New Zealand legislation

Reprints

Reprints are printed copies of Acts and Statutory Regulations that incorporate all amendments made to them as at the date of publication of the reprint.

Reprints are published according to the PCO reprinting policy. In preparing them, the PCO follows certain editorial conventions. Note that the text on this page relates primarily to traditional printed reprints, rather than the electronic reprints/eprints on the New Zealand Legislation website.

Lists of reprints published

List of legislation scheduled for reprinting

Summary of results of 2008–2009 reprints survey

2007-2008 reprints survey

Summary of results of 2006–2007 reprints survey

Summary of results of 2005–2006 reprints survey

Reprints are now published only in pamphlet form. The pamphlet format replaces the bound Reprinted Statutes of New Zealand Series (the brown volumes), the last volume of which (Volume 42) was published in 2003. Reprints of Statutory Regulations are no longer included in the Statutory Regulations Series under a new number.

The format of reprints has been redesigned so that they simply present the law as is, without the convention of using square brackets or ellipses, etc, to highlight individual amendments. History notes have been retained so that users may trace the origin of particular amendments.

Reprints are available through Bennetts Government Bookshops and certain other retail outlets, or from Legislation Direct on subscription.

For information on the subscription service, please contact the Subscriptions and Standing Orders Manager at Legislation Direct (phone 04 494 6811, fax 04 495 2880, or email Ldenquiries@legislationdirect.co.nz).

Electronic copies of reprinted Acts published since 1/11/02 and reprinted Statutory Regulations published since 1/10/03 are available free on the Knowledge Basket website, and can be purchased from Legislation Direct in PDF format.

Electronic reprints/eprints on the New Zealand Legislation website

The New Zealand Legislation website also provides access to legislation with all amendments made to it incorporated. These reprints, or eprints, have unofficial status. Each website reprint/eprint includes reprint notes at the end of the document that list the amendments incorporated, from September 2007 onwards. For more information about electronic reprints/eprints on the New Zealand Legislation website, see the website’s Glossary and Making online legislation official. Please note that the PCO reprinting policy and PCO editorial conventions for reprints, and the other information on this page, apply to traditional printed reprints and not to electronic reprints/eprints.

PCO reprinting policy

The objective of this policy is to establish a framework for producing printed reprints of New Zealand legislation so as to provide users of New Zealand legislation (including the legal profession, the judiciary, librarians, government agencies, and the public) with access to up-to-date legislation on an efficient and cost-effective basis.

The PCO will have regard to the following considerations in implementing this policy:

• the volume of legislation being enacted
• the amount, frequency, and significance of amending legislation
• the Government's legislative programme
• the usefulness of particular legislation to general and specialist users, including the legal profession, the judiciary, and government departments
• the resources available to the PCO (both human and technological)
• the size and nature of the New Zealand market for printed reprints
• the limits imposed by the price the market will pay for reprinted legislation
• achieving a balance between electronic and printed products.

In implementing this policy, the PCO will focus on best-selling titles that are frequently or heavily amended, on the basis that these represent the priorities of users of legislation.

A reprinting programme will be established each year, in consultation with key users of legislation. The programme will seek to establish what legislation users would like reprinted, and how often (for example, after significant amendments). The programme will be published (see the list of legislation scheduled for reprinting), and reviewed from time to time in the light of information about public sales of legislation, proposals to amend or repeal particular legislation, and other relevant factors.

The PCO will publish reprints in pamphlet form only. The Reprinted Statutes of New Zealand Series (the brown volumes) has been discontinued, and reprints of Statutory Regulations will no longer be included in the annual Statutory Regulations Series.

The PCO welcomes suggestions for Acts or Statutory Regulations to be reprinted. Please complete the online form or contact Juliet Price, Reprints Unit Coordinator (phone 04 817 9166, fax 04 499 3024, or email juliet.price@parliament.govt.nz).

PCO editorial conventions for reprints

General

Each reprint incorporates all the amendments to that enactment as at the date the reprint was produced. A list of amendments at the end of each reprint indicates which enactments have affected the principal enactment.

Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that have yet to come into force or that contain relevant transitional or savings provisions are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.

Status of reprints

Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint. For an outline of editorial changes made in reprints, see below.

This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

How reprints are prepared

The following conventions are followed in the preparations of reprints generally, and they are followed, where relevant, in the preparation of each reprint:

• the enacting words are omitted
• history notes are inserted underneath each provision that has been amended, and indicate where the provision has been amended, the particular enactment responsible for the change, and its commencement date
• provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted, but the heading is kept and a history note is inserted below it
• references in a reprinted enactment to any repealed enactment are replaced, where possible, with a reference to any enactment that directly replaces or corresponds to the repealed enactment, in reliance on section 22(2) of the Interpretation Act 1999
• any term used in a reprinted enactment that is deemed, by another enactment, to be read as if it were another term is replaced by that other term. For example, references in a reprinted enactment to,—
  • pounds, shillings, and pence are replaced by a reference to the equivalent amount in decimal currency (dollars and cents), pursuant to section 7 of the Decimal Currency Act 1964
  • the General Assembly of New Zealand are replaced by references to the Parliament of New Zealand, pursuant to section 29(2) of the Constitution Act 1986
  • the Governor are replaced by references to the Governor-General, pursuant to section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1999
  • His Majesty the King are replaced by references to Her Majesty the Queen, pursuant to section 5(2) of the Constitution Act 1986
  • a Magistrate's Court and Magistrate are replaced by references to a District Court and District Court Judge, pursuant to section 18(2) of the District Courts Amendment Act 1979
  • the Public Trustee and the Public Trust Office are replaced by references to Public Trust, pursuant to section 152(1) of the Public Trust Act 2001
• where the principal enactment has made a textual amendment to another enactment, and the amendment is incorporated in a reprint of that other enactment, the text of the amendment is not reprinted in full in the reprint.

Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of legislation are not permitted.

A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.

In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of each reprint to accord with current drafting practice. Changes made include the:

• omission of unnecessary referential words (such as "of this section" and "of this Act")
• typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)
• layout of provisions, including:
  • indentation
  • position of section headings (eg the number and heading now appear above the section)
  • format of definitions (eg the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)
  • format of dates (eg a date formerly expressed as "the 1st day of January 1999" is now expressed as "1 January 1999")
• position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)
• punctuation (eg colons are not used after definitions)
• Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly
• case and appearance of letters and words, including:
  • format of headings (eg headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)
  • small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters
• schedules are renumbered (eg Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly
• running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)
• format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).

List of amendments incorporated in reprints

The specific amendments that have been incorporated in a reprinted enactment are listed in chronological order, with the latest amendment to have been incorporated, as at the date of production of the reprint, appearing at the top of the list. Superseded amendments are not included in the list.

Acts and Statutory Regulations that are published in the same year are arranged in chronological order according to the date the Acts were assented to or that the regulations were made.

The list does not include 'general' amendments, such as those made by the Decimal Currency Act 1964, as outlined above.

References to amending enactments cite the enactment in its entirety, but where an enactment has, for example, made a consequential amendment to the enactment being reprinted, a reference to the individual amending provision is included.