Patch 2025.12
December 2025 update
This month, voting deadlines, tax interest, student support, school attendance and immunisation rules, granny-flat consents, and court powers all change.
- Voting registration rules change — Registration closes 13 days before polling day, with related voter eligibility changes. Starts 20 Dec 2025
- Tax interest rates change — Interest on unpaid tax falls to 8.97%, while interest paid on overpaid tax falls to 2.25%. Starts 16 Jan 2026
- More people qualify as domestic students — People listed in the notice are treated as domestic students for specified tertiary and vocational education purposes. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Student parents’ housing support assessment changes — Boarders’ contributions will be treated differently when student parents’ accommodation benefits are assessed. Starts 2 Mar 2026
- Support assessments use accommodation costs — MSD will use weekly qualifying accommodation costs when assessing temporary additional support. Starts 2 Mar 2026
- Schools get attendance response rules — State schools must set absence thresholds, responses and review rules in their attendance management plans. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Schools stop managing immunisation records — Children’s immunisation information will instead be managed through the Aotearoa Immunisation Register and information-sharing agreements. Starts 8 Jan 2026
- Puberty-suppression prescribing restriction clarified — The prescribing restriction applies only to puberty suppression for children and teenagers with gender incongruence or dysphoria. Starts 19 Dec 2025
- Some granny flats can skip building consent — Small stand-alone dwellings can be built without building consent, but authorised professionals must do the work and notify councils. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- More judges and stronger court powers — Courts can deal with abusive civil proceedings through new powers, and the High Court judge limit rises from 55 to 60. Starts 1 Feb 2026
- Overseas investment checks change — Overseas investments in sensitive assets will face notification or consent requirements and national-interest risk checks. Starts 6 Mar 2026
- Council members’ determination changes — An amendment determination for local government elected members takes effect. Starts 12 Oct 2025
- Methane reduction target range changes — The 2050 biogenic methane reduction target range changes to 14%–24%, with a required review. Starts 17 Dec 2025
- Pig welfare code process changes — Welfare-code standards can be treated as meeting legal requirements when needed to match pig-management regulations. Starts 17 Dec 2025
- Fast-track approval rules change — The fast-track approval system changes, with some provisions starting on 31 March 2026. Starts 17 Dec 2025
- Some resource consents last longer — Some current or recently expired resource consents are extended or reinstated, generally until 31 December 2027. Starts 17 Dec 2025
- Vehicle surveillance equipment rules change — A notice changes rules for approved vehicle surveillance equipment. Starts 1 Feb 2026
- Society asset rules change during re-registration — Incorporated societies face changed transitional rules for disposing of surplus assets to members while moving to the new law. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Plumbers must provide work records for granny flats — Plumbers and drainlayers must provide a prescribed work record for work on non-consented small stand-alone dwellings. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- New forms support granny-flat building work — New forms must be used for applications, information, development contributions, and work certificates for granny flats. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Immunisation programmes can supply emergency medicines — Approved immunisation programmes may authorise people to administer or supply certain medicines without a prescription. Starts 19 Dec 2025
- Quarry consent tests now include operational need — Consent authorities may consider operational need, as well as functional need, for some quarrying and mineral extraction consents. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- New standards cover detached minor units — New national environmental standards apply to detached minor residential units. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Two chemicals face new export restrictions — Exports of two newly listed chemicals to other parties to the Convention are prohibited unless the Environmental Protection Authority grants a permit. Starts 12 Dec 2025
- More launches allowed from New Zealand — The permitted limit rises from 100 to 1,000 launches from New Zealand, subject to existing conditions. Starts 19 Dec 2025
- Diesel companies get new calculation duties — Fuel companies with diesel stockholding duties must calculate and record their diesel market share. Starts 1 Apr 2027
- Industrial emissions calculations change — Industrial allocation calculations will use a lower electricity factor and add a cold-ferrous-feed product. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Identified gangs list changes — Immortal Souls MC is added to, and Road Knights MC removed from, the identified-gangs list. Starts 2 Feb 2026
- More countries covered by artist resale rights — The list of countries covered by visual artists’ resale-right rules will expand in stages. Starts 8 Jan 2026
- Services skills board established — A board is established to cover specified services industries and work with those industries and other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Technology skills board established — A board is established to cover specified electrotechnology and information technology industries and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Existing regulations are confirmed — This confirms specified secondary legislation so it is not revoked or treated as invalid under deadlines. Starts 20 Dec 2025
- Kororipo Pā vesting agreement takes effect — The Act gives effect to parts of an agreement about vesting Kororipo Pā. Starts 20 Dec 2025
- Old lawyers’ fund rules are removed — Remaining transitional rules for the former Solicitors’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund are removed. Starts 12 Feb 2026
- Old lawyers’ compensation fund is wound up — The Solicitors’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund is formally wound up after all claims were dealt with. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Chatham Islands gets an iwi partnership board — Te Pūhana Ora is recognised as the iwi-Māori partnership board for the Chatham Islands Territory. Starts 15 Jan 2026
- Former prime ministers’ annuity rates rise — Annual rates for former Prime Ministers’ annuities rise, with the maximum increasing from $62,500 to $64,000. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Vocational system changes take effect — Provisions updating other laws for workforce development councils’ disestablishment take effect. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Open Polytechnic formally recognised — The Open Polytechnic becomes a formally recognised polytechnic and an anchor polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Universal College formally recognised — Universal College of Learning becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Otago Polytechnic formally recognised — Otago Polytechnic becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Two institutes formally recognised — Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec become formally recognised polytechnics. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Waikato institute formally recognised — Waikato Institute of Technology becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Toi Ohomai formally recognised — Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Southern Institute formally recognised — Southern Institute of Technology becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Nelson Marlborough institute recognised — Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Eastern Institute formally recognised — Eastern Institute of Technology becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Ara Institute formally recognised — Ara Institute of Canterbury becomes a formally recognised polytechnic. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Manufacturing skills board order begins — A new board is provided for manufacturing and engineering industry skills. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Energy skills board begins — A board will cover energy and infrastructure industries and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Education and health skills board begins — A board will cover education, health, and community industries and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Food and fibre skills board begins — A board will cover food and fibre industries and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Construction skills board begins — A board will cover construction and specialist trades and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Transport skills board begins — A board will cover the transport industry and work with other skills boards. Starts 2 Dec 2025
- Construction workforce council closes — The Waihanga Ara Rau Construction and Infrastructure Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Toi Mai workforce council closes — The Toi Mai Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Services workforce council closes — The Services Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Food and fibre workforce council closes — The Muka Tangata—People, Food, and Fibre Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Manufacturing workforce council closes — The Hanga-Aro-Rau Manufacturing, Engineering, and Logistics Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026
- Community and health council closes — The Community, Health, Education, and Social Services Workforce Development Council will be disestablished. Starts 1 Jan 2026