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Frequently asked questions

Questions are grouped under five headings:

If you have a question that cannot be answered from the information provided below, please contact us.

About the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO)

What does the PCO do?
Does the PCO give advice about the interpretation or operation of legislation?
How do I find out about jobs at the PCO?
Where can I find the PCO Annual Reports and Statements of Intent?

The terminology

What are Acts, Bills, regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs)?
What is a reprint?
What are deemed regulations?

Finding out about legislation—Acts and regulations

How do I find a particular Act or set of regulations?
How do I find out what Acts or regulations are in force?
Which versions of legislation are official?
How do I find legislation relating to a particular topic?
How do I get help with understanding or applying a particular Act or set of regulations?
How do I find out which agency administers a particular Act or set of regulations?
How do I find out which Minister is responsible for a particular Act or set of regulations?
How do I find repealed or revoked legislation?
How do I find out whether regulations have been made under an Act?
How do I find out when regulations come into force?
How do I get a copy of a reprinted Act or set of regulations?
When does a new Act or set of regulations become available?

Legislation in the making—Bills and Supplementary Order Papers, and regulations before they are made

How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper?
How does a Bill become law?
How do regulations become law?
At which stage of the legislative process may I make a contribution?
How do I find out whether a Bill or any regulations are being drafted?
How do I find out what stage a Bill is at in the House of Representatives?
How do I find an explanatory note for a Bill?
How do I get a copy of a select committee's report on a Bill?
How do I find a departmental report on a Bill?
How do I find submissions to a select committee on a Bill?
How do I find parliamentary speeches on a Bill?

Parliament

How do I contact my MP or a Minister?
What is the difference between Parliament and the House of Representatives?
How do I found out more about Parliament?

About the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO)

What does the PCO do?

The PCO is New Zealand's law drafting office. It is responsible for

For more information, see Role of the PCO.

Does the PCO give advice about the interpretation or operation of legislation?

The PCO does not give advice to the public about the interpretation or operation of legislation. See How do I get help with understanding or applying a particular Act or set of regulations?.

How do I find out about jobs at the PCO?

All vacancies are advertised on the PCO homepage and on jobs.govt.nz. Vacancies are also advertised in the Wellington daily newspaper, and legal vacancies are advertised in LawTalk (published twice a month by the New Zealand Law Society). Information about working as a drafter at the PCO may be found under Careers.

Where can I find the PCO Annual Reports and Statements of Intent?

These documents are available under Corporate publications.

The terminology

What are Acts, Bills, regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs)?

See also Types of legislation.

Acts (Acts of Parliament, also called "statutes") are laws made by Parliament. Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Sovereign (the Queen), who acts through her representative in New Zealand, the Governor-General. See also How do I find a particular Act or set of regulations?

Bills are proposed Acts. A member of Parliament introduces a Bill into the House of Representatives. If the House of Representatives passes the Bill, it is assented to (signed) by the Governor-General, and becomes an Act. See Types of Bill on the New Zealand Parliament website. See also How does a Bill become law? and How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper (SOP)?

Regulations (also called Statutory Regulations) generally consist of laws made by the Governor-General, Ministers of the Crown, and certain other bodies under powers conferred by an Act of Parliament. Regulations generally deal with matters of detail or administration, or matters that are subject to frequent change (for example, forms, fees, administrative procedures). Regulations may also be known as Orders in Council, rules, notices, proclamations, or warrants. See also Types of legislation, How do regulations become law?, and How do I find a particular Act or set of regulations? These kinds of details may also be covered in rules, codes, or other legislative instruments that are not, technically regulations. These are often deemed regulations.

SOPs are published documents that set out proposed amendments to a Bill. See also How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper (SOP)?

What is a reprint?

A reprint is a printed copy of an Act or set of regulations that incorporates all amendments made to it as at the date of the publication of the reprint.

More information about reprints. See also How do I get a copy of a reprinted Act or set of regulations?

What are deemed regulations?

"Deemed regulations" is used here to mean instruments that are treated as regulations for the purposes of the Regulations (Disallowance) Act 1989, but are not drafted by the PCO or published in the Statutory Regulations series. They are made by Ministers, officials, or organisations, rather than the Executive Council on the recommendation of Cabinet. Examples include land transport rules, civil aviation rules, and a wide variety of other rules, codes, and other legislative instruments.

