Fair Trading Amendment Bill
This bill updates New Zealand's main consumer protection law. It changes how breaches are dealt with — moving most cases from criminal to civil court processes, which means fewer criminal prosecutions and more fines paid directly to the Crown. It raises the maximum penalties businesses can face for misleading or unfair conduct. It also lets internet and phone companies legally block suspected scams without being sued for doing so. And it makes it easier to update product safety rules without going through Parliament every time.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it, and the parts of the text that show it.
Businesses that mislead or cheat customers now face much higher fines, and the process for taking them to court is changing from criminal to civil.
The maximum amount of a pecuniary penalty for a contravention, or involvement in a contravention, of a tier 1 civil liability provision is the greatest of… 3 times the amount of the gain made, or the loss avoided… $1 million in the case of a contravention… by an individual, or $5 million in any other case.
The Bill modernises the Act's enforcement and remedies framework by shifting most breaches from a primarily criminal enforcement model to a civil liability regime.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 15 July 2026.
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.