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70 articles · page 1 of 2
How 90-day trial periods work in New Zealand: who can use one, the writing and signing rules, and what happens to a personal grievance if you are dismissed during a trial.
How annual leave works in New Zealand: 4 weeks after 12 months, how holiday pay is calculated, and the Holidays Act reform moving to hours-based accrual.
How bond refunds work in New Zealand: why Tenancy Services holds your bond, the online Bond Hub process, and what to do if you and your landlord disagree.
How Inland Revenue (IRD), not the Family Court, calculates child support in New Zealand using a formula: incomes, the living allowance, care percentage, and the child expenditure table.
How the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 works in New Zealand: the six criteria for automatic concealment, what still requires disclosure, and how to check your record.
When a resignation counts as constructive dismissal under New Zealand employment law, the situations that qualify, and how it is raised as a personal grievance.
The Consumer Guarantees Act sets automatic guarantees for goods and services bought in New Zealand, and the repair, replace, refund, or compensation remedies when they are not met.
The Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act cover different problems. A faulty product points to the CGA; being misled points to the Fair Trading Act. How to tell which applies.
How to contest a will in New Zealand under the Family Protection Act 1955: who can claim, the moral duty test, and the 12-month time limit from the grant of probate.
What a section 21 contracting out agreement under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 does, the strict signing and legal advice requirements, and when a court can set one aside.
Your rights when a debt collector contacts you in New Zealand: what the Fair Trading Act bans, how to dispute a debt, and how the Limitation Act 2010 affects old debts.
How New Zealand's demerit points system works: the 100-point, 2-year suspension threshold, the offence-to-points table, why camera-detected speeding tickets carry zero points, and how to check your total.
How the Disputes Tribunal works in New Zealand: filing fees, hearings with no lawyers, enforcing an order, and the claim limit that rose to $60,000 from 24 January 2026.
New Zealand divorce is a Family Court dissolution order. The only ground is 2 years living apart. How joint and sole applications work, the fee, and what a dissolution order does not decide.
The Dog Control Act 1996 explained: compulsory dog registration, menacing and dangerous dog classifications, owner liability for attacks, and the March 2026 review.
New Zealand's drink driving limit is 250 micrograms of breath alcohol or 50 milligrams of blood alcohol (0.05) for drivers 20 and over, and zero for drivers under 20. The infringement range, refusing a test, and penalties explained.
What happens when someone dies without a will in New Zealand: the Administration Act 1969 distribution order for a spouse, partner, children and other relatives.
New Zealand lets qualifying e-scooters ride the footpath with no helmet or age requirement, but the exemption is a Gazette notice that expires in 2028. See the current rules and what's changing.
From 21 February 2026, a 5 criteria gateway test can make a worker a specified contractor who cannot later claim to be an employee. How the test works.
The full notice-period table for ending a tenancy in New Zealand, plus the no-cause 90-day rule for periodic tenancies restored from 30 January 2025.
The two types of enduring power of attorney in New Zealand under the PPPR Act 1988: one for property and one for personal care and welfare, and when each takes effect.
The Fair Trading Act bans misleading and deceptive conduct and unfair contract terms in New Zealand. What it covers, who enforces it, and the 2026 Bill that would raise penalties sharply.
How the Fencing Act 1978 splits boundary fence costs between neighbours, how a fencing notice and 21-day cross-notice work, and what to do if a neighbour will not pay.
Flatmates are not tenants under New Zealand law. How the Residential Tenancies Act treats flatmates differently, what governs them instead, and where their disputes go.
How New Zealand's Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 works: the 10 communication principles, contacting Netsafe first, District Court orders, and the criminal offence.
The 5 Healthy Homes Standards now apply to every private rental in New Zealand. What they require, the penalties for breaching them, and a tenant's options.
How to legally change your name in New Zealand through Births, Deaths and Marriages: the statutory declaration, form BDM120, the fee, and changing a child's name.
How jury service works in New Zealand: who can be summoned, who is disqualified or ineligible, how to seek excusal or deferral, and juror pay rates.
New Zealand knife laws explained: carrying a knife in public without reasonable excuse, why self-defence doesn't count, and why NZ has no machete or zombie-knife ban.
What New Zealand landlords must do under the Residential Tenancies Act: healthy homes compliance, bond lodgement, maintenance, notice periods, and 2025/2026 rule changes.
