CO (22) 4: Statutes Amendment Bill for 2023

1 This circular sets out the process for developing the Statutes Amendment Bill in 2023.

Process for the Bill

This circular sets out the seven key steps involved in the preparation of Statutes Amendment Bills, which range from the identification of proposals through to cross-party consultation and drafting.

Action: Agencies are now required to submit their amendments to the Ministry of Justice for vetting before consultation with relevant Ministers. See paragraphs 10 to 12 for more information.

Important dates

2 Statutes Amendment Bills are designed as vehicles for short, technical and non-controversial amendments to a range of Acts [refer paragraph 7.69 of the Cabinet Manual 2017].  Amendments proposed for inclusion in a Statutes Amendment Bill should meet all three of these criteria. In determining whether an amendment/s meets the above criteria, consider the following:

3 It is important that all elements of the Bill are appropriate for inclusion in this type of Bill and that they have been the subject of prior consultation with all parties in the House.  If any Member of Parliament objects to a clause of a Statutes Amendment Bill during its consideration by the committee of the whole House, it will be struck out of the Bill [Standing Order 313(2)].  The aim is to avoid this by engaging in full, cross-party consultation before including clauses in the Bill.

4 The Statutes Amendment Bill will include items approved by any Minister (or identified by Cabinet) which involve short, technical, and non-controversial amendments to Acts relevant to the Minister’s portfolio area.  For proposals to come within the scope of a Statutes Amendment Bill they must consist entirely of amendments to an Act or the repeal (without replacement) of an existing Act.  Consequential amendments, consequential repeals, application provisions, and savings and transitional provisions are permissible. 

5 Stand-alone provisions, including the creation of a new principal Act, are normally ruled out.  Amendments that the portfolio Minister considers require policy consideration by a Cabinet committee or by Cabinet will almost certainly be unsuitable.

6 A finite allocation of drafting time has been made for the preparation of the Bill and for its support through the House.  The deadlines outlined in paragraph 1 must be met to ensure proposed amendments can be included in the Bill.  Proposed amendments not meeting the deadlines may be submitted for inclusion in any later Statutes Amendment Bill.

7 Individual departments are responsible for identifying and developing amendments to Acts they administer.  Portfolio Ministers will approve potential amendments within their portfolio areas and undertake any necessary government consultation.

8 The Associate Minister of Justice is the Minister in charge of the Bill and will coordinate the inclusion of items in the Bill and the cross-party consultation process. The Ministry of Justice will coordinate the administrative aspects of the development of the Bill.  Departments should liaise with the Ministry of Justice coordinator in the first instance (Hannah Duncan, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Justice, ph 04 4949762; email [email protected])

9 The first step is for a department to identify amendments that it considers appropriate for inclusion in the Bill.  Departments must be satisfied that proposed amendments are short, technical, and non-controversial and otherwise consistent with the content requirements described in paragraphs 2 to 4.  In identifying potential amendments, departments should consult with their legal departments.

10 The second step is for the department to submit the amendments they have identified to the Ministry of Justice for initial vetting.  These need to be provided to the Ministry of Justice by 10 February 2023.

11 The Ministry of Justice will vet the amendments to determine whether they are short, technical, and non-controversial and otherwise consistent with the content requirements described in paragraphs 2 to 4.  Departments may wish to provide to the Ministry of Justice any advice from their legal departments they have received as to the suitability of the proposed amendments.

12 The Ministry of Justice will then provide advice to the department as to whether it considers the amendments suitable for inclusion in the Bill.  This advice will be provided to the department by early March.

13 The third step is for the department to brief the Minister responsible for the principal Act and obtain that Minister’s approval for the proposed amendment and to proceed to cross-party consultation.  The department’s briefing to the portfolio Minister should include the advice that the Ministry of Justice has provided to the department as to the suitability of the amendments.  As well as this, the briefing should include the following documents, templates of which are available from the Ministry of Justice coordinator:

14The attachment referred to in paragraph 13.b is designed to go under a covering letter from the Minister in charge of the Bill to the leader of each parliamentary party seeking support for all the proposed amendments.

15The portfolio Minister will need to undertake consultation with his or her own party caucus, as necessary, in the normal way.

16 The fourth step is for departments to provide all relevant briefing material and correspondence, once approved and signed by the portfolio Minister, to the Ministry of Justice by 21 April 2023 (Hannah Duncan, see contact details in paragraph 8). 

17 The Ministry of Justice will brief the Minister in charge of the Bill on all proposals tendered by portfolio Ministers, on an aggregated basis. This advice will include whether the proposals tendered are short, technical, and non-controversial and otherwise consistent with the content requirements in paragraphs 2 to 4.

18The cross-party support process is coordinated through the Minister in charge of the Bill.  The fifth step is for the Minister in charge of the Bill to send a letter to each parliamentary party seeking its support for the proposed amendments.  Letters will be sent to parliamentary parties by the end of May to be returned to the Minister in charge of the Bill by 23 June 2023.

19Each letter will be accompanied by a set of attachments from the portfolio Ministers setting out the details of the proposed amendments.  The recipients of the letters will be asked to direct queries on the substance of the proposed amendments to the office of the relevant portfolio Minister, and to finally respond to the Minister in charge of the Bill indicating their support or otherwise for the amendments.

20The Ministry of Justice will notify departments and the Parliamentary Counsel Office of the outcome of the consultation process.

21The sixth step is for the Ministry of Justice to send drafting instructions to the Parliamentary Counsel Office drafting team leader responsible for the department’s drafting by 26 May 2023 [refer to paragraphs 7.50 and 7.52 of the Cabinet Manual which relate to the role of the drafter and drafting instructions].

22 The seventh step is for the Parliamentary Counsel Office to draft the Bill. The Parliamentary Counsel Office will not begin drafting any amendment until confirmation of support from all parties has been obtained. Confirmation needs to be received by 7 July 2023.

23 Parts of the Bill, when drafted and settled with instructing departments, are sent by Parliamentary Counsel to the Ministry of Justice, which will organise the vetting of the proposals for consistency with the provisions of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. 

24 The intention is to finalise the Statutes Amendment Bill for introduction in November 2023.