Home
Search
Site map
FAQ
NZ legislation
Client file
Careers
About the PCO
PAL Project
Links
Archive
Contact us

About this site
Access keys

About the PCO

Press releases

Media Statement, 24 April 2006

Legislation—changes to format and access

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO), which drafts and publishes New Zealand' s legislation, has made several changes this year to legislation format. The PCO is also providing more legislative information on its website.

Annual bound volumes

The format of the annual bound volumes of Acts and Statutory Regulations has been simplified, the changes effective from the 2005 annual volumes. To speed the publishing process, legislation now appears exactly as it was assented to or made, rather than being reformatted for the annual volumes. Thus page numbers will no longer be sequential across volumes: page numbers for each Act or set of Statutory Regulations will start at "1". The index at the front of each volume will still list Acts or Statutory Regulations alphabetically, along with their number and the volume number. Because Acts and Statutory Regulations are published in numerical order, and the number appears at the top of every page, any individual Act or set of Statutory Regulations can be found by its number. The change will enable the annual bound volumes to be published more quickly than in the past.

Other format changes

Several other changes have been made to legislation format, effective from 1 January 2006. Those most noticeable to users are to the table of contents (formerly the "analysis") of Acts and Statutory Regulations. Tables of contents now include page numbers, and appear in a single column rather than double columns. The type size is also larger. Other changes: more information.

Regulations table now on website

Volume 1 of each year' s bound Statutory Regulations contains a table of Acts and other authorities under which Statutory Regulations are made. In October 2005 the PCO consulted with users of legislation to establish whether the table was of use to them, with a view to ceasing publication of the table if appropriate.

As a result of the consultation, the table is not only to be retained but is now also available on the PCO's website. The response to the survey showed that some specialist groups value the information it provides and would benefit from electronic access.

Deemed regulations on website

A list of principal deemed regulations, with information on how to access them, now appears on the PCO website. This list is updated regularly from information supplied by the agencies that administer the regulations.

The deemed regulations on the website include land transport rules, civil aviation rules, and a wide variety of other rules, codes, and other legislative instruments. Unlike Statutory Regulations made by the Executive Council on the recommendation of Cabinet, they are made by Ministers, officials, or organisations. They are not drafted by the PCO and are not published in the Statutory Regulations series. Because of their varied origins and nature, it has sometimes in the past proved difficult to access them.

Media Statement, 1 April 2005

Supplementary information

This release provides further information on the financial aspects of the resumption of the PAL Project, as announced in the PCO/Unisys media statement of 16 March 2005.

What will the project cost to complete?

The original Government approval of the project in 2000 was based on an estimated cost of $5.19 million (GST inclusive) to complete the project, and ongoing operating costs estimated at $0.782 million (GST inclusive). Cabinet approval of the project required the project to be reviewed and resubmitted to the Government if it became apparent that the overall cost of the project would exceed the approved funding, or that the PCO was unable to acquire an electronic database of New Zealand legislation on acceptable terms.

The PCO selected Unisys New Zealand Limited as its implementation partner for the project. The project was to be undertaken in 2 stages. Stage 1 of the project, completed at the end of 2001, involved the development of user requirements and functional specifications, the evaluation and selection of the key technology components of the new system, and the selection of an electronic database of New Zealand legislation for purchase by the New Zealand Government. The PCO paid Unisys $0.697 million (GST inclusive) for Stage 1. The price for Stage 2 was to be agreed at the end of Stage 1, based on the results of the evaluation and selection of the technology to be implemented in Stage 2, and the cost of acquiring the database of legislation.

As a result of the work undertaken in Stage 1, the original cost estimates for the project were revised. The total cost of implementation was identified at $8.174 million (GST inclusive), and the ongoing operational costs at $1.13 million (GST inclusive). In February 2002, the Government approved additional funding of $2.983 million (GST inclusive) for the completion of the project, and additional ongoing funding of $0.348 million (GST inclusive). The PCO agreed to pay Unisys $5.65 million (GST inclusive) for the completion of Stage 2.

