Over the past four months, the Law Society has made 19 submissions on Bills, and 32 submissions on a range of discussion documents released by government agencies. Many of these submissions have touched on important issues for the profession and the public, including the 2025 Triennial Legal Aid Review.

In its submission on the legal aid review, the Law Society called for increased and ongoing funding of the legal aid system, and for any reform to be evidence-based. It noted that concerns about the legal aid scheme were longstanding and argued that greater investment in legal aid is needed to facilitate access to justice while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the scheme and providing fair remuneration to legal aid providers. There is a consistent theme of legal aid fees increasing at a rate far below the increasing costs of providing legal services, meaning real remuneration for legal aid providers has deteriorated considerably over the past 15 years.

As a part of the Law Society’s commitment to evidence-based advocacy for the profession, the submission included cost-benefit and economic analyses commissioned from Deloitte Access Economics. These analyses concluded that for every $1 invested in legal aid, a minimum of $2.06 in benefits is generated, and there are additional economy-wide benefits generated. The analysis is limited by the quality of New Zealand data on legal aid and the justice sector, particularly for the criminal, civil and Waitangi Tribunal jurisdictions. However, those information gaps are in relation to only the benefits of legal aid – all costs are accounted for. This means the cost-benefit analysis and economic impact analysis are conservative and likely materially understate the true net benefits of legal aid. The Deloitte report is available in full on the Law Society’s website.

Other recent law reform submissions include:

• Following on from the consultation earlier this year, the Law Society submitted on the Regulatory Standards Bill and appeared before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. The Law Society’s submission identified a lack of clarity around the problem the Bill seeks to address, highlighted the selective inclusion of certain principles, and noted the Bill as proposed is unlikely to improve regulation.
• The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill, which proposes a series of amendments aimed at maximising judicial resource and improving timeliness, including raising the judicial cap on High Court judges from 55 to 57. The Law Society’s submission encouraged consideration of raising that limit further. In response to the Bill’s proposed new regime for dealing with ‘plainly abusive’ civil proceedings, the Law Society recommended improved clarity and further consideration of procedural protections, particularly around the scope of ‘plainly abusive’ and the interaction of these provisions with the existing process under section 166 of the Senior Courts Act.
• A submission on the Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment (Duty to Provide Financial Services) Amendment Bill, a member’s bill which seeks to prevent banks from ‘debanking’ or withdrawing banking services from customers unless for a ‘valid and verifiable commercial reason.’ While not taking a position on the policy underlying the Bill, the Law Society’s submission outlined several areas in which further policy and drafting work is required, including the practical difficulties and boundaries of the proposed duty, and how the rights and obligations of both customers and banks ought to be balanced.
• A submission on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Supervisor, Levy, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which will establish the legislative power to apply a levy to AML/CFT reporting entities, amongst other amendments. The Law Society’s submission raised significant concerns about the drafting of the levy provisions, including the unjustifiably broad discretion left to officials about how the levy is calculated and imposed.
• The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill, which seeks to clarify that sections 95A and 95B of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 will have retrospective effect and apply to proceedings that are already underway. The Law Society opposed the retrospective application of these sections to active proceedings, which raises rule of law concerns and adversely impacts rights accrued by parties to the proceedings. The submission noted there is insufficient evidence to justify retrospective application and suggested alternative approaches which are less objectionable from a rule of law perspective.
• A substantial submission on the Electoral Amendment Bill, which proposes changes including earlier closure of the voter registration period; disqualifying all prisoners convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment from enrolling and voting while in prison; and updating provisions relating to bribery and treating. Consistent with the Law Society’s position on the disenfranchisement of prisoners in 2010, the submission outlines that the proposed voting ban creates inconsistencies and arbitrary outcomes, and contravenes domestic and international norms. Similarly, the submission does not support changes to close voter registration earlier, and suggests there is limited justification or need for the changes, which will likely disenfranchise many voters.
• The Legislation Amendment Bill, which raised concerns about proposed amendments to broaden the purposes of revision bills and to enable substantive legislative changes in revision bills, which have a streamlined process with fewer opportunities for scrutiny and debate. The submission noted that processes already exist for making substantive legislative changes, and it is unclear why these amendments are considered necessary.

All public submissions are available on the Law Society’s website, and new public consultations are advertised weekly in LawPoints.

Recent advocacy and engagement

Release of our Rule of Law report

In June 2025, the Law Society released its Strengthening the rule of law in Aotearoa New Zealand report, which highlights ongoing and emerging challenges to the rule of law in New Zealand, and makes 78 recommendations to address promote the rule of law. The report was launched at an event hosted by Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, where Law Society President Frazer Barton presented some of the report’s key findings, followed by panel discussion on the rule of law, and insights from LexisNexis, who supported the launch of the report.

Te Au Reka, the new digital case management system for the courts and tribunals

The Law Society continues to engage with the Ministry of Justice on the implementation of Te Au Reka in the Family Court (in 2026) and beyond (from 2027 onwards). Once implemented, Te Au Reka will be compulsory for lawyers representing clients in the relevant courts. Along with other key stakeholders, the Law Society has been engaging with officials about the design and features of the case management portal, ways to communicate updates to the profession, and training for the profession.

Letter to Attorney-General

The Law Society wrote to the Attorney-General to raise concerns about comments made by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Brooke van Velden, about the appointment of new members to the Employment Relations Authority. The letter conveyed the Law Society’s concerns that the Minister’s comments could undermine the rule of law as well as the independence of the Authority. The Attorney-General appears to share these concerns, and has confirmed she has discussed these matters with the Minister and Cabinet, following the Law Society’s letter.

Engagement with the judiciary

• Commercial List: through a profession working group, the Law Society’s Civil Litigation and Tribunals Committee has assisted the judiciary with developing a new Commercial List Practice Note for the Auckland High Court. The Practice Note, which came into effect on 6 October 2025, seeks to improve efficiency with close case management, faster determination of interlocutory issue, and quicker hearing dates.
• Webinar on new High Court Rules: the Law Society has worked with the judiciary to organise an event for profession about the High Court (Improved Access to Civil Justice) Amendment Rules 2025, which will come into force on 1 January 2026. The convenor of the Law Society’s Civil Litigation and Tribunals Committee, who represents the Law Society on the Rules Committee, joined Hon Justice Francis Cooke and Hon Justice Sally Fitzgerald to provide an overview of the background, content and implications of the new Rules.