uses to tidy up minor errors and outdated wording across many laws in one go. This bill amends 42 Acts. Key changes include: clarifying that address checks under anti-money laundering rules are only required for higher-risk transactions, not routine ones; allowing oaths and declarations to be taken via video call (but not audio-only); clarifying that when a person has multiple related privacy complaints, their time limit to take a case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal starts only after all related complaints are decided; replacing outdated terms like 'airman' with 'aviator' in Defence laws; removing sexist language from older criminal law definitions; and updating references to government bodies whose names have changed. Some planned changes to the Conservation Act and Racing Industry Act were removed because other bills or policy work already covered them.

The Parliament Bill consolidates and modernises four existing laws into one Act covering how New Zealand's Parliament operates. It restates the rules around parliamentary privilege — the legal protection that means MPs cannot be sued or prosecuted for what they say during parliamentary debates. It sets out the Speaker's role in managing the Parliament buildings (the parliamentary precincts). It establishes who determines MPs' salaries, allowances, and expenses — mainly the independent Remuneration Authority and the Speaker. It continues the Office of the Clerk and Parliamentary Service (the two organisations that support Parliament's day-to-day running) and standardises employment rules for their staff. It also formally creates the role of parliamentary security officer, giving those officers specific powers such as asking to search people, detaining people, and denying entry to the parliamentary precincts.

This bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 to reform how early childhood education (ECE) services — licensed services like daycare centres and certified playgroups — are overseen. It replaces the existing purpose statement for the ECE part of the Act with two new goals: setting minimum quality standards so all children get strong foundations for learning and wellbeing, and supporting parents and caregivers to participate in the workforce if they choose. A new role, the Director of Regulation, is created to handle day-to-day regulatory tasks previously done by the Secretary for Education. These tasks include issuing licences, monitoring compliance, investigating complaints, and publishing information for parents. The Director must act independently when issuing licences and enforcing rules. New enforcement tools — such as formal warnings, public notifications of investigations, and requirements to inform parents when complaints are being investigated — can be set up through regulations. The bill takes effect two months after receiving Royal Assent.

This bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 across several areas. For school boards, it sets a single 'paramount objective': ensuring every student reaches their highest possible educational achievement, supported by a list of additional required goals including safety, inclusiveness, and Treaty of Waitangi obligations. Boards must also create, publish, and regularly review written attendance management plans to address student absences. For universities, councils must adopt a written statement on their approach to freedom of expression and set up a complaints process for academic freedom issues, reporting on these in their annual reports. The Teaching Council — the body that registers and oversees teachers — sees changes to its membership makeup, and its complaints and disciplinary processes are updated. Strike notice periods for school staff increase from 3 days to 7 days. The bill also delays the deadline for schools to prepare their first strategic plans from January 2026 to January 2027.

This bill creates legal rules for the Auckland Future Fund (AFF), a long-term investment fund established by Auckland Council as part of its 2024–2034 Long-term Plan. The AFF is initially funded by Auckland Council's shares in Auckland International Airport Limited. The bill requires the Council to set up governance structures — either internally or through a trust or other entity — to run the fund. Investment decisions must be made by qualified, independent people, free from political influence. Distributions (payouts) from the fund must also follow these rules. To spend in a way that reduces the fund's core value, at least 75% of councillors must vote in favour, and the spending must have been included in the Council's long-term plan and publicly consulted on. The bill overrides other local government financial laws where there is any conflict.

This bill amends several laws in response to findings about abuse in care. It removes the power to strip search children in youth facilities, replacing it with scanner-based searches and specific rules for youth justice residences, including rules about using imaging technology and dogs. Each child in care must now have an individual search plan reflecting their needs, trauma history, gender identity, and dignity. The bill expands the list of offences that disqualify someone from working as a 'core worker' (a person in a key role with children) to include overseas convictions and certain prostitution offences involving minors. It also updates the definition of 'vulnerable adult' in the Crimes Act to include people with disabilities. Finally, it strengthens the Chief Archivist's powers to require government agencies to fix poor record-keeping, including issuing action plans and performance notices.

