Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill
This bill would make it compulsory for every child under 15 to wear a life jacket whenever they are on a small recreational boat (6 metres or shorter in hull length). Currently, whether someone wears a life jacket on a small boat is largely up to the person in charge of the boat. Adults on these small boats would still need to have a life jacket available to them, but would not be required to wear it. The bill applies to all New Zealand waters.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it — with the parts of the text it’s based on.
Children under 15 on small recreational boats would be required by law to wear a life jacket at all times while on the water
No person in charge of a recreational craft of 6 m or less in waterline length may use it unless, at the time of use, each person on board under the age of 15 years wears a life jacket in a size appropriate for him or her
Analysis of boating accidents shows that capsizes and other events are often unexpected, and boat users have little or no opportunity to put on their life jackets
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.