Aviation Law

Civil Aviation Bill 2021 (No 61-1)

This Bill seeks to repeal and replace the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Airport Authorities Act 1966 with a single, modern statute that will provide a platform for safety, security, and economic regulation of civil aviation now and well into the future. The Bill was referred to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.

Building and Construction

Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Bill 2021 (No 45-2)

This Bill seeks to amend the Construction Contracts Act 2002 to strengthen and clarify the retention money regime in the Act.

Commercial

Commerce Amendment Bill 2021 (No 9-2)

This Bill seeks to amend the Commerce Act 1986 so it can better fulfil its purpose of promoting competition. In particular, the Bill would strengthen the prohibition against misuse of market power in s 36 of the Act. It would also make other changes to improve the way the Act works. The Bill has been reported back by the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee with unanimous amendments.

Retail Payment System Bill 2021 (No 80-1)

This Bill seeks to introduce a regulatory regime to ensure that the retail payment system delivers long-term benefits to consumers (including businesses) and merchants. In the November 2020 Speech from the Throne, the Government made a commitment to regulate merchant service fees charged to retailers to bring them into line with overseas fees. Merchant service fees are fees payable by merchants to their acquirer, normally the merchant’s bank, for processing certain types of card payments, including credit or debit cards, whether they involve a swiped, inserted, contactless, or online payment. The Commerce Commission will be the regulator of this new regime and will have a package of regulatory tools to allow it to achieve the purpose of the regime. The Bill was referred to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee.

Criminal

Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Bill 2021 (No 106-1)

The single broad policy implemented by the amendments in this omnibus Bill is to improve public safety by preventing people whose behaviour and actions represent a high risk of violence, or reflect an underlying risk of violence, from being able to access firearms or restricted weapons.

Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Act 2021

This Act changes the formal finding of the court to provide victims with the acknowledgment that the offender was proven to have acted grievously, even if they lacked the intent to be guilty of the action.

Sexual Violence Legislation Act 2021

This Act amends the Evidence Act 2006, Victims’ Rights Act 2002, and Criminal Procedure Act 2011 to reduce the retraumatisation victims of sexual violence may experience when they attend court and give evidence.

Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill 2021 (No 79-1)

The policy implemented by this omnibus Bill is the repeal of the elements of the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 that collectively create what is commonly known as the three strikes law.

Employment

Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill 2020 (No 294-2)

This Bill will replace the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. It seeks to clarify the definition of “serious wrongdoing”, enable people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time, strengthen protections for disclosers, and clarify the internal procedure requirements for public sector organisations and the potential forms of adverse conduct disclosers may face.

Family

Child Support Amendment Act 2021

This Act amends the Child Support Act 1991 by simplifying penalty rules, introducing payment of financial support by compulsory deduction, imposing a time bar of four years, and inserting a wider definition of income. Most of the provisions have now been brought into force, the outstanding ones (as at 17 January 2022) are ss 4(1) and (3), 8–10, 12–17 and 58, which will come into force on 1 April 2022, unless brought in earlier by an order in council. They relate to liability to pay child support under a formula assessment (amendments to pt 1 of the principal Act) and the amount of child support payable under formula assessment made by the Commissioner (amendments to pt 2 of the principal).

Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Act 2021

This Act amends the Care of Children Act 2004 and the Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013 to assist in enhancing child wellbeing in care-of-children proceedings, both directly and by assisting parents to resolve parenting disputes. It comes into force on 16 August 2023 unless brought into force earlier by order in council.

Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill 2021 (No 72-1) (Member’s Bill)

This Bill seeks to simplify surrogacy arrangements, ensure completeness of information recorded on birth certificates, and provide a mechanism for the enforcement of surrogacy arrangements.

Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Act 2021

The intention of this Act is to improve the protection of individual rights and the safety of patients and the public, and to enable a more effective application of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. This includes eliminating indefinite treatment orders, for instance, and removing the sunset date for technical amendments and audiovisual link amendments made by the COVID-19 Response (Further Management Measures) Legislation Act 2020. The Act is now in force except for ss 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12, which will come in force on 29 October 2023 unless brought in force earlier by order in council.