This is the third bill in the Government's 'Local Water Done Well' programme. It establishes the permanent framework for water services delivery in New Zealand. Under the bill, councils (called territorial authorities) remain responsible for ensuring water services are provided, but can transfer that responsibility to new 'water organisations' through formal transfer agreements. The bill sets financial rules for these organisations — including rules about how money from water services must be spent on water services — and creates an economic regulation regime under the Commerce Act to oversee pricing. It sets up planning and accountability documents (water services strategies and annual reports) that water organisations must produce. It also introduces new rules for stormwater management, including stormwater charging zones and risk management plans. Special provisions apply to Auckland's Watercare. The bill recognises Treaty settlement obligations and includes provisions relating to Māori land access. A select committee (Finance and Expenditure) has reviewed the bill and recommended over 360 amendments before it proceeds.

This bill adds a new process to the Public Works Act 1981 for acquiring or taking private land needed for listed 'critical infrastructure projects' — a defined list of roughly 40 major road, rail, and power projects across New Zealand (set out in a new Schedule 2A). Normally, the government uses Part 2 of that Act; this bill creates a faster Part 2A process. The government or council must still try to buy the land by agreement first. If that fails, they can compulsorily take it after giving notice and allowing written submissions (but no oral hearings). On top of normal compensation, landowners get an extra 5% of their land's value (capped at $92,000) simply because it is a critical infrastructure project, and an additional 15% (capped at $150,000, with a $5,000 floor) if they agreed to sell before formal taking steps began. Protected Māori land is excluded from this new process but gets equivalent extra compensation payments under separate new provisions.

FamilyBoost is a tax credit — a payment from the government — that helps families cover early childhood education costs after other government subsidies. This bill makes two main changes starting 1 July 2025. First, it raises the claimable percentage of fees from 25% to 40%, increasing the maximum quarterly payment from $975 to $1,560. Second, it lowers the abatement rate (the rate at which payments reduce as household income rises) from 9.75% to 7%, and raises the upper household income limit from $45,000 per quarter ($180,000 a year) to $57,286 per quarter. This means more families on higher incomes will remain eligible. Fees incurred before 1 July 2025 are unaffected and still processed under the old rules. First payments under the new settings are expected from October 2025.

The Clean Vehicle Standard (in place since January 2023) sets annual carbon dioxide targets for vehicle importers. Importers earn credits when they bring in low-emission vehicles and face charges when vehicles exceed the target. This bill makes three main changes: it extends how long those earned credits remain valid from three years to four years; it lets importers of new vehicles and importers of used vehicles transfer credits to each other (previously this was not allowed), using a two-for-one exchange rate because new low-emission vehicles are considered to save more emissions than used ones; and it removes a time limit on 'payment obligation deferral', which is a mechanism that lets importers offset charges in one year by over-achieving their targets the following year. The bill also removes the ability to formally set targets adjusted by vehicle weight. It comes into force on 1 January 2026.

This bill amends the Crown Minerals Act 1991, which governs who can mine minerals owned by the Crown (the government). Key changes include: a new 'Tier 3 permit' for small-scale gold mining in rivers and on beaches, covering up to 50 hectares and using only basic equipment (hand tools, riffle boxes, and motors up to 10 horsepower combined). The bill also allows the Minister to issue Government Policy Statements setting out the Government's goals for Crown mineral mining. For petroleum (oil and gas), it strengthens rules around decommissioning — meaning the safe removal or sealing of old wells and infrastructure — by requiring companies to have acceptable financial security arrangements in place, and introducing 'outgoing guarantees' where a company selling its interest may need to guarantee future clean-up costs. The bill also changes how ownership changes in permit-holding companies must be notified and approved.

A 2020 High Court ruling found that existing regulations allowing farrowing crates and mating stalls were unlawful under the Animal Welfare Act 1999. The government set a five-year phase-out period expiring 18 December 2025, but cannot extend it further by regulation alone — so this bill amends the Act directly. The bill extends the deadline for farrowing crate and mating stall rules to 18 December 2035, giving the pork industry time to adjust. During the transition, it immediately tightens the rules: sows may only be kept in farrowing crates for up to 3 days before birth and 4 days after (down from much longer periods), and mating stalls can only be used for up to 3 hours at a time (down from 7 days per breeding cycle). Minimum floor space for growing pigs is also increased. From 19 December 2035, stricter permanent rules replace the transitional ones. Farmers must keep records to show they are complying, and fines apply for breaches.

