Patch 2024.11

November 2024 proposals

This month’s proposed bills would reshape renting, allow bigger Disputes Tribunal claims, toughen youth-offending responses, simplify children’s KiwiSaver enrolment, and permit paid job exits.

• Proposal to change rental rules — Would change rental notice periods, bring back no-reason landlord endings, and let tenants keep pets with reasonable grounds for refusal.
• Disputes Tribunal could hear larger claims — It would raise the claim limit from $30,000 to $60,000, with a new $468 fee for claims over $30,000.
• Stronger responses to serious youth offending — It would create young serious offender declarations and military-style academy orders for some 14-to-17-year-olds.
• One guardian could enrol a child in KiwiSaver — It would let one or more guardians enrol a child under 16 in KiwiSaver, instead of requiring every guardian.
• Proposal to allow paid job exits — Would let employers offer workers money to leave by agreement and give up future personal grievance claims.
• Parole could be delayed for incomplete programmes — It would delay parole consideration for up to 12 months when a prisoner had not completed a required rehabilitation programme.
• Primary industries rules could be tidied — It would make various primary-industry rules clearer and reduce some administrative work.
• Immigration and workplace rules could be updated — It would make various immigration, workplace, energy and safety rules more up to date.
• Proposal to exempt clean vehicles from FBT dropped — It would have exempted zero-emissions vehicles in employee salary packages from fringe benefit tax for five years.
• Proposal to protect crime victims in corrections — It would change corrections rules to protect victims.
• Proposal to change Crown minerals rules — It would change rules for Crown minerals.
• Proposal to repeal Oranga Tamariki Treaty duties — It would remove Oranga Tamariki’s specific legal duties to recognise and commit to Treaty principles.
• Stronger criminal law for foreign interference — It would create stronger criminal-law responses to foreign interference targeting New Zealand.
• New safety rules for people in care — It would change safety rules for care settings, including searches, worker checks, vulnerable adults and public records.
• Proposal to change insurance contracts — Would change rules for insurance contracts.
• Proposal to change insurance laws — Would repeal and change parts of insurance law.
• Proposal to define Treaty principles — Would put Treaty of Waitangi principles into law and affect how government decisions and laws are understood.
• Proposal to protect parody and satire — Would clearly allow people to use copyrighted works for parody or satire.
• Proposal to restore Western Samoa citizenship — Would restore Western Samoa citizenship.