Under the commercial settlement between the PCO and Unisys that has enabled the project to resume, the PCO and Unisys will share the additional costs of completing the project. The PCO will pay Unisys an additional $3.037 million (GST inclusive) to complete the PAL Project to agreed time and quality criteria. When the PAL Project is completed, Unisys will house and maintain the new PAL system on behalf of the PCO at its Kapiti Data Centre.

The Cabinet has approved extra funding for the PCO to cover the additional payment to Unisys, the project management, independent quality assurance, and other costs of completing the project, and to cover the estimated ongoing costs of operating the new PAL system. This funding consists of a total capital contribution of $6.181 million for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years, and a total of $9.104 million (GST inclusive) of operational expenditure for the 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2006/07 financial years. The operational expenditure includes an amount to cover the cost of continuing the current arrangement with Legislation Direct for the provision of prepublication services, and the current arrangement with Brookers for the provision of the Interim Website of New Zealand Legislation, during the 2004/05 financial year and subsequent financial years until the PAL Project is completed. The amount of the additional funding for operating the PAL system after the project is completed is not being disclosed at this time, as a number of the components that make up the total costs are commercially sensitive.

What has been the overall cost of the delay to the project?

The overall costs incurred by the PCO as a result of the delay in the PAL Project are approximately $7.371 million (GST inclusive) for the period 1 March 2003 to 17 March 2005.

Reviews of the PAL Project

The PCO costs associated with the reviews of the project total $216,059. This includes the 2 reviews undertaken by InQuirion Pty Ltd: the Technical Review at a total cost to PCO of $172,253 and the Review of Alternative Print Rendering Engines at a cost of $43,806. A review of a revised project plan was undertaken by HeXaD Consulting and paid for by the State Services Commission.

Interim arrangements

Interim arrangements entered into as a consequence of the delay have cost the PCO approximately $6.27 million (GST inclusive). This includes the provision of the Interim Website of New Zealand Legislation by Brookers Ltd, and the provision of pre-publication services by Legislation Direct. Part of the additional operational funding referred to above is to cover the costs of these arrangements for the part of the 2004/05 financial year during which the project was delayed.

Other costs

Other costs that contribute to the overall costs incurred by the PCO as a result of the delay in the PAL Project and not included in the above categories total approximately $0.881 million (GST inclusive). These include project management services, legal services, independent quality assurance services and technical advice, and the cost of hosting arrangements for the proposed new PAL website.

Media Statement, 16 March 2005

The Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project will resume following agreement between the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) and Unisys on the commercial basis on which the project will be completed, and Cabinet approval of that agreement.

The PAL Project is designed to improve the way in which New Zealand legislation (Bills, Acts, Statutory Regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers) is made available to the public. The aim of the project is to provide public access to up-to-date official legislation in both printed and electronic form. This involves the implementation of a new XML-based drafting and publishing system within the PCO, and a website with free public access.

The PAL Project was originally scheduled to go live in February 2003, but the PCO and Unisys identified a number of issues that required further work. In May 2003, the Government sought independent assurance that the system, when implemented, would be operationally stable, maintainable, and capable of future enhancement. A review, conducted by Australian-based firm InQuirion, provided that assurance.

The Government then authorised the PCO (together with Treasury and State Services Commission officials) to negotiate with Unisys over the terms on which the project could be completed.

As a result of those negotiations, Unisys will complete the project to agreed time and quality criteria and, when it is completed, Unisys will house and maintain the new PAL system on behalf of the PCO at Unisys’ Kapiti Data Centre.

Completion is not expected until late 2006 at the earliest. The Cabinet has approved extra funding for the PCO to cover the project management, independent quality assurance, and other costs of completing the project.

"We are pleased with the outcome of this negotiation process. We now look forward to working together with the aim of making legislation more accessible to New Zealanders", George Tanner, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Chris Thompson, Unisys Partner, Public Sector, Australia/New Zealand, jointly stated.

