New Zealand
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Legal Aid Forms - changes to Legal Aid came into effect on 1 July 2011
Legislation
New Zealand Legislation
Maintained by the Parliamentary Counsel Office, this site provides full text access to consolidated electronic versions of acts, regulations and bills. Legislation can be browsed and searched, point in time versions are also available. Legislation bearing the NZ Coat of Arms have semi-official status. Legislation repealed after September 2007 is also available.
New Zealand Deemed Regulations
This site is maintained by the Parliamentary Counsel Office and provides access to a table of deemed regulations which can be browsed by a list of Acts under which the regulations have been made. The site also provides a link to the Table of Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations in Force.
New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Hansard is available from 2003 in a browseable format. The site includes, advance and final copies of Hansard as well as indexes. This resource is provided by the Office of the Clerk.
Māori Land Legislation
Maintained by the University of Auckland, this site provides a searchable database of all New Zealand legislation from 1840 to 1995 (including private and local acts) which has affected Māori people and Māori land. The site also provides brief abstracts on the historical context and impact of each Act along with references to government publications.
New Zealand Parliament
The Parliamentary Business page provides access to Bills, SOPs, Order Papers, Journals and Standing Orders.
New Zealand Acts as Enacted
Contains the New Zealand Acts in PDF format as originally enacted. They do not include any later amendments or show whether they have been repealed.
New Zealand Acts of 1888 to 1894
This electronic collection contains facsimiles of all Acts enacted between 1888 and 1894. These volumes were printed on acid paper that has deteriorated with time, and is now in many cases so brittle that it disintegrates when handled (ie, Shattering Statutes).
Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives
Contains digitised reports from selected volumes of the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives from 1861 to 1906.
Subscription Only
Thomson Reuters provides access to the full text of New Zealand Acts and Regulations currently in force, historical versions as well as selected repealed legislation.
LexisNexis provides access to the full text of New Zealand Acts and Regulations currently in force, as well as selected repealed legislation.
Case law
Judicial Decisions Online - Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice site which provides full text access to all unreported Supreme Court decisions, Court of Appeal from 1st January 2003 and High Court decisions from 1st September 2005. Administrative minutes and decisions subject to suppression orders are not available. The decisions can only be accessed via a search of the database. The database can be search by keyword, court, location, judge, party name, counsel and be restricted by year.
Courts of New Zealand
Contains recent decisions from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court. Decisions can be browsed and are removed from the site after 28 days. Most decisions are published on the site within a day of being delivered and are generally restricted to criminal sentences and judgments of public interest.
Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)
Provides full text browsable access to District Court decisions from 2006.
Advertising Standards Authority Inc
Full text of decisions from 2001 onwards and summaries of decisions for 2000. Decisions can be searched by keyword, media and code.
Broadcasting Standards Authority
Searchable database of Broadcasting Standards Authority Decisions.
CCH Tax Site
Contains links to recent IRD rulings and tax cases, which have not been reported in CCH publications yet. Most of the cases are stored as PDF files, so Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view them. Also contains links to articles on employment; health & safety; company and business law.
Commerce Commission
Provides full text access to decisions from 1997 which are available in PDF format.
Located under the Public Registers tab the decisions are divided according to subject.
Mergers and Acquisitions - Clearances
Mergers and Acquisitions - Authorisations
Anti-Competitive Practices - Authorisations
Electricity Industry Reform Act - Exemptions
Dairy
Complaints Review Tribunal
Decisions from 1997.
Copyright Tribunal
Decisions from 1994.
Coroners' Recommendations Register
Fulltext cases that were opened under the new Coroners Act 2006 (that came into legislation on 1 July 2007), and that have been closed.
Court of Appeal
These decisions can be accessed from the following:
New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII) - full text searchable database of decisions from 1999.
Australian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) - full text searchable database of decisions from 1999.
Ministry of Justice - full text searchable database of decisions from 2003.
Courts of New Zealand - recent decisions can be browsed. Decisions are removed from the site after 28 days.
Customs Appeal Authority
Decisions from 2000.