The Anzac Day Act 1966 currently lists specific conflicts — starting with the World Wars and ending with the Vietnam War — that Anzac Day officially covers. This bill replaces that list with broader wording: Anzac Day will recognise and commemorate all those who have served New Zealand in any war or warlike conflict (an armed conflict that has happened, is happening, or may happen), including those who died. It also extends commemoration to people who died during New Zealand military service at any other time — for example, during training. The bill adds an explicit mention of Australian troops at Gallipoli, reflecting the shared ANZAC history. The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee reviewed the bill, received 64 submissions, and recommends it be passed with amendments.

This bill amends the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016, which runs the Child Sex Offender Register — a Police-held list of people convicted of serious sexual offences against children, who must regularly report personal information to Police. The bill tightens and updates those reporting rules: people on the Register must now report 48 hours before a child moves into their home (previously 72 hours after the fact), must report overseas travel 7 days in advance (up from 48 hours), and must report their return to New Zealand within 72 hours (replacing a 10-day in-person requirement). They must also report email addresses, internet accounts, education courses, and online usernames. Seven new offences are added to the Register's qualifying offence list, including making intimate visual recordings of under-16s, importing objectionable publications involving minors, and various offences related to child sexual exploitation for commercial purposes. Notices can now be served electronically, and the 28-day time limit to apply for a review of registration is removed.

This bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 to restructure the vocational education and training system. It replaces the previous single national body (Te Pūkenga) with individually established polytechnics, each governed by its own council with members appointed partly by the Minister and partly by the council itself. Polytechnics that need support can join a 'federation' — a formal grouping with a shared administrative committee (the Federation of Polytechnics Committee) and 'anchor polytechnics' that provide shared services. Separately, the bill establishes industry skills boards — new bodies representing specific industries, with 8 members drawn from employers and employees — which set qualifications, skill standards, and training standards for vocational education. The bill includes oversight tools such as Crown observers, Crown managers, and commissioners that the Minister can deploy if a polytechnic is at risk. Most changes take effect from the day after Royal assent or 1 January 2026, depending on the version.

This bill changes the Building Act 2004 so that a new, single-storey, stand-alone dwelling of 70 square metres or less — called a 'small stand-alone dwelling' — can be built without a building consent (the normal council approval required before construction). Instead, the owner must first obtain a project information memorandum (a document from the local council providing information about the land and any hazards). All building, plumbing, electrical, and gas work must be done by properly licensed tradespeople, and when the build is finished the owner must send records of all that work to the council within 20 working days. The home must meet specific construction requirements, including a maximum height of 4 metres, lightweight framing, and minimum distances from boundaries. Councils can still charge development contributions — fees to help fund local infrastructure. The bill also amends several other laws to make these changes work consistently across the building and local government system.

The Medicines Amendment Bill changes the Medicines Act 1981 in several ways. The main change creates a new 'consent by verification' pathway: if a new medicine has already received full marketing authorisation from two or more overseas regulators that New Zealand recognises as trustworthy, the Minister of Health can approve it here by checking it meets certain conditions, rather than requiring a full independent local evaluation. The Minister can declare which overseas regulators are 'recognised regulatory authorities' by notice in the Gazette. The bill also creates an exemption allowing unapproved medicines listed by Pharmac as alternatives to short-supply medicines to be prescribed and supplied. It allows medicines not yet approved in New Zealand to be advertised at medical conferences for health professionals. It removes the rule preventing authorised prescribers from holding a financial interest in pharmacies. Reporting requirements are also introduced for suppliers of unapproved medicines.

This bill amends the Evidence Act 2006 to give victims of family violence an automatic entitlement to give oral evidence in the Family Court in a protective alternative way. The two main options are: giving evidence while inside the courtroom but unable to see one or more other people involved, or giving evidence from a suitable place outside the courtroom (including from another location in New Zealand or overseas). The bill defines 'family violence evidence' specifically as oral evidence given by a person who experienced family violence themselves — so a person accused of family violence cannot use this entitlement to deliver their own version of events. The party calling the witness must give written notice at least 28 days before the hearing. A judge can, on their own initiative or on another party's application, direct that evidence be given in the ordinary way if the interests of justice require it. The bill also clarifies that affidavit (written statement) evidence remains the general rule in the Family Court, and these new protections apply only to oral evidence.

