On 3 June 2021 Parliament passed the Building (Building
Products and Methods, Modular Components and Other Matters)
Amendment Bill ( Bill), which is the
first phase of the wider building system legislative reform
programme that aims to "lift the efficiency and quality of building
work and provide fairer outcomes if things go wrong".
By Andrew Skinner - 17 Jun 2021
read article 
We extend a very warm welcome to our newest member of staff, Eesha
Karamchandani. Eesha specialises in property, corporate and
commercial financing law.
By Steven Lee - 2 Jun 2021
read article 
As readers might recall, in early April 2020, at the
height (and as part of) the initial response to COVID-19, the
Government announced a number of temporary changes to the Companies
Act 1993. The changes sought to address the position of companies
facing liquidity issues.
By Bill Gambrill - 16 Sep 2020
read article 
When starting a new business with another person, or
introducing a new shareholder, there are many aspects of the
business competing for your time. Often the relationship between
shareholders may be overlooked as you just want to get on with
things. However over time you might find that you and your other
shareholders have quite different ideas for the direction of the
business and how it should be managed. Agreeing a robust
shareholders agreement from the outset should help to avoid
problems in the future.
By Andrew Skinner - 11 Sep 2020
read article 
Consumers are increasingly basing their purchasing
decisions on the environmental impact of the product or service. As
a result, environmental claims made by businesses about their goods
or services are becoming more common in advertising.
By Andrew Skinner - 19 Jul 2020
read article 
The Privacy Bill passed its third reading in parliament
and will come into force on 1 December 2020, repealing and
replacing the Privacy Act 1993.
By Mike Worsnop and Tom Swindells - 6 Jul 2020
read article 
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July
2020. The changes will be particularly important for building
product suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are
summarised here.
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July 2020. The
changes will be particularly important for building product
suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are summarised
below.
By Andrew Skinner - 8 Jun 2020
read article 
There has been much debate regarding what a fair rental
reduction is under commercial leases where businesses have been
affected by COVID-19. The Government had previously done nothing to
assist either Landlords or Tenants in this situation.
This morning Government have announced a compulsory
rent dispute process where the Landlord and Tenant have been unable
to agree on a fair rent reduction during COVID-19 lockdown, which
requires compulsory arbitration with Government subsidising the
arbitration by about 75%.
By Melissa Higham - 3 Jun 2020
read article 
With economists predicting a significant economic
recession, it may be tempting for business owners to start reducing
staff numbers. This will be particularly so for those businesses
who have been relying on the wage subsidy to pay their employees'
wages. However, it is unlikely that simply relying on a potential
looming recession will justify making employees redundant in the
eyes of the law.
By Claire Mansell - 25 May 2020
read article 
On 15 May 2020 the COVID-19 Response (Further Management
Measures) Legislation Act 2020 became law. This means that two key
insolvency measures aimed at addressing the serious insolvency
risks arising from the COVID-19 crisis - the "safe harbour" regime
and the "debt hibernation scheme" - are now effective in New
Zealand.
By Mathew Martin and Bill Gambrill - 19 May 2020
read article