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Disputes Tribunal Amendment Bill

In short — Arapono’s summary

This bill doubles the maximum amount of money you can claim at the Disputes Tribunal — New Zealand's low-cost, no-lawyers court for everyday disputes — from $30,000 to $60,000. This means more people with bigger disputes (for example, over faulty goods, contracts, or fencing) can use the cheaper, simpler Tribunal instead of having to go to a more expensive court. The higher fee category for filing a claim is also updated to match the new limit.

What this affects

Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it — with the parts of the text it’s based on.

People can now take disputes over amounts up to $60,000 to the low-cost Disputes Tribunal, rather than having to use more expensive courts.

From the bill

In section 10(1A)(b), replace '$30,000' with '$60,000'.

In section 14, replace '$30,000' with '$60,000'.

In section 47(4), replace '$30,000' with '$60,000'. [Consumer Guarantees Act]

In section 36B(2), replace '$30,000' with '$60,000'. [Fair Trading Act]

Where parties stand on Economy

Progress through Parliament

Introduced

First Reading

Select Committee

Second Reading

Committee of the whole House● Current stage

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Have your say

Submissions open once a bill reaches the select committee stage. In the meantime, you can write to your local MP about it.

Write to your MP

View the official bill on legislation.govt.nz

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.