This bill amends a 1923 law that controls how a specific piece of land at 17 Sir Peter Blake Parade, Bayswater, Auckland can be used. That land is owned by the Takapuna Boating Club. The current law bans any use of the land for private profit. The bill would allow part of the land or its buildings to be used for commercial purposes — for example, leasing space to a business — provided the site is principally used for community purposes such as boat sheds, swimming baths, or a social hall. All money earned from commercial use must be spent on maintaining the land and buildings, or on broad community purposes. The bill also updates the legal description of the land in the original Act to match its current boundaries. The Governance and Administration Committee recommends the bill be passed, with some amendments to make the wording clearer.

The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 allows Māori groups to apply for 'customary marine title' — official recognition of their traditional connection to part of the coast or seabed. This bill amends that Act to tighten the legal test groups must meet. Key changes include: a stricter definition of 'exclusive use and occupation' (the group must show it had the intention and ability to control the area to the exclusion of others from 1840 to now); a new definition of 'substantial interruption' (including interruptions caused by outsiders using the area, even without legislation authorising it); a rule that inferences must be based on evidence of physical activity, not spiritual or cultural association alone; and a clarification that the applicant group must prove both that it holds the area under tikanga (Māori custom) and that it exclusively occupied it throughout the period. Decisions made between 25 July 2024 and the bill's commencement under the old rules are declared to have no legal effect. Existing agreements made before 25 July 2024 are protected.

This bill amends the Employment Relations Act 2000 to add a new ground for a personal grievance — a formal legal complaint an employee can make against their employer — called 'adverse conduct for a remuneration disclosure reason'. This means an employee could take action if their employer dismissed them, denied them the same opportunities as others, or otherwise treated them badly because they discussed or disclosed their own pay. The bill covers wages, allowances, bonuses, commission, and employer superannuation contributions. Pay secrecy clauses (contract terms keeping pay confidential) are still allowed, but employers cannot take punishing action to enforce them. Sharing your own pay is entirely voluntary — no one is required to disclose anything. The bill was reported back from the Education and Workforce Committee with amendments, and was recommended by a majority of the committee to be passed.

The Adoption Amendment Bill temporarily changes the Adoption Act 1955, which currently recognises about 1,000 overseas adoptions a year. The problem is that the current law accepts overseas adoptions without checking whether the adoptive parents are safe for children. As a result, some children brought to New Zealand have been abused or exploited. The bill temporarily blocks children adopted overseas — where the adoptive parent is a New Zealand citizen or holds a resident visa — from gaining New Zealand citizenship by descent or a visa, unless the adoption happened in one of a listed set of 'exempt countries' considered to have adequate safeguards. Adoptions under the Hague Convention (an international agreement with its own safeguards) are not affected. The bill also restricts when New Zealand courts can make adoption orders, generally requiring that both the applicant and child live here, with limited exceptions. These temporary changes are designed to expire by 1 July 2027, at which point the previous law is reinstated.

The bill adds a new 'stalking and harassment' offence to the Crimes Act 1961. A person commits this offence if they carry out at least two 'specified acts' — such as following someone, contacting them, recording them, damaging their property, or harming their reputation — directed at the same person within a two-year period, while knowing those actions are likely to cause fear or distress. The maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment. Police can issue a written warning that creates a legal presumption the person knew their behaviour was harmful. The bill also: removes the existing criminal harassment offence from the Harassment Act 1997; bans convicted stalkers from holding firearms licences; adds stalking-related aggravating factors (things that can lead to a heavier sentence) at sentencing; lets courts issue restraining orders or digital communications orders when convicting or discharging someone for the offence; prevents self-represented accused from personally cross-examining alleged victims in court; and updates the definition of psychological abuse in family violence law to include stalking.

New Zealand has four approved financial dispute resolution schemes — free services that handle complaints between customers and financial providers like banks, insurers, and KiwiSaver providers. This bill changes how the Government can review and oversee these schemes. It lets the Minister require independent reviews of each scheme at least once every five years, with control over how those reviews are run and who carries them out. Schemes must respond publicly to review findings within three months. The bill also allows regulations to set minimum requirements for the people who sit on scheme boards — covering skills, experience, and independence from the financial industry — while making clear the whole board must be reasonably independent, not necessarily every individual member. Annual reports from schemes must now include information about any independent review received that year.

The Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill updates the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, which lets certain large infrastructure and development projects skip the usual, slower consenting process. The bill does two main things. First, it explicitly allows grocery retail developments to be considered under this fast-track system, and adds a new power for the Minister to issue a 'Government Policy Statement' — a document that sets out the Government's priorities — to make clear that boosting grocery competition counts as a regional or national benefit. Second, it makes dozens of technical changes to how the fast-track process works: cutting comment timeframes from 20 to 15 working days in some places, allowing applications to be modified mid-process, letting large projects be approved in stages, clarifying who can appeal decisions, and streamlining how expert panels are set up and run. Overall the changes are expected to speed up the combined approval process by more than six weeks.

In New Zealand, Parliament sometimes allows ministers or government agencies to make rules without a full parliamentary vote — these are called secondary legislation. However, under the Legislation Act 2019, many of these rules will automatically be revoked (cancelled) or treated as never having been valid unless Parliament confirms them within a deadline. This bill confirms a batch of such rules made between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025. The rules cover areas including animal product fees, biosecurity levies, civil aviation levies, commodity levies on farm produce, customs excise duties on alcohol and tobacco, food safety fees, gambling levies, vehicle registration rules, social security benefit rates, and a trade tariff order. Confirming them means they remain legally valid — it does not fix any legal defects in how they were originally made, nor does it prevent anyone from legally challenging them in court.

Kororipo Pā is a 1.8-hectare site at the junction of the Wairoa and Kerikeri rivers with deep cultural and historical importance to Ngāpuhi. The Crown has owned it since 1957, but Ngāpuhi have long disputed the original 1838 purchase claim by missionary James Kemp. After decades of formal claims, including Waitangi Tribunal proceedings, negotiations led to a signed deed in August 2025. This bill gives legal effect to that deed, transferring full ownership (called 'fee simple estate' — meaning outright ownership of the land) to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia Trust. The site keeps its 'historic reserve' status under the Reserves Act 1977, so public access is maintained. The transfer date is fixed at 23 January 2026, allowing Ngāti Rēhia to host a celebration coinciding with Waitangi Day activities. The land cannot be mortgaged, and its value will be factored into any future comprehensive Ngāpuhi Treaty settlement.

The Lawyers and Conveyancers Special Fund is money collected from interest on trust accounts held by lawyers and conveyancers (people who handle property transfers). By law, this money goes to community law centres — organisations that provide free legal help to people who need it. Currently the Legal Services Act 2011 only allows this fund to be used to 'purchase community legal services,' which has created uncertainty about whether it can cover indirect running costs like rent or utilities. When it cannot, the Crown (the government) has to fill the gap. This bill updates the law so the Secretary for Justice can also use fund money to 'fund, facilitate, and otherwise support' the provision of community legal services — making it clear that running costs are covered. The Justice Committee recommended one change: updating the start date from 1 July 2025 (already passed) to the day after the bill receives Royal assent.

The Public Service Amendment Bill updates the Public Service Act 2020. It rewrites the stated purpose of the public service and the listed responsibilities of agency chief executives, placing greater emphasis on efficiently supporting the elected government and delivering value for money. It reduces mandatory long-term insights briefings — detailed public reports on future trends and risks — from one per agency down to a single briefing produced by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet every three years from June 2026. The Public Service Commissioner gains new powers to ban specific technology vendors, products, or services across public service agencies when they pose a national security or national interest risk. The bill also consolidates two Deputy Commissioner roles into one, allows certain Policy Advisory Group staff to be hired on fixed-term contracts, creates a framework for performance reviews of chief executives that involves input from their Minister, and requires mandatory minimum integrity standards. It makes consequential changes to several other laws.

This bill amends the Defence Act 1990. It introduces a brand-new rule allowing the Minister of Defence to authorise (officially permit) parts of the New Zealand Armed Forces to do the work of civilian NZDF staff who are taking industrial action — meaning going on strike or similar protest. This can only happen if the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe national security, defence readiness, or people's safety or health would otherwise be at risk. The authorisation must be written down and say exactly which part of the military will act, what work they'll do, and for how long. Affected workers and their union must be told, and Parliament must also be informed. Separately, the bill increases from 14 to 30 days the period the military can be authorised to cover striking public service workers. It also adds a rule that if Parliament is on a break when that authorisation would run out, it automatically continues until Parliament sits again.