Department of Building and Housing Determinations
This site hosts determinations of the Department of Building and Housing. Determinations can be searched according to Building Code clause, subject or keyword. They are also available in a browsable format.
Deportation Review Tribunal
Full text decisions from 2007.
Directory of Decisions
Lists the Courts, Tribunals, Statutory Authorities and other such bodies in New Zealand which make legal or quasi-legal decisions. Provides information as to how copies of decisions might be obtained either through published reports, indexing services or online.
Disputes Tribunal
Decisions from 2006.
Employment Court
Provides full text access to decisions from 1st July 2006. Decisions from 1st January 2007 are also available from NZLII.
Employment Case Law
Provided by the Department of Labour, this site enables you to browse leading cases by topic and search Employment Relations Authority determinations from 2005, Employment Court and related jurisdictions since 1976 by party name, jurisdiction and keyword.
Employment Relations Authority
Decisions from 2007.
Environment Court
Full text decisions from 2006.
Family Court of New Zealand Decisions
Provides full text access to selected unreported decisions from 2005 which can be browsed by subject area.
Film and Literature Board of Review
Decisions from 1997.
Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
Provides information on all Tribunal decisions and orders.
Health and Disability Commissioner's Decisions and Case Notes
Links to the Health & Disability Commissioner's decisions, which can be accessed by using the opinions index in chronological order, or the search facility.
High Court of New Zealand
Judgments from August 2005 can be searched via the Ministry of Justice site and decisions from within the last month can be browsed on the Courts of New Zealand site.
Human Rights Commission
Links to decisions from 2002 of the Human Rights Review Tribunal on NZLII, provides access to recent, significant Tribunal and Court cases as well as some limited pre- 2002 Tribunal and court decisions.
Immigration and Protection Tribunal (replaces the Refugee Status Appeals Authority, Removal Review Authority and Residence Review Board)
The site also contains a browseable precedent finder where guideline judgments are listed by subject.
A searchable database of the previous bodies are available in full text from 1991
Refugee Status Appeals Authority
Removal Review Authority
Residence Review Board
Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
The Information Library (Hearings Folder) provides full text access to all Patent, Trade Mark and Design decisions since 1953 issued by the Commissioner of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs.
Land Valuation Tribunal
Decisions from 2000.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal
The Tribunal's purpose is to hear and determine disciplinary charges against members of the legal and conveyancing professions. Decisions are from 2009 -
Legal Aid Review Panel (LARP)
A searchable database of full text LARP decisions. The database is updated weekly.
Legal Complaints Review Officer Decisions
Contains the full text of decisions of the Legal Complaints Review Officer from Feb 2009.
Licensing Authority of Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers
Decisions from 2005.
Liquor Licensing Authority
A searchable database of decisions from 2003.
Maori Appellate Court
Decisions from 1962.
Maori Land Court
Decisions from 1993.
Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
Provides access to the decisions of the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, organised by Finding, Charge Characteristic, Additional Orders and Commonly Cited cases.
Mental Health Review Tribunal
Decisions from 2009.
Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal
Decisions of the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand from 2006.
New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII)
Provides links to cases including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Commerce Commission and Privacy Commission. Links to full text university law journals, Law Commission papers and legislation are also given.
New Zealand Parole Board Decisions
Provides full text access to decisions that have been requested by the media. Other decisions can be requested subject to privacy aspects. An email address is provided.
New Zealand Health and Safety in Employment Decisions
This database contains New Zealand Health and Safety in Employment decisions from 1997 as selected and provided by the University of Canterbury Law Library.
Office of the Domain Name Commissioner
Contains the full text of determinations of the Domain Name Commissioner. The site also contain decisions resulting from appeals.
Planning Tribunal
Decisions from 1978 - 1995.
Privacy Commissioner Case Notes
Case notes from 1996.
Privy Council Judgments
Official site for judgments from this final Court of Appeal for some Commonwealth countries. Judgments from 1999 onwards, as well as key judgments prior to 1999, are now available. Links to information about the Judicial Committee, and the additional work of the Privy Council.
