How it works – New Zealand Legislation

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The website also provides <a href="/glossary.aspx#ap">Amendment Papers</a> (APs, a type of proposed amendment to a Bill). All in-force legislation is provided, and all current Bills and Amendment Papers, as well as <a href="#versions">earlier versions</a>. </p> <p>Secondary legislation drafted by agencies other than the Parliamentary Counsel Office is not on this website. See <a href="#whatnotonsite">What is not on this website</a>, and <a href="http://www.pco.govt.nz/legislation-drafted-and-published-by-pco/">Legislation drafted and published by PCO</a> on the Parliamentary Counsel Office website. </p> <p>This website links to some secondary legislation drafted by other agencies through the Other Instruments collection—see <a href="#oi">Other Instruments</a> below.</p> <p>If an Act or secondary legislation has been amended, it is shown with the amendments incorporated—so the website provides up-to-date legislation. (See <a href="#uptodate">How up to date is this website?</a>). Amendment legislation is also available—see <a href="#amendmentleg">Amendment legislation</a> below.</p> <p><strong>Acts</strong> include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#publicact">public Acts</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#localact">local Acts</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#privateact">private Acts</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#imperialact">imperial Acts</a> in force in New Zealand</li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#provincialact">provincial Acts and provincial Ordinances</a> in force in New Zealand.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Bills</strong> include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#govtbill">Government Bills</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#membersbill">Members' Bills</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#localbill">Local Bills</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx#privatebill">Private Bills</a>.</li> </ul> <p><strong><a href="/glossary.aspx#sl">Secondary legislation</a></strong> can include Orders in Council, regulations, rules, notices, determinations, proclamations, or warrants. Earlier terms used were <a href="/glossary.aspx#li">Legislative Instruments</a> and <a href="/glossary.aspx#sr">Statutory Regulations</a>. The website’s secondary legislation collection also includes <a href="/glossary.aspx#imperialreg">imperial subordinate legislation</a> in force in New Zealand.</p> <h6><a name="amendmentleg" id="amendmentleg"></a>Amendment legislation</h6> <p><a href="/glossary.aspx#amendments">Amendment</a> legislation is provided in full from 2008 onwards. Amendment legislation from 1997 to 2007 may be provided, but may have the text of the amendments removed as the amendments have been incorporated in the principal legislation. In general, amendment legislation before 1997 is not provided. </p> <p>See <a href="/searchandbrowse.aspx#searchtips">Search tips</a> for finding amendment legislation.</p> <h6><a name="versions" id="versions"></a>Earlier versions</h6> <p> Earlier versions of Acts, secondary legislation, and Bills are retained on the website so you can view the law that was in force at a particular time (or view earlier Bills or their versions that are no longer current). Look under a document's <em>Versions</em> tab. However, versions from before 4 September 2007 are not provided.</p> <h6><a name="repealed" id="repealed"></a>Repealed and revoked legislation</h6> <p> Acts <a href="/glossary.aspx#repealed">repealed</a> and secondary legislation <a href="/glossary.aspx#revoked">revoked</a> since 4 September 2007 are available on this website. (See below for minor <a href="#exceptions">exceptions</a>.) Legislation repealed or revoked before 4 September 2007 is not generally available, with certain exceptions (such as portions of the revoked Building Regulations 1992—particularly the <a href="/regulation/public/1992/0150/latest/whole.html#DLM162576">Building Code</a>, which is still in force).</p> <p>See <a href="/searchandbrowse.aspx#searchtips">Search tips</a> for finding repealed and revoked legislation.</p> <p>See also <a href="#otherlegislation">Where else is legislation available from?</a> In particular, earlier (repealed) Acts are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/">New Zealand Acts 1841–2007 As-Enacted Collection</a> and earlier (revoked) Statutory Regulations are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/num_reg/">New Zealand Statutory Regulations 1936–2007 As-Made Collection</a>.</p> <h6><a name="bills" id="bills"></a>Bills and Amendment Papers</h6> <p>Bills published after 1 January 2008 are available through this website.</p> <p>See <a href="/searchandbrowse.aspx#searchtips">Search tips</a> for finding Bills that are no longer current (enacted and terminated Bills). Earlier Bills are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_bill/">New Zealand Historical Bills 1854–2008 Collection</a>.