Proposed Changes to the Legislation Act 2012 And Interpretation Act 1999

The Legislation Bill proposes to rewrite and replace the Legislation Act 2012 and to update and re-enact the Interpretation Act 1999. It aims to improve public access to the law by making secondary legislation easier to find and access, and provide greater certainty to the public about their rights.

The bill would improve New Zealand’s legislative framework by:

• enacting legislative disclosure requirements which require agencies to disclose information about the development and key features of government-initiated legislation at the time of introduction

• absorbing the Interpretation Act 1999, with some technical improvements, so that all laws about the making and application of legislation are contained in one piece of legislation

• enabling easy access to legislation in New Zealand, and improve regulatory regimes, by expanding the content of the New Zealand Legislation website. This website is the authoritative source of official legislation and will include all secondary legislation, whether made by central Government or other government agencies (other than secondary legislation made by local authorities).

Parliament’s Justice Committee will now be considering the two bills. Committee chairperson Raymond Huo encourages people and organisations with views on the legislation to make a submission to the committee. “It’s important that we hear the public’s views on these bills so that we can make well-informed decisions about what, if any, changes that are necessary to improve them.”

Tell the Justice Committee what you think

Send your submission on the bill by midnight on 23 February 2018.

For more details about the bill:

• Read the full content of the bill

• Get more details about the bill

• What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

ENDS

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