PCO news
Further release to the preview legislation website
19 December 2011
Today more of our ongoing development work was released to the preview legislation website, preview.legislation.govt.nz.
This preview website, launched in July 2011, shows the work the Parliamentary Counsel Office has underway to improve the New Zealand Legislation website. It allows you to test the website and to tell us what you think. See more about what's new on the preview website »
Warning: although the preview website is intended to provide the same up-to-date legislation as the New Zealand Legislation website and does so in the PDF versions, it is a work in progress so there may be slight differences of format in the HTML versions of legislation. You should not use it as your reliable source of legislation. Instead, you should refer to the New Zealand Legislation website.
Recent changes to legislation in response to the Canterbury earthquake
23 November 2011
For information about changes to legislation made in response to the earthquake, visit the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority website »
Mix & Mash competition winners announced
5 October 2011
The winners of Mix & Mash 2011—the Great New Zealand Remix & Mashup Competition—have been announced. The PCO was delighted to sponsor the Open Government category.
2011-2012 reprints programme released
19 August 2011
The 2010–2011 reprints programme has been established, based on results of the annual reprints survey and in accordance with the PCO's reprinting policy.
2010–2011 reprints programme: Reprints scheduled »
Summary of results of 2011 reprints survey »
PCO sponsoring open government mashup in Mix & Mash 2011
We are proud to support the Open Government Data Mashup category in this year's Mix & Mash competition, an event designed to get people using New Zealand digital content and data in new and creative ways.
And Mix & Mash is an opportunity for us to share some of the other ways people can access legislative data:
- legislation in XML format at www.legislation.govt.nz/subscribe/
- the DTDs used by the legislative data
- the customisable web feeds that alert users to changes in legislation at www.legislation.govt.nz/atombuilder.aspx.
Disclosure of Chief Parliamentary Counsel's expenses for the 2010/11 year
11 July 2011
In 2010, the State Services Commissioner introduced a disclosure regime for expenses, gifts, and hospitality incurred by Chief Executives of Public Service departments and Crown entities.
Although the PCO is a non-public service department and therefore not bound by that disclosure regime, it has decided to voluntarily publish this information at the end of each financial year.
View the expenses, gifts, and hospitality »
Acts from 1841 to 2007 As-Enacted Collection and 1908 Consolidation now available
28 September 2010—updated 25 May 2011
The PCO has been working on a project to digitise New Zealand Acts from 1841 to 2007 as originally enacted. The aim of the project is to provide free online access to all New Zealand Acts in their original form (ie as enacted), whether or not they have subsequently been repealed.
The digitisation project has now been completed and the collection is being hosted by NZLII, the New Zealand Legal Information Institute, with the collection also being made available to the National Library.
The collection is called the New Zealand Acts 1841–2007 As-Enacted Collection. The Acts are in PDF format and do not include any later amendments or show whether or not they have been repealed.
NZLII also hosts the 1908 Consolidation, a separate database that the University of Auckland kindly provided to the PCO. The 1908 Consolidation is a collection of 208 Acts enacted via the Consolidated Statutes Enactment Act 1908 to revise, re-enact, and replace 806 earlier Acts (which were repealed by that 1908 Act).
For current legislation, and for legislation enacted or repealed since 2007, visit the
New Zealand Legislation website.
More about the PCO's historical legislation digitisation programme »
Table of 2010 Statutory Regulations
14 April 2011
Statutory Regulations are made under the authority of empowering legislation. A table listing the Acts or other authorities under which Statutory Regulations were made in 2010, and the 2010 Statutory Regulations, is now available. View the table »
Table of legislation waiting to be brought into force by Order in Council (as at 1 January 2011)
22 February 2011
This table was presented to the House of Representatives on 21 February 2011. View the table »
Web feeds make it easy to keep up to date with changes to legislation
The New Zealand Legislation website now offers web feeds to keep users up to date with changes to the law. You can subscribe to ready-made feeds, or design custom feeds that match your particular interests.
See the New Zealand Legislation website’s web feeds page for more about web feeds, for ready-made feeds, and for how to set up custom feeds.
Legislation Bill reported back to House of Representatives
1 December 2010
The Legislation Bill was today reported back to the House of Representatives by the Regulations Review Committee.
GST increase to 15% from 1 October 2010 not automatically reflected in fees and charges in published legislation
14 September 2010
The prescribed fees and charges in Acts and Regulations set out on the
New Zealand Legislation website and contained in printed legislation will not reflect the increase in GST that takes effect on 1 October 2010 (except in the case of changes made specifically by amending legislation that comes into effect on or after 1 October).
The effect of section 78(3) of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 is, in general terms, to increase the amount payable for a fee/charge. For more about tax changes, visit the
Inland Revenue website.
However, legislation users will need to consult with the Government agency that administers the relevant legislation to obtain details of the actual fee or charge payable. The name of the relevant agency appears on the contents page of an Act or Regulation, or under Legislative history or Administrative information on the contents page.