</p> <p>All Amendment Papers (APs) are available through this website. Before 8 December 2023, Amendment Papers were known as Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs). Supplementary Order Papers published after 1 January 2008 are available through this website. </p> <p>Amendment Papers (and Supplementary Order Papers) are located under the <em>Versions and APs</em> tab of their related Bill. Earlier Supplementary Order Papers are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_sop/">New Zealand Historical Supplementary Order Papers Collection</a>.</p> <h6><a name="oi" id="oi"></a>Other Instruments</h6> <p>This website links to some secondary legislation drafted by other agencies through the <a href="/glossary.aspx#oi">Other Instruments</a> collection. The actual documents are not hosted on this website. This collection is not complete and is only updated according to the information we receive from the agencies responsible for administering the legislation. If you have any questions about this secondary legislation, please contact the agency responsible for administering it. </p> <h6><a name="exceptions" id="exceptions"></a>Exceptions: Customs legislation </h6> <p> Schedule 3 (Excise and excise-equivalent duties) of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 and Schedule 1 (The Tariff) of the Tariff Act 1988, both now repealed, are not available on this website; however, the Tariff and the Excise and Excise-equivalent Duties Table are available in up-to-date form on the <a href="https://www.customs.govt.nz/">New Zealand Customs Service website</a>.</p> <p>Schedule 3 (Thai goods containing non-originating materials) and Schedule 7 (Product-specific rules of origin for Australian goods) of the Customs and Excise Regulations 1996, both now revoked, are not available on this website. Please contact the <a href="https://www.customs.govt.nz/">New Zealand Customs Service</a> for these documents.</p> <h2><a name="whatnotonsite"></a>What is not on this website </h2> <p>Secondary Legislation not drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel Office is not published on this website. See <a href="#otherlegislation">Where else is legislation available from?</a>, and <a href="http://www.pco.govt.nz/legislation-drafted-and-published-by-pco/">Legislation drafted and published by PCO</a> on the Parliamentary Counsel Office website.</p> <p>See above for what <a href="#amendmentleg">amendment legislation</a>, <a href="#repealed">repealed and revoked legislation</a>, and <a href="#bills">Bills and the earlier Supplementary Order Papers</a> are not on this website, and <a href="#exceptions">exceptions</a> to what is otherwise available. In addition, the following sources of law are not available on this website:</p> <ul><li> decisions of courts</li> <li> international treaties and conventions (unless the text is set out in an Act or secondary legislation)</li> <li> local authority secondary legislation, including bylaws.</li> </ul> <h2><a name="status"></a>Status of legislation on this website: what is official </h2> <p>Versions of Acts and secondary legislation that display the New Zealand Coat of Arms on their front page are <a href="/glossary.aspx#official">official</a>.</p> <p>If the New Zealand Coat of Arms is not displayed, the version is not official.</p> <p> Note that some official versions do not display the New Zealand Coat of Arms on their contents page when viewed under the <em>By sections</em> or <em>By clauses</em> tab. Provided that the New Zealand Coat of Arms is displayed under the <em>View whole</em> tab, the version is official. If a <a href="/glossary.aspx#pdf">PDF</a> version is official, the corresponding <a href="/glossary.aspx#html">HTML</a> versions (<em>View whole</em> and <em>By section/clause</em>) will also be official, and vice versa.</p> <p>The following documents are official:</p> <ul> <li>every Act and all secondary legislation enacted or made since 2008</li> <li>every consolidation (subsequent version) of those Acts and that secondary legislation</li> <li>the latest version of all principal Acts and secondary legislation enacted or made between 1931 and 2007, if still in force (and in some cases, even if no longer in force)</li> <li>some earlier consolidations of those 1931–2007 Acts and that secondary legislation</li> <li>the latest versions of some pre-1931 Acts, eg Judicature Act 1908 and Sale of Goods Act 1908</li> <li>some earlier consolidations of those pre-1931 Acts.</li> </ul> <p>A printout of official legislation, whether self-printed or a commercial print ordered through this website, is official. “Traditional” printed legislation published under the authority of the New Zealand Government (which may say it was issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2019 or corresponding former Act) is also official.</p> <p>In rare cases there may be formatting differences in official legislation between a PDF and its HTML versions.</p> <p>Website aids provided within legislation, such as links between and within legislation, alt text (brief summaries provided for graphics within HTML documents, intended for screen reading technology), and table summaries (which describe the structure of the table, intended for screen reading technology), do not form part of the legislation, have no legal effect, are provided for information only, and should not be relied upon as authoritative.</p> <h2><a name="uptodate"></a>How up to date is this website? </h2> <p>The date and time that the website was last updated is shown on the <a href="/default.aspx">homepage</a>.