Public Finance (Fines Collection Costs—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill
When councils or other organisations take someone to court and that person is fined, the government collects the money and takes a cut to cover its costs. Right now the government keeps 10% of that fine money. This bill raises that cut to 14%, starting 1 July 2024. The change only applies to fines handed down on or after that date. It means councils and similar organisations will receive a slightly smaller share of any fines collected on their behalf.
What this affects
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The government will keep a bigger slice of fine money it collects on behalf of councils and other organisations, to better cover its own costs.
increase from 10% to 14% the percentage the Crown retains (as fines collection costs) from amounts of fines recovered for offences prosecuted by or on behalf of local authorities or other organisations
The increase to 14% is based on the comparable proportion charged by private debt collectors
it is appropriate that some costs are recovered from the local authorities and other organisations that benefit from using the Crown's collection services
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
Submissions open once a bill reaches the select committee stage and the committee calls for them. In the meantime, you can write to your local MP about it.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.