Public Access to Legislation Project

Project update, November 2007

The PAL Project has now moved into its implementation phase.

Implementation is a two-step process. The PCO, and PAL system users within the Office of the Clerk and IRD, have begun using the new system to draft and publish legislation. The second step will be for the new legislation website to go live.

We are operating a three-month transition period for the implementation of the PAL system, with the new and old drafting and publishing systems running in parallel. New work will now be drafted using the PAL system. Work already in progress that is expected to be completed within the transition period will remain in the old system, while other work in progress will be moved over to the new system at a convenient time.

At a date still to be determined during the transition period, the Interim Website of New Zealand Legislation will be replaced by the New Zealand Legislation website (although the URL, www.legislation.govt.nz, will remain, unchanged). Before this can happen, the legislative data that was loaded into the system at the completion of user acceptance testing needs to be brought up to date by incorporating all legislation enacted or made since then. PCO and Brookers staff are currently undertaking this work. Unisys is supporting and maintaining the PAL system, which is housed at Unisys' Kapiti Data Centre.