The PCO provides a list of principal deemed regulations, with information on how to access them. This list is updated regularly from information supplied by the agencies that administer the regulations.

Finding about legislation—Acts and regulations

How do I find a particular Act or set of regulations?

You can search, browse, and print Acts and Statutory Regulations on the New Zealand Legislation website. This site provides current versions of legislation (with amendments incorporated), amendment Acts and amendment regulations from 1999, and legislation repealed or revoked after 4 September 2007. More information on the website is available at About this site, and help with using the site is available from the Guide to using the New Zealand Legislation website.

See also Accessing legislation for more about sources of electronic and printed legislation.

How do I find out what Acts or regulations are in force?

The New Zealand Legislation website provides current versions of legislation. If legislation on the site is not yet in force, it will carry an alert message. See How up to date is this website? for the New Zealand Legislation website’s currency.

A list of new legislation (Acts, Bills, Statutory Regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers) published in the current year is available on the Legislation Direct website, and is updated weekly.

The Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations, and Deemed Regulations in Force list all Acts and Statutory Regulations in force at 1 January for a given year. This annual publication, available in hard copy format only, is available from Legislation Direct. The electronic version of the Tables was withdrawn from 31 March 2008. More information.

Which versions of legislation are official?

Official New Zealand legislation is published in hard copy by the PCO and printed by Legislation Direct. Copies of Acts and regulations are available for sale from Legislation Direct and some bookshops. The reprints of Acts and Statutory Regulations published by the Parliamentary Counsel Office are also official.

At present, no official version of New Zealand legislation is available in electronic form. See Making online legislation official on the New Zealand Legislation website.

How do I find legislation relating to a particular topic?

If you do not know which piece of legislation is relevant, you can search the New Zealand Legislation website to find your topic. See the Guide to using the New Zealand Legislation website.

Alternatively, you can use newzealand.govt.nz to search for the topic you are interested in. The websites of government agencies that administer legislation in the topic area may also be useful. Web addresses for agencies are available under A-Z Government on newzealand.govt.nz.

How do I get help with understanding or applying a particular Act or set of regulations?

The PCO does not give advice to the public about the interpretation or operation of legislation. For this advice, you should contact the Government agency that administers the legislation. See How do I find out which agency administers a particular Act or set of Regulations? You may also wish to contact a lawyer, or your local Citizens Advice Bureau or community law centre. Another useful site is the Legal Services Agency's LawAccess website, a catalogue of law-related information and resources.

How do I find out which agency administers a particular Act or set of regulations?

On the New Zealand Legislation website you can usually find the name of the administering agency from the contents page of each Act or set of regulations. Alternatively it may appear under Legislative history or Administrative information in the contents.

The official printed copy of each Act and each set of regulations states, at the end, which Government agency is responsible for administering them.

The administering agency is generally responsible for the operation of the legislation and for making recommendations to the government of the day about improving it. It does not mean that the agency is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the legislation. Another agency may have that responsibility. To find out, check with the administering agency first.

How do I find out which Minister is responsible for a particular Act or set of regulations?

The Cabinet Office maintains a ministerial list that sets out the portfolios and other responsibilities of each Minister. As a general rule, a Minister who has responsibility for a particular agency is responsible for the Acts and regulations that it administers. However, sometimes this responsibility may be shared with another Minister, or delegated to an Associate Minister. See also How do I contact my MP or Minister?

How do I find repealed or revoked Acts or regulations?

Only legislation repealed or revoked since 16 September 2007 is available from the New Zealand Legislation website.

Some repealed and revoked legislation is available from the Knowledge Basket.

It may be possible to buy a copy of the repealed or revoked legislation from Legislation Direct. Alternatively, the National Library of New Zealand or the Parliamentary Information Service may be able to help.

A copy of the legislation may also be available at some public libraries.

How do I find out whether regulations have been made under an Act?

Statutory Regulations are usually given a name that starts with the name of the Act under which they were made. For example, the names of regulations made under the Health Act 1956 usually start with the word "Health" (eg Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1995).

You can search the New Zealand Legislation website, or look in the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations in Force, for regulations with titles beginning with the name of the Act in question.

