The Parliamentary Counsel Office has won the 2017 WriteMark Plain English Award for the Best Plain English Legal Document.

The award was for the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.

Chief Parliamentary Counsel Fiona Leonard says Important law about contracts and commercial transactions affecting many New Zealanders was previously scattered across 12 elderly Acts—some dating back to 1908.

"Our mission was to bring the rules together in one place, to make them easier to find, use, and understand, and to provide clarity and certainty for the people and businesses who apply them."

Law firm Cavell Leitch was a finalist for the award, with its property sharing agreement.