Communication assistance is one of the tools used to support vulnerable defendants and witnesses to participate in court proceedings. Vulnerable participants include children, people with disabilities, neurodiversity, mental health conditions and experience of trauma. Using communication assistance can improve a participant’s understanding and help them give better quality evidence.
The Ministry of Justice is enhancing the existing Communication Assistance service to ensure it is:
...More
Over the last few months Legal Aid Services have received several complaints from Police regarding providers being uncontactable for Police Detention Legal Assistance (PDLA).
Legal Aid Services are looking at how the administration of the system can be improved in the long term and this work will get underway early 2021.
In the meantime, it’s important that we ensure timely access to justice throughout the holiday period and so we are proposing to...More
The Ministry of Justice is consulting on regulations to be made specifying countries for overseas disclosures under section 214 of the Privacy Act 2020 (the Act).
As part of this process, we invite you to provide your views on the countries you would find it most valuable to see prioritised and why.
Section 214 of the Act allows for regulations to be made prescribing countries that have comparable privacy safeguards to those in the Act.
If a country is prescribed, a New Zealand...More
Update 18 February 2021:
Cabinet has agreed that New Zealand will seek to join the Budapest Convention. This includes decisions about the changes required to join the Convention.
You can find details of Cabinet’s decision and a summary of submissions received here:
New Zealand to join the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime.
The New Zealand Government is considering joining the Council of Europe’s Budapest...More
The Auckland legal aid office has been working electronically since 17 February 2020.
We would like your feedback on your experience so we can determine what is working well and any areas where we could improve.
More
Background
This project has been established to improve the experience that lawyers have with our approval and contracting processes for legal aid services. The intent of this work is to ensure that any improvements made will streamline, integrate and align with the rest of the legal aid system so that transactions are seamless, effective and not administratively burdensome.
This consultation relates to the application form and the guidelines for applying to be a legal aid provider....More
Download: List of Issues (PDF, 221KB)
Download: New Zealand's draft Seventh Periodic Report under the Convention against Torture (PDF, 1.52MB)
Download: Overview of issues covered in the Report (PDF, 211KB)
The Government is preparing its seventh report to the United Nations on the implementation of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
New Zealand is one of more than 160 countries that have ratified the...More
The Ministry of Justice wants to hear your views on how the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) is working in practice, to inform a decision on whether to progress a review of this legislation. Your feedback will help inform a decision by Government on whether to review it, or whether instead to keep the focus on practice improvements.
The OIA allows people to request official information held by Ministers and specified government agencies. It contains rules for how such requests should...More
In 2014, major changes were made to the family justice system. The reforms aimed to help people resolve parenting disputes without having to go to court. However, we now know that these changes aren't working for some people.
An Independent Panel appointed by the Minister of Justice examined the changes and considered how they've impacted separating families and their children.
The Panel conducted two rounds of public consultation. It received about 650 submissions.
The...More
Mēnā kei te noho mōrea koe, me waea ki 111 ka pātai mō ngā Pirihimana.
Putanga tere - haere ki te paetukutuku a Stuff.co.nz
Rapu kōrero me pēhea te huna i ō mahuetanga tuihono
E whakarite ana a Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata ko te hunga i whai pānga ki ngā mahi taihara kei te iho o ngā whakahoutanga o te pūnaha ture taihara.
He whai wāhitanga tēnei rangahau mōu ki te kōrero mai i ō whakaaro, ngā mea...More
If you're in immediate danger, dial 111 and ask for the police.
Quick exit - go to the Stuff.co.nz website
Find out how to cover your tracks online
The Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata – Safe and Effective Justice programme wants to ensure that the needs of people who have experienced crime are at the heart of any reform of the criminal justice system.
This survey closed 1 March 2019.
Is the survey anonymous?
...More
The Ministry of Justice is seeking submissions on proposals for regulations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009.
These regulations relate to high value dealers, who are defined as someone who, in trade and in the ordinary course of business, buys or sells specific 'high value goods' for cash at or above a specific threshold. 'High value goods' include jewellery, precious metals, precious stones, watches, motor vehicles, boats, art or...More
We have been reviewing processes and forms to help make the customer journey easier. As part of this, we would like to understand how providers are completing and submitting legal aid invoices.
This survey closed 1 February 2019.
More
We are seeking feedback on a proposed new:
family and civil legal aid amendment to grant form
criminal and high cost case amendment to grant form
high cost cases policy.
You may find each of these attached at the bottom of this page, or they are available to view in each respective page in this consultation.
Currently, there are eleven different amendment to grant forms across the four jurisdictions of criminal, civil,...More
Thank you for your interest, but submissions about 2014 changes to the family justice system have now closed.
To learn more about the Independent Panel, and keep up to date with its work, go to https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/family-court-rewrite/ .
More
Thank you for your interest, but submissions about 2014 changes to the family justice system have now closed.