Real Estate Agents Authority
Searchable database of published decisions from the Complaints Assessment Committee and Real Estates Disciplinary Tribunal. Also contains a browseable list of cases under each section of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and the Code of Professional Conduct and Client Care which link through to abstracts and full text.
Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal
Decisions from 2010.
RefNZ - New Zealand Refugee Law
Contains headnotes of decisions of the Refugee Status Appeal Authority, leading full text decisions of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and abstracts of decisions of the New Zealand High Court and Court of Appeal. It also contains papers on New Zealand refugee jurisprudence, comment on current refugee issues, recent news and developments in refugee law, key New Zealand refugee statistics and links to other refugee web sites.
Social Security Appeal Authority Decisions
Provides the full text of decisions since 2008 where beneficiaries have appealed about their benefits.
Sports Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand
Provides access to the full text decisions of the tribunal.
Student Allowance Appeal Authority Decisions
Provides access to the full text of decisions of the Authority since 2004.
Supreme Court of New Zealand
Decisions can be access from the following:
Ministry of Justice - searchable database of all decisions.
Courts of New Zealand - browsable access to all decisions. Case summaries are also available.
New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII) - searchable and browsable access to all decisions.
Taxation Review Authority Decisions
Provides access to the full text decisions of the Authority since 2006.
Tenancy Tribunal
Orders can be searched by file number, party name or address.
Weathertight Homes Tribunal
Decisions from 2003.
Weathertight Homes Tribunal Eligibility Decisions
Decisions from 2008.
Youth Court of New Zealand
Contains summaries of decisions from 1989 onwards. Decisions can be browsed according to subject, by sections under the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 or by date.
Subscription only
LINX and LINXplus provide summaries of Court of Appeal, High Court and lower court decisions including Environment and Employment court cases. LINXplus provids access to over 10,000 full text judgments, including High Court decisions, and jump links to full text reported cases and journal articles. Information about the product and subscription options are availabe at LINX database
Briefcase provides summaries of Court of Appeal, High Court and lower court decisions.
Legal publishers
Thompson Reuters (formerly Brookers) includes subscription-based access to Brookers Online database of legislation and Alert24, a current awareness service. Subcribers can choose multiple areas of law and how much information to receive. All alerts are archived for searching.
LexisNexis includes subscription-based access to Butterworths Current Law, a fortnightly update service which provides abstracts of Court and tribunal decisions, new Bills, Acts and Regulations. It also notes selected English and Australian decisions.
CCH New Zealand includes access to the CCH Current Awareness service with access to legislation, media releases, discussion documents, issues papers, and IRD rulings and statements.
Government-related sites
New Zealand Government Online (NZGO)
Provides background information on New Zealand's history, constitution and government as well as an A-Z directory containing links to Government departments and Ministries.
Citizens Advice Bureau
Includes a database of approximately 40,000 service providers, community organisations, clubs and societies, as well as access to legal information across a wide range of subject areas.
Courts of New Zealand
Includes information about the court system, links to Court sites and provides full text access to Practice Notes, selected decisions and transcripts as well as media releases.
Civil Aviation Authority
The Rules & More page contains links to the Consolidated Civil Aviation Rules, forms, Advisory Circulars, Air Worthiness Directives, New Zealand Technical Standard Orders and a copy of the Civil Aviation Act. It has an extensive links page to civil aviation-related sites in NZ and other jurisdictions.
Crown Law Office
The Crown Law Office provides legal advice and representation services to the government in matters affecting the executive government, particularly in the areas of criminal, public and administrative law. The services provided include matters covering judicial review of government actions, constitutional questions including Treaty of Waitangi issues, the enforcement of criminal law, and protection of the revenue. The Office administers the prosecution process in the criminal justice system, in particular, trials on indictment before juries.
Department of Corrections
The Policy and Legislation page contains links to relevant legislation, the Prison and Community Probation Service manuals and department Code of Conduct.
Directory of Official Information
The Directory includes a description of all central Government organisations covered by the Official Information Act 1982, including their functions, structure, records, manuals, committees and contact officers.