This bill amends the Overseas Investment Act 2005, which controls when overseas people or companies need government approval (called 'consent') to buy sensitive New Zealand assets such as land or large businesses. The bill replaces some existing approval tests with a new 'national interest test' that works in up to three stages. First, a regulator does a quick risk check. If no risk is found, consent is granted quickly. If a risk is identified, a deeper assessment happens. Only if the regulator still has concerns is the application sent to a Minister to decide. The bill keeps existing rules for farm land, residential land, and fishing quota. It also removes some older approval tests for business assets and certain forestry land, replacing them with the national interest test. A Minister can issue a written letter directing the regulator on how to conduct these assessments. The Finance and Expenditure Committee recommended the bill pass with some amendments, though Labour and Green Party members recorded disagreement.

This bill makes the legal changes needed for New Zealand to formally activate the New Zealand–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a free trade deal signed in Abu Dhabi on 14 January 2025. It amends four pieces of legislation. First, it raises the overseas investment screening threshold for UAE private (non-government) investors from $100 million to $200 million for investments in certain service sectors listed in the agreement. Second, it allows Customs to certify that goods are made in New Zealand for the purposes of this deal. Third, it updates the Tariff — the official schedule of import taxes — to give UAE goods preferential (reduced or zero) duty rates, and to allow goods sent to the UAE for repair or alteration to come back into New Zealand duty-free. Fourth, it sets rules for deciding whether goods imported from the UAE actually count as coming from there, based on origin rules in the agreement. The bill comes into force on a date set by the Government once the deal officially takes effect.

Under the Companies Act 1993, directors of New Zealand companies must provide a residential address that goes onto the publicly searchable New Zealand Companies Register. This bill amends that Act to let a director apply to the Registrar of Companies to have their home address hidden from public view if they can show — through a formal sworn statement (a statutory declaration) — that publishing it is likely to cause physical or mental harm to themselves or someone they live with. Instead, a substitute 'alternative address' (such as a lawyer's or accountant's office) is shown publicly. The same protection automatically extends to a shareholder who is also the director, or a shareholder who lives with the director and agrees to it. Legal documents can still be served at the alternative address. The protection ends if the director stops being a director or asks for it to be removed.

This bill removes section 81 of the Broadcasting Act 1989, which currently bans television advertising on Sunday and Anzac Day mornings (between 6am and noon) and bans both television and radio advertising on Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. The government says these rules were introduced in 1989 to encourage non-commercial programming on those occasions, but that streaming and on-demand services — which are not covered by the same rules — have changed how people watch and listen. The bill aims to put traditional broadcasters (TV and radio stations) on an equal footing with online platforms. It comes into force the day after it receives Royal assent (formal approval to become law).

This bill amends the Resource Management Act 1991 in a wide range of ways. It sets a one-year deadline for processing resource consent applications for energy activities (solar, wind, hydro, etc.) and wood processing, with a possible extension to two years. It introduces a temporary pause — until 31 December 2027 — on most local councils notifying new planning changes or policy statements, with limited exemptions (such as Treaty settlements, natural hazards, and streamlined processes). Resource consents for renewable energy and long-lived infrastructure (like roads, pipelines, and electricity networks) will last 35 years by default. The bill also removes heritage protection from Gordon Wilson Flats in Wellington, allowing its demolition. New requirements are added for fishing rules in the coastal marine area, including protections for Māori customary non-commercial fishing rights. Changes are made to freshwater farm plan requirements, coastal permit durations, and enforcement powers.

This bill amends several existing laws to update the tools available to New Zealand law enforcement for investigating crime in a digital environment. It creates a new legal power called a 'preservation direction' — an instruction from the Police Commissioner to a person or company (such as an internet or phone provider) to stop them deleting specific digital data while police seek a court order (called a production order) to formally obtain it. Preservation directions last up to 20 days domestically, and up to 150 days (renewable) for foreign investigations. The bill also updates rules around surveillance device warrants and production orders, clarifies what counts as a 'document' to include computer data and telecommunications records, and introduces new offences for software designed to help commit crimes. Many changes align New Zealand's laws with the Budapest Convention, an international treaty on cybercrime cooperation.