To learn more about the Independent Panel, and keep up to date with its work, go to https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/family-court-rewrite .
More
The Family Violence Act took effect on 1 July 2019. The Act created new rules allowing family violence agencies and social services practitioners to collect, use, request and share personal information for purposes related to family violence.
Safe and appropriate information sharing will allow better coordinated responses to assess and manage family violence risk. Together, the law encourages the family violence sector to collaborate to identify, stop, prevent and otherwise respond to...More
Nau mai haere mai. Tēnā hoki koe i roto i ngā āhuatanga o te wā.
Thank you for taking part in this brief survey. The quality of our customer service is important to us and your responses will help us improve the information and services we provide. Be assured that your responses are confidential and you will not be identified in any way.
More
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act) aims to detect and deter money laundering and terrorism financing. It requires certain businesses to put anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures in place. These include assessing the money laundering and terrorism financing risks their business may face, establishing a compliance programme, confirming their customers’ identities, and reporting suspicious activities.
...More
Crown/Māori Relations – Have your say 2018
Nau mai, haere mai
The Minister for Crown/Māori Relations, Hon Kelvin Davis, is responsible for ensuring a healthy Crown/Māori relationship. He’s keen to get your ideas about how it could be better - and the sort of projects he should focus on.
The relationship between the Crown and Māori is, and will continue to be, an important one for all New Zealanders.
The public is invited to hui (meetings) to discuss ideas. These...More
Legal aid is an important part of New Zealand's justice system. It helps people to resolve legal problems that may go to court and makes sure that people are not denied justice because they can't afford a lawyer.
After reviewing the feedback about the proposed combined jurisdiction legal aid form, we are now proposing to combine the following criminal legal aid forms into one:
Form 1 – Crown Prosecution
Form 1a – Police Prosecution
Form 12 – Court of Appeal...More
Legal aid is an important part of New Zealand's justice system. It helps people to resolve legal problems that may go to court and makes sure that people are not denied justice because they can't afford a lawyer.
After reviewing the success of the family and civil legal aid form which was implemented in November last year, an opportunity has been identified to combine applications in the criminal jurisdiction into the form. The Legal Services Commissioner is proposing to combine the...More
Legal Aid Services has recently undergone changes to our operating model, which has resulted in the consolidation of all our offices into two. One of the primary reasons for this change is to ensure we are providing nationally consistent services to our customers and providers, regardless of where they are in New Zealand.
To that end, we embarked upon a review of the way that mental health legal aid cases are assigned to providers nationwide.
This consultation paper discussed...More
In October 2017, we sought submissions on proposed regulations related to New Zealand’s anti-money laundering laws.
Recent changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009 affect businesses already covered by the law (known as Phase 1 reporting entities) and businesses that coverage is being extended to (known as Phase 2 reporting entities).
Because the AML/CFT reforms come into effect in stages for different...More
Legal aid is an important part of New Zealand's justice system. It helps people to resolve legal problems that may go to court and makes sure that people are not denied justice because they can't afford a lawyer.
Family and civil legal aid covers a wide range of disputes that may go to court, such as parenting arrangements, protection orders and mental health proceedings.
This consultation sought feedback on a proposed new application form for civil and family legal aid. The new form -...More
A Family Violence Summit chaired by Sir Wira Gardiner and co-hosted by Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley was held on 7 June 2017 in Wellington.
The Summit was an opportunity for people from across the sector to come together and build on the conversations to date about breaking the patterns of family violence and working together effectively, and to provide advice and feedback on these issues.
We asked for comments on these 4 themes:...More
The Government is preparing its latest report to the United Nations on economic, social and cultural rights in New Zealand.
New Zealand is one of more than 160 countries that have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant is a treaty that recognises the importance of a variety of rights such as health, education, working conditions and living standards.
Countries that have signed the Covernant have to report periodically to the United...More
In December 2016 and January 2017, we sought feedback on an exposure draft of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill.
This consultation was part of the Government’s move to put in place “Phase 2” of the current AML/CFT Act.
Phase 1 of the AML/CFT laws came into effect in 2013, covering banks, various financial services and casinos.
Phase 2 will extend the laws to cover real estate agents, conveyancers, many lawyers, accountants,...More
In November and December 2016, we sought your feedback on a draft Trusts Bill, as part of the Government's move to update the general law governing trusts in New Zealand.
The draft Bill was developed in response to the Law Commission’s extensive review of trust law conducted over 4 years, as well as follow up work by officials and trust experts to refine the Commission's recommendations.
We asked for your feedback on specific questions. We were mainly interested in whether the wording...More
The Law Commission and the Ministry of Justice have completed a joint review of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.
The Act controls how and when the Police and other government agencies can search people or property and carry out surveillance.
The joint review report found that the law has generally been working well and does not propose a major overhaul of the Act. However, it does recommend amendments to make the law more transparent and accessible, and to...More