Human Rights section of the Ministry of Justice website
Contains information and documents concerning New Zealand's international human rights obligations and domestic human rights legislation.
Land Transport Safety Authority
Contains information concerning transport including legislation and rules, the road code, various LTSA publications, fact sheets and sections on driver licensing, vehicle licensing, vehicle ownership and importing vehicles.
Law Commission
Provides access to publications of the Law Commission including Law Commission Reports.
Local councils
Provides information about local councils as well as links to all regional, city and district councils. Also provides access to important legislation affecting local government.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Treaties
Provides a list of and links to Multilateral and Bilateral Treaties signed by New Zealand since 1 January 2000
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act : Advice provided to the Attorney-General
This site provides material that was supplied by the Ministry of Justice and the Crown Law Office on the consistency of new legislation with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Advice from 2003 is available and can be accessed either by bill title, date of advice provided and NZBOR provisions.
New Zealand Government
The official website of the New Zealand Government. Contains full text of government press releases, speeches, and biographies of the Prime Minister and the other Members of Parliament. There are also archived sites available for the 1993-1996 and 1996-1999 governments.
New Zealand Immigration Service Operational Manual
Includes criteria that applicants must meet, evidence they need to produce and application process.
New Zealand Gazette On-Line
Provides a searchable database of New Zealand Gazette Notices from 1993. Notices can also be browsed according to Act names and categories. Full-text Gazettes from 2000 are available in a browsable format. (These are organised according to year and month).
New Zealand Parliament
Contains links to biographies for Ministers, the Government and the Opposition. It provides information about the business of Parliament. Including details of bills, Order Papers, Acts and regulations, the Order Paper, Debates (Hansard), oral questions, written questions, daily progress, Journals, select committee reports, papers, petitions presented, Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, and sessional orders.
Office of the Ombudsmen
Provides information on the history and purpose of the Ombudsmen's Office. Also includes links to practice guidelines (which set out the approach to issues arising under the Ombudsmen Act 1975, the Official Information Act 1982, and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987) and the Quarterly Review.
Privacy Commissioner
Provides information on the Privacy Act and Codes of Practice as well as news and publications.
Serious Fraud Office
The home page of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) outlines the functioning of the SFO, and summarises pending cases and completed prosecutions from 2001 onward.
Waitangi Tribunal
Includes information about the Waitangi Tribunal and provides access to the Reports of the Waitangi Tribunal. The Reports can be browsed, or searched.
Work and Income New Zealand
Contains the WINZ manual and procedures used by WINZ staff to help guide their decisions.
Directories / General resources
Access New Zealand
A commercial site which has arranged NZ company websites, organisations and general websites into subject headings such as Government, Industrial and Transportation.
Te Puna Web Directory
The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa's comprehensive listing of New Zealand and Pacific Island web sites.
Fee Fie Foe Firm
This search engine allows you to search across law firm websites in New Zealand. It can be used to find anything that might appear on law firm websites such as legal news, articles, media releases, newsletters and profiles, amongst other things.
Papers Past
Papers Past contains more than two million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1945 and includes 70 publications from all regions of New Zealand.
Library catalogues
Auckland City Libraries
A searchable catalogue of all print, audiovisual and electronic materials held in Auckland City Libraries. Auckland Public Library members can also access the Digital Library which provides access to a wide range of databases including law and business resources and New Zealand and international magazines and newspapers.
New Zealand Libraries' Catalogue
This is a searchable catalogue that lists publications currently held in all of New Zealand's libraries and is an amalgamation of the online catalogues of libraries in New Zealand.
University of Canterbury Library catalogue
Access to the Library catalogue through Webpac. Searchable database of all library holdings including the Law Library.
University of Otago Library catalogue
Access to the University of Otago's Library holdings, including the Law Library.
University of Waikato Library catalogue
Searchable database of the Library's holdings, including the Law Library. Searches can be limited by date, language and material type.
Voyager - University of Auckland Library catalogue
Catalogue of the University of Auckland Library holdings. Searching can be limited to a particular library i.e. Davis Law Library or by using specific details or keywords.