</p> <p>We aim to make legislation available on this website according to the following timeframes (or earlier where possible):</p> <ul> <li>new Acts: within five working days of Royal assent</li> <li>new secondary legislation: the day after the date it was notified in the <em>Gazette</em></li> <li>Bills: <ul> <li>new Bills introduced into the House: the day after introduction</li> <li>subsequent versions: the day after the printed version is made available to the House</li> </ul> </li> <li>Amendment Papers: the day after they have been circulated to Members of Parliament.</li> </ul> <p>New Acts, Bills, and Amendment Papers are made publicly available only after we receive notification to publish from Parliament.</p> <p>Links in the Other Instruments may not be up to date. They are based on information received from the agencies that administer them. </p> <p>You can track newly published legislation using our web feeds. See <a href="#webfeeds">Keeping up to date with the law—web feeds</a>.</p> <h6>Up-to-date versions with amendments incorporated </h6> <p>Legislation on this website has amendments incorporated to provide a snapshot of the law as it currently stands. Amendments are added as soon as possible after they come into force, but not before. We aim to incorporate amendments within 15 working days after the amendment comes into force.</p> <p>All Acts and secondary legislation state when amendments were last incorporated (the "as at" date). If an amendment has been enacted/made, but not yet incorporated into the principal legislation, an alert message will appear on that principal legislation. We aim to make this alert message available on the website within five working days of the publication of the amendment on the website.</p> <p>Our ability to meet these timeframes may be affected from time to time by the number or complexity of amendments.</p> <h2><a name="inforce"></a>What Acts and secondary legislation are in force</h2> <p>In general, legislation on this website is in force unless noted otherwise. If the legislation has been repealed or revoked, or if the entire document is not yet in force, there will be a note at the top of the document stating this.</p> <p><strong>However, if some provisions of an Act or secondary legislation are in force and others are not, this may not be noted.</strong> You may need to check the commencement provisions. See also <a href="#uptodate">How up to date is this website?</a> </p> <p>If amendments to an Act or secondary legislation are not yet in force, they will not have been incorporated in the principal enactment. If amendments have not yet been incorporated, whether they are in force or not, there will be an alert message noting this. A link to the amendments that have not yet been incorporated will appear under the <em>Versions and amendments</em> tab.</p> <h6>Finding when an Act comes into force</h6> <p> An Act passed since 1 January 2000 has a section that states when it comes into force (commencement), usually in section 2. Acts passed before this date may contain a specific commencement section, usually as section 1(2).</p> <p>Acts can be brought into force in various ways. The most common are:</p> <ul> <li> on a specific date</li> <li> on, or the day after, the date on which it receives <strong>assent</strong> (<a href="/glossary.aspx#assent">Royal assent</a>)</li> <li> on a date to be appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council, in which case the date will be published in a <strong>commencement order</strong> (found on this website under secondary legislation—<a href="#commencementorders">see below</a>)</li> <li> after a specified period (for example, one month after assent).</li> </ul> <p>Sometimes different sections of an Act come into force at different times.</p> <p>The date of <strong>assent</strong> appears on the Act's contents page.</p> <p>If an Act does not state when it comes into force, it comes into force on the day after the date of assent (in accordance with <a href="/act/public/2019/0058/latest/DLM7298272.html">section 25(2) of the Legislation Act 2019</a>, for Acts passed after 1 November 1999) or on the date of assent (in accordance with section 10A(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924, for earlier Acts).</p> <p><a name="commencementorders" id="commencementorders"></a><strong>Finding commencement orders:</strong> You can find commencement orders under secondary legislation. The title of a commencement order usually starts with the title of the Act being brought into force, and usually includes the word "Commencement". Commencement orders made from 2013 onwards can be found using <em>Quick search</em>, as they are classed as principal secondary legislation. Earlier commencement orders were classed as amendment secondary legislation—so to find them, use <em>Advanced search</em> (select <em>Amendment secondary legislation in force</em>) or <em>Browse</em> (select <em>Include amendment secondary legislation</em>), not <em>Quick search</em>. </p> <p>When a commencement order is made, it is noted under the commencement section of the Act to which it relates. </p> <h6>Finding when secondary legislation comes into force</h6> <p> Secondary legislation may come into force at different times. The most common are:</p> <ul> <li>on a specific date</li> <li>after a specified period (for example, on the 28th day after the date of its notification in the <a href="/glossary.aspx#gazette"><em>Gazette</em></a>)</li> <li>on, or the day after, its notification in the <em>Gazette</em>.