Media Statement, 22 June 2004

Contract for printing of legislation extended

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) and Blue Star Print Group Limited (Blue Star) have agreed to extend the present contract between the PCO and SecuraCopy (a subsidiary of Blue Star) for the printing, distribution, and sale of legislation until the end of March 2006. This was announced today by George Tanner, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Keith Brodie, Chief Executive Officer for Blue Star.

The printing contract with SecuraCopy was originally intended to expire in July 2004, and the contract put out to tender. A meaningful tender process cannot be undertaken until the impact of free public access to legislation on sales of printed legislation can be assessed, and the form in which the PCO will supply legislative material to a contracted printer is finalised. These matters are dependent on a Government decision on the future of the Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project. The extension of the SecuraCopy contract will ensure the uninterrupted supply of legislation to Parliament, and the availability of printed legislation to the public, until these matters are resolved.

As part of the arrangement to extend the SecuraCopy contract, Blue Star has agreed to resume the supply of legislative data to the Knowledge Basket through Legislation Direct, also a Blue Star subsidiary. This will enable the Knowledge Basket to restore free public access via its website (at www.knowledge-basket.co.nz) to Acts and Statutory Regulations in an uncompiled form (ie, without their amendments incorporated), and Supplementary Order Papers, and to continue to provide free public access to Bills. In addition, the Knowledge Basket’s historical collection, which includes legislation repealed or revoked since the collection was first started in 1987, will also be made available again for free public browsing.

The restoration of the Knowledge Basket service will ensure, in particular, that legislative data is available in a format that can be accessed by blind and vision impaired persons.

Given the unique significance of the Knowledge Basket’s collection of legislative data, Blue Star has also agreed that, at the end of the term of the printing contract, a copy of that collection will be supplied to the PCO so that it can be preserved in the public domain.

The arrangement with Blue Star, and the restoration of the Knowledge Basket service, does not affect the PCO’s current arrangement with Brookers to provide the interim website of New Zealand legislation (at www.legislation.govt.nz). This website provides free public access to unofficial versions of New Zealand Acts and Statutory Regulations in an up-to-date form (ie, with their amendments incorporated).

Hard copies of legislation (including Bills) continue to be available from Legislation Direct and normal retail outlets. Electronic copies of Bills, Acts, and Statutory Regulations may also be purchased from Legislation Direct.

Media Statement, 20 October 2003

New reprints of legislation published

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) is pleased to announce the publication of the first reprints to be produced by the PCO's new Reprints Unit. All reprints will now be published only in pamphlet form. The pamphlet copy format replaces the bound Reprinted Statutes of New Zealand Series (the brown volumes), the last volume of which (Volume 42) was published earlier this year. Reprints of Statutory Regulations will no longer be included in the Statutory Regulations Series under a new number.

A reprint combines a principal enactment with its subsequent amendments, up to a particular date. The format of reprints has been redesigned so that they simply present the law as is, without the convention of using square brackets or ellipses, etc, to highlight individual amendments. History notes have been retained so that users may trace the origin of particular amendments.

The first reprints in the new format are the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Medicines Regulations 1984, and the Privacy Act 1993, and the following titles are scheduled for reprinting over the next few months:

These titles were selected and prioritised according to the following criteria:

The PCO welcomes suggestions for Acts or Statutory Regulations to be reprinted. Please include the reasons for your suggestion when contacting Juliet Price, Reprints Unit Co-ordinator (phone: 64 4 471 9166; fax: 64 4 499 3024; or email: juliet.price@parliament.govt.nz).

The reprints are available through Bennetts Government Bookshops and certain other retail outlets, or from Legislation Direct on subscription. Subscribers to the Reprinted Acts (RS Volumes) have been automatically transferred to this service.

For information on the subscription service, please contact the Subscriptions and Standing Orders Manager at Legislation Direct (phone: 64 4 494 6811; fax: 64 4 495 2880; or email: ldenquiries@legislationdirect.co.nz).