Under the current Juries Act 1981, anyone aged 65 or over who is summoned for jury duty can apply to be excused, and the Registrar (the court official who manages jury lists) must grant that request — either for a single trial or permanently. This bill, introduced by National MP Carl Bates, raises that threshold from 65 to 72. People aged 65 to 71 would no longer have an automatic right to be excused based on age alone. The Justice Committee, which examined the bill, recommends it be passed with amendments adding transitional rules: the new age limit only applies to summonses issued on or after the day the law comes into force. Anyone summoned before that date can still use the existing 65-years rule. The bill's explanatory note says the change is expected to reduce the number of summonses the Ministry of Justice needs to send out, lowering costs and improving efficiency.

This bill adds a new system to New Zealand's transport law allowing 'time of use charging schemes' — road pricing zones where vehicle owners pay a fee when driving in a designated area during set times, aimed at improving traffic flow. Local councils can propose a scheme, or the government can direct one if no council acts within three years. Each scheme is overseen by a 'scheme board' made up of council and government transport agency (NZTA) representatives. A Minister approves schemes, which are formally set up by Order in Council (a type of government regulation). Revenue collected must be reinvested in local transport — roads, public transport, or active travel. Emergency vehicles and some public transport buses are exempt. Personal information collected for billing can only be used for that purpose. A government official (the Secretary) must monitor each scheme annually and report to the Minister. The bill also makes related changes to enforcement and infringement rules.

This bill amends the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017 to regulate 'ground-based space infrastructure' (GBSI) — equipment in New Zealand, at ground level, that can communicate with satellites or track objects in space. Under the new rules, anyone operating such equipment for these purposes must apply for an authorisation (a formal permission) from the responsible Minister. The Minister can decline if they believe it is not in New Zealand's national interest, including for national security reasons. Authorisation holders must maintain security arrangements and report regularly. Enforcement officers gain powers to inspect equipment and, in serious cases, disable it. If equipment poses an unmanageable risk, the Minister can order its sale or transfer; if that order is ignored, a court can transfer ownership to the Crown. Electricity and internet providers can also be directed to cut services to the equipment. Existing operators get an automatic transitional authorisation from 29 July 2025 until regulations are finalised, or until 29 July 2026 at the latest. The NZ Defence Force and intelligence agencies are exempt.

The Disputes Tribunal is an informal, low-cost body where everyday people can resolve money disputes without needing a lawyer. Currently the most you can claim there is $30,000. This bill raises that cap to $60,000, meaning disputes involving larger sums can still be handled through this cheaper process rather than through the District or High Court. The change applies across the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 and several other laws — including the Consumer Guarantees Act, Fair Trading Act, Fencing Act, and others — so those laws all refer to the new $60,000 limit. A new filing fee of $468 is introduced for claims between $30,001 and $60,000. A transitional rule prevents people who already cut their claim to fit the old $30,000 limit from simply refiling to claim the extra amount under the new higher limit.

This bill changes the Crimes Act 1961 to add new criminal offences targeting foreign interference — where a foreign government, directly or indirectly, tries to undermine New Zealand's interests through secret, deceptive, coercive, or corrupt actions. Two main new offences are created: engaging in improper conduct on behalf of a foreign power to harm a protected New Zealand interest (up to 14 years in prison), and committing any imprisonable offence on behalf of a foreign power to benefit it (up to 10 years). The Attorney-General must give consent before anyone can be prosecuted under these offences. The bill also fills gaps in existing treason, espionage, and inciting-mutiny laws, and expands who those laws apply to based on allegiance to New Zealand. Protests, strikes, and advocacy are explicitly protected. The bill also broadens the scope of laws about wrongful handling of government information. A judge — not a jury — will decide whether someone owes allegiance to New Zealand.

The bill amends the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to restrict how much exotic forestry can be registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) — the system where businesses and landowners trade carbon credits (called New Zealand Units, or NZUs). Landowners currently earn NZUs by registering exotic forests, creating a financial incentive to convert farmland to forestry. The bill introduces two main limits: first, a maximum of 25% of productive farmland (classified as Land Use Capability classes 1–6) on any individual farm can be registered as exotic forestry in the ETS; second, a national cap of 15,000 hectares per year applies to class 6 land, allocated by annual random ballot. Exemptions exist for certain Māori-owned land, erosion-prone land, unfarmed land, and Crown afforestation land. People who began investing in forestry conversion before 4 December 2024 may qualify for a transitional exemption if they meet specific conditions. The bill does not stop people from planting exotic trees — it only restricts registering them in the ETS for credits.