Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill
This bill changes the rules for when overseas buyers need government approval to purchase certain New Zealand assets like land and businesses. It introduces a new faster two-step checking process. For most overseas investments, a regulator first does a quick risk check. Only deals that look risky get a deeper look, and only the most concerning ones go to a Minister to decide. The aim is to approve lower-risk deals more quickly while still protecting New Zealand's national interests.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it — with the parts of the text it’s based on.
The bill makes it faster and simpler for overseas investors to get approval to buy New Zealand businesses and land, as long as their deal is not seen as a risk to New Zealand's national interest.
The criterion for an overseas investment in significant business assets is that the national interest test is met.
A time frame for a decision under section 19A (which relates to initial national interest risk assessments) must not be more than 15 working days.
its purpose is to reduce the regulatory burden on overseas investors, while ensuring that the Government has the tools it needs to safeguard the national interest
Progress through Parliament
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 MPBill 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.