Oranga Tamariki Amendment Bill 2021 (No 95–1)

This Bill seeks to amend the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 by partially repealing the subsequent-child provisions, repealing a redundant information-sharing provision, and amending technical errors and ambiguities. It had its first reading on 14 December 2021 and public submissions on it to the select committee close on 20 February 2022.

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People's Commission Bill 2021 (No 94-1)  

This is an omnibus Bill that seeks to provide for independent monitoring and complaints oversight for Oranga Tamariki, and greater advocacy for children's and young people's issues generally through the creation of a new Children and Young People's Commission. It had its first reading on 16 November 2021 and submissions to the select committee closed on 26 January 2022.

Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Act 2021

This Act changes the formal finding of the court to provide victims with the acknowledgment that the offender was proven to have acted grievously, even if they lacked the intent to be guilty of the action. Amongst other legislation, it amends the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003. It was assented on 13 December 2021 and comes into force a year later, on 13 December 2022.

Financial Markets

Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021

This Act introduces a new mandatory climate-related disclosures regime for climate reporting entities. The Act inserts a new pt 7A into the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA) and makes consequential amendments to the FMCA and associated amendments to the Financial Reporting Act 2013 and Public Audit Act 2001. An overview of the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 is available in Financial Markets Law here.

Fisheries

Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill 2020 (No 322-1)

This Bill seeks to amend the parent Act with the same name. The objective of this Bill is to improve the allocation and transfer process provided in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 to better enable the allocation and transfer of aquaculture settlement assets to iwi.

Human Rights

Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill 2021 (No 28-1) (Member's Bill)

This Bill seeks to amend the Human Rights Act 1993 to include a definition of disability assist dog and thus makes it clear that if any individual, organisation or business discriminates against a person, for example by denying a service to that person, on the basis that the person has or uses a disability assist dog, then they are in fact denying the service to a person on the basis of their disability, and therefore discriminating against them.

New Zealand Bill of Rights (Declarations of Inconsistency) Amendment Bill 2020 (No 230-2)

This Bill seeks to provide a mechanism for the Executive and the House of Representatives to consider, and, if they think fit, respond to a declaration of inconsistency between the NZBORA and the Human Rights Act 1993.

Intellectual Property Law

Plant Variety Rights Bill 2021 (No 35-2)

This Bill seeks to replace the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 (the PVR Act 1987). The PVR Act 1987 is now over 30 years old and has not kept up with changes in the plant breeding industry. The Bill seeks to modernise the regime and implement (i) the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi in relation to the plant variety rights (PVR) regime; and (ii) New Zealand’s obligations under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the CPTPP) in relation to the 1991 version of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 91). The Bill has been reported back by the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee with unanimous amendments.

Local Government

Emergency Management Bill (yet to be introduced)

This Bill will replace the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. The aim of the Bill is to provide greater collaboration, consistency, capability and clearer lines of authority to better support local, regional and national emergency management practice. The Bill is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives in mid-2022.

Personal Grievances

COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Act 2021

This Act seeks to better reflect our knowledge of how long the public health response may be necessary, to address the reliance of MIQ on the general law and operational decisions, and to ensure that the empowering and enforcement provisions are fit-for-purpose to prevent and manage the risk of outbreak or spread of COVID-19.

Personal Injury

Accident Compensation (Maternal Birth Injury and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2021 (No 103-1)

The main objectives of this Bill is to provide more equitable coverage for injuries covered by the Accident Compensation Scheme, and to provide greater clarity for claimants and to better give effect to the policy intent of the Accident Compensation Act 2001.

Transport

Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill 2021 (No 62-2)

This omnibus Bill aims to achieve a rapid reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from light vehicles imported into New Zealand by increasing the supply and variety of zero- and low-emissions vehicles, increasing the demand for zero- and low-emissions vehicles, and informing New Zealanders about vehicle emissions levels and rebates receivable or charges payable in relation to light vehicles.

Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill 2020 (No 317-1)

This Bill seeks to establish a new random roadside oral fluid testing regime. It amends several sections of the Land Transport Act 1998. This Bill proposes that drivers who fail two consecutive oral fluid tests would incur an infringement penalty, aligned to the drink driving infringement penalty.