Another approach is to refer to the annual bound volumes of New Zealand Statutory Regulations. Volume 1 of each annual set contains a table of "Acts and other authorities under which Statutory Regulations are made" for that year.

The table of Acts and other authorities under which Statutory Regulations are made is available electronically for regulations made since 2005 and for subsequent complete years.

How do I find out when regulations come into force?

Regulations may come into force at different times. The most common are:

Sometimes different parts of regulations come into force at different times.

Regulations will usually contain a specific provision stating when they come into force. For regulations made before 1 January 2000, this will usually be stated in regulation 1(2) of the regulations. For regulations made after 1 January 2000, this will usually be stated in regulation 2 of the regulations.

The date on which particular regulations were notified in the Gazette is stated at the very end of the regulations.

If regulations made before 1 November 1999 do not state specifically when they come into force, they usually come into force on the date on which they are made.

If regulations made after 1 November 1999 do not state specifically when they come into force, they usually come into force on the day after the date of their notification in the Gazette (in accordance with section 9(2) of the Interpretation Act 1999).

How do I get a copy of a reprinted Act or set of regulations?

Reprints are sold by Legislation Direct and some bookshops. For information on the subscription service, please contact the Subscriptions and Standing Orders Manager at Legislation Direct (phone 04 495 2882, fax 04 495 2880, or email ldenquiries@legislationdirect.co.nz).

Reprints are also available from Legislation Direct in PDF format.

Reprints of Acts published since 1/11/02 and of regulations published since 1/10/03 are also available from the Knowledge Basket website.

Unofficial electronic versions of Acts and regulations with their amendments incorporated are available on the New Zealand Legislation website.

When does a new Act or set of regulations become available?

See How up to date is this website for when new legislation is published on the New Zealand Legislation website.

Acts and regulations usually become available on the Knowledge Basket around two working days after they receive Royal assent or are made. (Bills and Supplementary Order Papers also become available around two working days after being released to the public.)

Printed copies become available from Legislation Direct and some bookshops up to ten working days after an Act receives Royal assent. Regulations are usually available two working days after they are made.

PDF copies become available from Legislation Direct at the same time as printed copies, or a day or so later.

Legislation in the making—Bills and Supplementary Order Papers, and regulations before they are made

How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper (SOP)?

Bills become publicly available once they have been introduced into the House of Representatives. SOPs become available after they have been circulated to members of Parliament.

Bills from 2008, and some earlier Bills, with their associated SOPs, are available on the New Zealand Legislation website. See What legislation is provided on this website?, How up to date is this website?, and How do I find Supplementary Order Papers?

Bills introduced since the start of 2003, and earlier Bills that are still before the House, and SOPs that relate to Bills currently before the House are available from the New Zealand Parliament website in PDF format, along with their legislative history and related information. Plain text Bills and SOPs are also available from the Knowledge Basket.

Bills and SOPs in PDF format may also be purchased from Legislation Direct.

Printed copies of Bills are available for sale from Legislation Direct and some bookshops.

How does a Bill become law?

For a general description, see How a Bill becomes law on the New Zealand Parliament website.

For a more detailed explanation of how a Bill becomes law, see David McGee, Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand, 3rd ed, Dunmore Publishing Ltd, Wellington, 2005, Chapters 27 and 28.

How do regulations become law?

Regulations that are made by Order in Council are usually submitted in draft form to Cabinet (or a Cabinet Committee) for approval, and then signed by the Governor-General at a meeting of the Executive Council (a special meeting of Cabinet Ministers). See Chapter 5 of the Cabinet Office Manual.

Regulations that are not made by Order in Council are made in various ways. For example, a Ministerial notice is simply signed by the Minister who has power to issue the notice. See also What are deemed regulations?

All Statutory Regulations (as defined in section 2 of the Regulations (Disallowance) Act 1989) are required to be printed and published as part of the official publication known as the Statutory Regulations series.

At which stage of the legislative process may I make a contribution?

Members of the public are usually able to make submissions on Bills that are being considered by a select committee. See Make a submission on the New Zealand Parliament website. The website also lists Bills before select committees.

Ministers sometimes invite the public to make submissions on draft regulations.

See also Participate in Government on www.govt.nz.

How do I find out whether a Bill or any regulations are being drafted?