What the Wills Act 2007 requires for a valid will in New Zealand: who can make one, being in writing and signed, and witnessed by two witnesses present together.
New Zealand's minimum wage is $23.95 an hour from 1 April 2026. The three wage types, who they apply to, and how to check if you are being paid correctly.
Using a hand held mobile phone while driving in New Zealand is a $150 fine and 20 demerit points. What counts as driving, the hands free exception, and the 111 emergency call rule.
New Zealand's Biometric Processing Privacy Code 2025 explained: the rules for facial recognition, fingerprints, and voiceprints, in force from 3 November 2025.
New Zealand consumer law explained: the Consumer Guarantees Act, the Fair Trading Act, the Disputes Tribunal (now up to $60,000), and debt collection rights.
New Zealand criminal records law: how the Clean Slate scheme automatically conceals old convictions, and the six conditions a person must meet.
How New Zealand law treats deepfakes and non-consensual intimate images: what the Crimes Act and Harmful Digital Communications Act already cover, and the 2025 bill.
New Zealand driving law: demerit points, speeding fines, drink-driving limits, and the mobile phone rule, including why camera speeding tickets carry no demerits.
New Zealand employment law explained: the minimum wage, sick leave, personal grievances, the 90-day trial, dismissal, redundancy, and the 2026 reforms.
New Zealand everyday law: legally changing your name, trespass notices, knife-carrying rules, the firearms registry, and jury service.
New Zealand family law explained: child support, relationship property, dissolution, separation agreements, parenting orders, and protection orders.
A plain-language guide to New Zealand law: tenancy, employment, family, consumer, wills, driving, criminal records, and privacy. What the law says and where to get help.
New Zealand neighbour law: sharing a boundary fence cost, dealing with excessive noise, the Dog Control Act, and overhanging trees and branches.
New Zealand online safety law: the Harmful Digital Communications Act, Netsafe, how to get harmful content removed, and how it sits alongside defamation.
New Zealand privacy law: the Privacy Act 2020 principles and the new Biometric Processing Privacy Code for facial recognition, fingerprints, and voiceprints.
New Zealand tenancy law explained: bonds, the Tenancy Tribunal, Healthy Homes, notice periods, rent increases, pet bonds, and the flatmate rules, with the 2025 reforms.
New Zealand wills and estates law: making a valid will, enduring power of attorney, probate (now $40,000), contesting a will, and dying without a will.
How New Zealand's firearms registry works: what licence holders must record with Te Tari Pūreke, the transition window to register, and the 30-day rule when you buy, sell or deal with a firearm.
How noise control works in New Zealand: your local council handles excessive noise complaints, can issue an Excessive Noise Direction, and can seize equipment.
New Zealand has no statutory minimum notice period. What the employment agreement controls, what reasonable notice means when it is silent, and the serious misconduct exception.
A New Zealand parenting order sets a child's day-to-day care and contact under the Care of Children Act 2004. The child's welfare is paramount, and Family Dispute Resolution mediation is generally required before applying to the Family Court.
What a personal grievance is under New Zealand employment law, the 90-day (12-month for sexual harassment) window to raise it, mediation, the ERA, and remedies.
The 1 December 2025 pet bond and pet consent rules for New Zealand rentals: how much a pet bond can be, when a landlord can decline a pet, and what changed.
What probate is in New Zealand, when the High Court needs to grant it, the small estate threshold that rose to $40,000 in September 2025, and why land always needs it.
How a protection order works under New Zealand's Family Violence Act 2018: who can apply, temporary vs final orders, standard conditions, and where to get help now.
New Zealand has 11 national public holidays plus a regional anniversary day. How time-and-a-half pay and the alternative holiday (day in lieu) work.
New Zealand has no statutory redundancy pay. Any compensation comes only from the employment agreement. The genuine redundancy test, fair process, and when redundancy becomes an unjustified dismissal.
How often a landlord can raise rent in New Zealand, the 60-day notice rule, and how a tenant can challenge an increase that is well above market rent.
A restraint of trade clause in a New Zealand employment agreement is enforceable only so far as it is reasonable. The test, what courts can do with an unreasonable restraint, and the status of reform.
A New Zealand separation agreement records how a separating couple will divide property, arrange care of children, and handle money. It is not legally required, but a property clause needs independent legal advice to be enforceable.