This page answers frequently asked questions about:
For more information, contact the Ministry of Justice at boravet@justice.govt.nz.
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We encourage agencies to contact the Ministry early in the policy process when they are developing policy in areas that could affect human rights. This enables policy options to be developed with human rights in mind. It can also help avoid issues at the Bill of Rights vetting stage.
The Ministry must be consulted on policy proposals leading to legislation, and on all Bills (except Bills developed by the Ministry of Justice or Te Arawhiti, which are assessed by Crown Law). Government Bills are assessed for consistency with the Bill of Rights Act before they are introduced into the House of Representatives. For more information on developing Bills and consultation requirements, see:
Advice on considering human rights and the Bill of Rights Act is in this Guide. For more information or to arrange Bill of Rights Act vetting, email boravet@justice.govt.nz.
The CabGuide(external link) requires Cabinet papers to have a statement on consistency with human rights. This should consider the consistency of a proposal with Aotearoa New Zealand’s domestic human rights legislation and international human rights obligations, including:
This section of the paper should set out:
The agency advancing the proposal is responsible for making its own assessment of human rights implications within its area of responsibility. The Ministry of Justice can help agencies consider which rights are relevant and how to assess whether any limitation is justified.
The Ministry of Justice can provide general advice and guidance on human rights issues and implications. The lead agency is ultimately responsible for assessing the human rights implications of a proposal.
If the proposal results in a Bill, the Bill will be vetted for consistency with the Bill of Rights Act. Vetting is done by the Ministry of Justice (or by Crown Law for Ministry of Justice and Te Arawhiti Bills).
Human rights policy advice:
A Bill of Rights Act vet is legal advice provided to the Attorney-General about the consistency of a Bill with the Bill of Rights Act.
Bill of Rights Act vetting is the process of assessing whether Bills are consistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
The Attorney-General must notify the House of Representatives of any provision in any Bill introduced to the House that appears to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
The Ministry of Justice advises the Attorney-General on Bill of Rights Act consistency for all Bills, except Ministry of Justice and Te Arawhiti Bills, which Crown Law provides advice on. Government Bills are vetted before the Bill is introduced.
Draft Bills should be provided for vetting as soon as you have a substantial draft, particularly for longer Bills. Please email us at boravet@justice.govt.nz to provide the Bill or ask any questions about vetting.
The CabGuide requires final versions of government Bills to be provided to the Ministry of Justice no later than two weeks before the Cabinet Committee meeting (usually Cabinet Legislation Committee, or LEG) on that Bill. If the final version is not with the Ministry at least two weeks before the LEG meeting, the Minister sponsoring the Bill should defer its submission to LEG.
Contact the Ministry of Justice at boravet@justice.govt.nz. Please provide:
Please contact the Ministry of Justice as soon as possible, ideally when preparing the policy paper. Email us at boravet@justice.govt.nz.
If the Bill raises Bill of Rights Act issues, this may hold it up. It is best to talk to us as soon as possible to help avoid this.
Lawyers or policy advisors working on the Bill should advise the Ministry of Justice about the Bill and expected timeframes before the two-week minimum deadline. Email us at boravet@justice.govt.nz.
Lawyers, policy advisors, or Parliamentary Counsel can provide us with the draft Bill and updated drafts of this. Please provide subsequent drafts in ‘compare’ format so we can see the changes made since the previous version.
Yes. All Bills need to be vetted for consistency with the Bill of Rights Act, even if the changes are consequential or consistent with existing legislation.
When vetting a Bill, the Ministry of Justice will ask for information about the justification for limiting rights even if the provisions in the Bill are similar to existing legislation. This is because:
A member of the Bill of Rights vetting team at the Ministry of Justice will contact you if they have any questions, concerns or need more information to vet the Bill.
If a Bill raises issues of apparent inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Act:
Inconsistencies may delay the Bill. We recommend contacting boravet@justice.govt.nz early if you have any questions or concerns.
The Ministry of Justice provides legal advice on consistency with the Bill of Rights Act directly to the Attorney-General for consideration. This is usually one week before Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG) or the relevant Cabinet committee.
The Ministry does not provide the agency with the advice. The Attorney-General usually refers a copy of the signed advice to the responsible Minister, so the agency may be able to access it from their Minister’s Office.
When reviewing the Bill, the Ministry will advise the lead agency of any provisions that they consider appear to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. Any view provided by the Ministry during the vetting process does not represent a final view of Bill of Rights consistency, as that decision is reserved for the Attorney-General.
The Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG) paper should include the agency’s analysis of the human rights implications of the proposal, including a summary of any Bill of Rights Act and/or broader human rights issues discussed with the Ministry of Justice.
The LEG paper and departmental disclosure statement will usually be lodged before the Bill of Rights Act vet has been finished and considered by the Attorney-General. If so, the paper should also state that an assessment of the Bill’s consistency with the Bill of Rights Act is in progress.
Please advise boravet@justice.govt.nz of any changes to the Bill after it is vetted. The Ministry will assess whether these changes affect the conclusions of our advice about the Bill.
If the Bill appears to be consistent with the Bill of Rights Act, the advice is usually published on the Ministry of Justice website when the Bill is introduced: Advice on consistency of bills with the Bill of Rights Act | New Zealand Ministry of Justice
If the Bill appears to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, a section 7 report will be presented in the House of Representatives: see Current papers - New Zealand Parliament (www.parliament.nz)(external link)
If the Attorney-General decides the Bill appears to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, they will present a report in Parliament under section 7 of the Bill of Rights Act.
Parliament can still decide to pass the Bill but the report may attract scrutiny from the media, the public, and through the parliamentary process, including at select committee.
Section 7 reports are published separately on the Ministry of Justice website: Section 7 reports | New Zealand Ministry of Justice
No, there is no formal vetting process for regulations and other secondary legislation.
It is still important that secondary legislation is consistent with the Bill of Rights Act. When developing secondary legislation, agencies need to consider whether any limitation on rights or freedoms in the Bill of Rights Act appears to be justified. Please contact boravet@justice.govt.nz for guidance on what to consider.
If the Bill appears to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, the report of inconsistency (section 7 report) will be referred to the select committee. The Attorney-General or their officials may be asked to present evidence to the committee on the section 7 report.
If the Bill appears to be consistent with the Bill of Rights Act, the Attorney-General’s officials will not usually be involved in the select committee process. Ministry of Justice officials may help you to identify and address any Bill of Rights issues or questions that arise, for example in relation to proposed amendments to the Bill.
If the Ministry of Justice or Crown Law gives evidence on a section 7 report to a select committee, they do so as representatives of the Attorney-General, not as advisors on the Bill. The evidence will be confined to the advice in the section 7 report. They will not advise the committee on whether new proposals are consistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
Amendment papers and amendments made at select committee will not generally be vetted for consistency with the Bill of Rights Act.
Occasionally, the Ministry of Justice may advise the Attorney-General on changes to the Bill after it is introduced – for example:
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