</li> </ul> <p>Sometimes different clauses of secondary legislation come into force at different times.</p> <p>Secondary legislation will usually contain a specific provision after the title clause stating when it comes into force.</p> <p>The date of its notification in the <em>Gazette</em> is stated at the very end of the secondary legislation. From its contents page, follow the <em>Administrative information</em> or <em>Gazette information</em> link.</p> <p>If secondary legislation does not state when it comes into force, it comes into force on the day after it was published or first made available (in accordance with <a href="/act/public/2019/0058/latest/DLM7298273.html">section 26 of the Legislation Act 2019</a>, for secondary legislation made after 1 November 1999) or on the date on which it was made (for secondary legislation made before 1 November 1999).</p> <h2><a name="otherlegislation"></a>Where else is legislation available from? </h2> <p>See the Parliamentary Counsel Office website for other sources of <a href="http://www.pco.govt.nz/online-legislation/">online legislation</a>. In particular:</p> <ul> <li>Acts enacted before 2008 (including repealed Acts) are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/">New Zealand Acts 1841–2007 As Enacted Collection</a></li> <li>Secondary legislation drafted by agencies other than the Parliamentary Counsel Office is usually available on the agency’s website, or from the <a href="http://gazette.govt.nz/"><em>New Zealand Gazette</em></a></li> <li>Statutory Regulations made before 2008 (including revoked Statutory Regulations) are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/num_reg/">New Zealand Statutory Regulations 1936–2007 As-Made Collection</a></li> <li> Bills published before 2008 are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_bill/">New Zealand Historical Bills 1854–2008 Collection</a></li> <li>Supplementary Order Papers published before 2008 are available from the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_sop/">New Zealand Historical Supplementary Order Papers Collection</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Secondary Legislation not drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel Office is not published on this website. To find secondary legislation published somewhere else, it may help to find the <a href="/glossary.aspx#empact">empowering Act</a> and then contact the Act's administering agency (identified at the top of the screen, under the Act name) for help. But in many cases the regulator or other body with regulatory functions can make and publish secondary legislation under an Act. Find the relevant empowering provision within the Act, and check its <a href="/glossary.aspx#pn">publications note</a> to find who can make secondary legislation under it and how they must publish it. You can then contact that agency or body if you need to know more. For what the Parliamentary Counsel Office does and does not draft, see <a href="http://www.pco.govt.nz/legislation-drafted-and-published-by-pco/">Legislation drafted and published by PCO</a>.</p> <p>All legislation on the New Zealand Legislation website is also available in XML format, through <a href="https://catalogue.data.govt.nz/dataset/new-zealand-legislation">data.govt.nz</a>. </p> <p>Commercially printed legislation is available <a href="/saveandprint.aspx#buyprints">through this website</a> and may be available from some public libraries.</p> <h2><a name="coatofarms"></a>Why do only some Acts and secondary legislation show the New Zealand Coat of Arms? </h2> <p>Acts and secondary legislation may show the New Zealand Coat of Arms at the start of the document under the <em>View whole</em> tab, on their contents page (if published or consolidated after 11 April 2015), and on their PDF. These documents are <a href="/glossary.aspx#official">official</a>. See <a href="#status">Status of legislation on this website: what is official</a>. </p> <h2><a name="format"></a>Why does the format of some documents vary?</h2> <p>Documents published (or republished/consolidated) after 11 April 2015 have a slightly different format from documents published earlier. Some of the differences are:</p> <ul> <li> How amendments are shown in amending legislation: in the new format, blocks of text in amending legislation that is to be inserted into other legislation is shaded, instead of having quotation marks around them.</li> <li>Page size: PDFs in the new format have more text on the page, with slightly smaller white margins around the text, because they are designed to fit better onto an A4 page.</li> <li>Spacing: on contents pages and elsewhere, there is more space between lines of text in the new format.</li> <li>“Continued lines” in PDFs: in the new format, “continued” lines at the top of pages in schedules are only used in schedules of consequential amendments.