Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill
This bill creates a new crime called 'stalking and harassment' in New Zealand law. Right now, there is no law that specifically names stalking. The new offence means that if someone does two or more disturbing actions aimed at the same person within two years — like following them, contacting them repeatedly, or damaging their belongings — and knows this is likely to cause fear or distress, they could go to prison for up to five years. The bill also stops people convicted of this offence from owning firearms, and prevents accused stalkers from personally questioning their victims in court.
What this affects
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The bill creates a specific new crime of stalking and harassment, with a prison sentence of up to five years.
a person (person A) stalks and harasses another person (person B) if person A engages in a pattern of behaviour that is directed at person B by doing any specified act to person B on at least 2 separate occasions within a period of 2 years
A person (person A) who stalks and harasses another person (person B) commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years
Part 2 repealed — Repeal Part 2 [of the Harassment Act 1997, which contained the criminal harassment offence]
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Justice Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 12 February 2025.
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.