Whether or not particular legislation, or legislation on a particular topic, is being drafted is generally confidential, and the Parliamentary Counsel Office cannot provide any information on this matter.

For information about particular legislation, you should contact the Government agency that administers that legislation. For information about legislation on a particular topic, you should contact the Government agency responsible for the general subject-matter with which the legislation deals. See How do I find out which agency administers a particular Act or set of regulations?

How do I find out what stage a Bill is at in the House of Representatives?

If the House of Representatives is sitting, the business of the House for each sitting day is set out on the Order Paper, which is available on the New Zealand Parliament website and for sale from Legislation Direct and some bookshops. The Order Paper sets out the order in which Bills will be considered by the House on that sitting day.

The New Zealand Parliament website lists Bills before the House and select committees, and gives the legislative history of each one.

The Parliamentary Bulletin is published at the end of each sitting week of the House of Representatives. It lists the progress of legislation in that week, including Bills assented to, Bills introduced, and Bills before select committees. It also lists the Progress of legislation in the current Parliament. The Parliamentary Bulletin is available from Legislation Direct and some bookshops.

How do I find an explanatory note for a Bill?

When a Bill is introduced into the House, it has printed with it an explanatory note that sets out the policy that the Bill seeks to achieve, and may also explain the provisions of the Bill.

If the Bill becomes an Act, the explanatory note is not published with the Act. The explanatory note does not appear with later versions of the Bill and is not updated if the Bill is later amended.

To obtain the explanatory note to a Bill, you need to obtain a copy of the Bill as introduced. See How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper?

How do I get a copy of a select committee's report on a Bill?

When a select committee has considered a Bill, it will generally produce a report on its consideration. That report usually takes the form of a commentary on the Bill, and is published together with the Bill as reported back to the House from the select committee.

“As reported” Bills are available from the same sources as Bills as introduced to the House. See How do I find a particular Bill or Supplementary Order Paper?

Sometimes a select committee will produce an interim report on a Bill. Interim reports are available on the New Zealand Parliament website. Interim reports are published annually as part of the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, and are also sold individually by Legislation Direct and some bookshops.

How do I find a departmental report on a Bill?

When a select committee is considering a Bill, the select committee will usually ask the Government agency that is responsible for the Bill to produce a report based on the issues raised in the submissions.

Until a select committee has reported to the House on a Bill, its proceedings are confidential. However, once the select committee has reported the Bill back to the House, the proceedings of the committee (including the departmental report) are publicly available, with the exception of any secret evidence given to the committee. Copies of papers are lodged in the Parliamentary Library, and may be inspected on request by members of the public.

A copy of a departmental report may also be requested from the agency concerned under the Official Information Act 1982, once the select committee has reported to the House on the Bill.

How do I find submissions to a select committee on a Bill?

Submissions on a Bill are confidential until the select committee decides to release them. General practice is to release written submissions (if a hearing has not been requested) when the committee starts hearing oral submissions. The written part of oral submissions (if any) is released at the time the submission is heard by the committee.

Once the select committee has reported to the House, the proceedings of the committee (including the submissions) are publicly available, with the exception of any secret evidence given to the committee. Copies of papers (including submissions) are lodged in the Parliamentary Library, and may be inspected on request by members of the public.

How do I find parliamentary speeches on a Bill?

Parliamentary speeches are recorded and published in the New Zealand Parliamentary Debates series, which is commonly known as Hansard.

Hansard is available on the New Zealand Parliament website. Links to Hansard are also provided with the listings of individual Bills.

Printed copies of Hansard are available in many public libraries. Copies are also for sale from Legislation Direct and some bookshops.

Parliament

How do I contact my MP or a Minister?

See Contact an MP for a list of MPs, with links to electorate maps, and Ministers on the New Zealand Parliament website. A list of Ministers is also available from beehive.govt.nz.

What is the difference between Parliament and the House of Representatives?

The House of Representatives is part of Parliament. Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Sovereign (the Queen), who usually acts through her representative in New Zealand, the Governor-General.

A Bill becomes an Act when it is passed by the House of Representatives, and assented to (signed) by the Governor-General.

How do I found out more about Parliament?

Information about Parliament is available on the New Zealand Parliament website. See also the New Zealand Government section of Links for related information.