Patch 2025.09

September 2025 proposals

This month’s bills would ban payment surcharges, increase FamilyBoost, ease granny-flat building, protect overdose callers, speed courts, and change education, adoption, juries and vocational training.

• Proposal to ban some payment surcharges — Would ban payment surcharges on certain in-store transactions.
• Proposal to increase FamilyBoost help — Would raise FamilyBoost payments and allow more families to qualify for help with early childhood education fees.
• Proposal to ease granny-flat building — Would allow qualifying stand-alone homes up to 70 square metres without building consent.
• Proposal to change education rules — Would change school governance, attendance plans, teacher rules, university speech reporting, and notice for school strikes.
• Proposal to protect overdose callers — Would protect people calling for overdose help from charges for specified low-level drug offences.
• Proposal to tighten overseas adoption safeguards — Would add temporary safeguards for recognising some overseas adoptions involving New Zealand citizens and residence-class visa holders.
• Proposal to speed up court cases — Would change court processes to help cases move faster and allow judges to stop plainly abusive civil cases.
• Proposal to raise jury excusal age — Would let people choose jury-service excusal from age 72 instead of 65.
• Proposal to restructure vocational education — Would disestablish Te Pūkenga and workforce development councils, restore regional polytechnics, and create industry skills boards.
• Proposal to recognise all war service — Would recognise everyone who has served New Zealand in wars and warlike conflicts, including some non-military service, on Anzac Day.
• Proposal to change Auckland transport governance — Would change Auckland’s transport governance and planning arrangements.
• Proposal for extra government spending authority — Would give the Government extra spending and investment authority through 30 June 2026.