</li> <li>Revision tracking in Bills: if a Bill uses revision tracking (or track change markup), in the new format this is reflected in the table of contents as well as in the text. </li> </ul> <h2><a name="shading"></a>Why is some text shaded? </h2> <p>Shaded text indicates a block of text that is to be incorporated into another document. It is used in amending legislation published after 11 April 2015. Legislation published before this date uses quotation marks instead.</p> <p>If you print legislation in HTML format that includes shaded text, on your printout the shading may be replaced by a grey outline. This will depend on your browser print settings. If you wish to print the shading, set your browser to print background images.</p> <p>If you print legislation in PDF format that includes shaded text, the shading will be printed. You may want to adjust your printer settings if it appears too dark or too light.</p> <h2><a name="webfeeds"></a>Keeping up to date with the law—web feeds </h2> <p>Web feeds (or RSS feeds) are available to help keep you up to date with changes to the law. After you subscribe to a feed your feed reader automatically checks the feed and displays whatever is new in one place without you having to revisit the website. You can subscribe to ready-made feeds, or set up custom feeds from Acts, Bills, or secondary legislation, or any title search or browse. See <a href="/aboutwebfeeds.aspx">About web feeds</a> for more information.</p> <p>You may also find <a href="http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/Alerts/">Alerts on the Parliament website</a> helpful, particularly if you want to keep up to date with Bills and Amendment Papers.</p> <h2><a name="moreinfo"></a>If you need more information</h2> <h6>About the interpretation or operation of legislation </h6> <p>If you need more information about legislation, you should know that the Parliamentary Counsel Office does not give advice to the public about the interpretation or operation of legislation. Instead, you can contact the government agency that administers the legislation. The administering agency is shown at the top of an Act. In secondary legislation the name appears either at the start or end of the document. For secondary legislation drafted by other agencies, including legislation found through the Other Instruments collection, contact the agency that administers the legislation. See also <a href="/contact.aspx#contactagency">Contacting government agencies</a> and <a href="/contact.aspx#whoelse">Who else may be able to help</a>. </p> <h6><a name="comment" id="comment"></a>If you want to comment on a Bill or on an Act or secondary legislation</h6> <p>If you want to have a say in relation to Parliament, see <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/">Get involved</a> on Parliament's website. A select committee will often seek comments from the public on a Bill that is before it. For a list of those Bills and how to make a submission, see <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/">Make a submission</a>.</p> <p>If you wish to comment on an Act or secondary legislation, you could contact the agency that administers the legislation. The administering agency is shown at the top of an Act. In secondary legislation the name appears either at the start or end of the document. See also <a href="/contact.aspx#contactagency">Contacting government agencies</a>.</p> <h6>About this website</h6> <p>If you need help using this website, please <a href="/contact.aspx#contactpco">Contact us</a>.</p> </div>  <div class="contentMenu"> <ul> <li><a href="/about.aspx">About this site</a></li> <li><a href="/news.aspx">News</a></li> <li class="selected"><a href="/howitworks.aspx">How the site works</a></li> <li><a href="/searchandbrowse.aspx">How to search and browse</a></li> <li><a href="/saveandprint.aspx">How to save and print</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/aboutlegislation.aspx">About legislation</a></li> <li><a href="/aboutwebfeeds.aspx">About web feeds</a></li> <li><a href="/searchhelp.aspx">Search help</a></li> <li><a href="/sitemap.aspx">Site map</a></li> <li><a href="/contact.aspx">Contact us</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="contentFooter"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="firstLevel"> <ul> <li class="pco"> <a href="https://www.pco.govt.nz/" title="The Parliamentary Counsel Office">The Parliamentary Counsel Office</a> </li> <li class="nzgovernment"> <a href="https://www.govt.nz/" title="www.govt.nz - connecting you to New Zealand central & local government services">www.govt.nz</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="secondLevel"> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/searchadvanced.aspx">Advanced search</a></li> <li><a href="/browse.aspx">Browse</a></li> <li><a href="/about.aspx">About this site</a></li> <li><a href="/contact.aspx">Contact us</a></li> <li><a href="/news.aspx">News</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="thirdLevel"> <ul> <li><a href="/sitemap.aspx">Site map</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.aspx">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/about.aspx#accessibility">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/about.aspx#copyright">Copyright</a></li> <li><a href="/about.aspx#privacy">Privacy</a></li> <li><a href="/about.aspx#disclaimer">Disclaimer</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/script.min.js"></script> </body> </html>

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