Insights & Articles

Last week the New Zealand Government, supported by Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions ("NZCTU"), released a proposal on an income insurance scheme ("the scheme") – one of its biggest reforms since the introduction of ACC in the 1970s. McVeagh Fleming's employment team have summarised the 'need to know' information.

The Fair Trading Amendment Act 2021 - The Fair Trading Amendment Act 2021 ("Amendment Act") was enacted on 16 August 2021. It introduces changes to the Fair Trading Act 1986 ("Act"), some of which have come into effect and others which will come into effect on 16 August 2022.

Intellectual Property is an asset that has the potential to be more valuable to your business than tangible business assets and should be protected as much as possible. A famous trade mark or a market leading patent may be of far greater value to a company than its physical assets.

The Privacy Act 2020 ("new Act") came into force in 2020, replacing the Privacy Act 1993. The purpose of the new Act was to overhaul New Zealand's existing privacy of personal information regulatory framework and bring it into line with internationally recognised privacy obligations and standards. Section 22 of the new Act sets out 13 information privacy principles ("Privacy Principles"). In this article, we focus on new developments in relation to Privacy Principle 1 ("PP1"), which addresses the purpose of collection of personal information.

This article serves to inform the procedural and legal methods and issues related to debt recovery.

The Court of Appeal recently released a decision Metropolitan Glass & Glazing Limited v Labour Inspector Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2021] NZCA 560 reversing an earlier ruling of the Employment Court regarding short-term incentive payments under the Holidays Act 2003.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government issued the Covid-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine) Order 2020 ("IQ Order") in September 2020. Most kiwis are well aware of the IQ Order, and understood it to mean that if we leave New Zealand, we will be required to self-isolate at a managed isolation facility for 14 days upon our return (until the announcement last week confirming a shortening of the managed isolation period for residents returning to NZ after 14 November 2021).

The Government has moved very fast to make significant changes to the law around commercial leases. The proposed changes would allow all commercial tenants, including business owners of all sizes, whether or not they have suffered material financial losses, a rent reduction for the period of 'no access' to their premises as a result of the current Covid-19 lockdown.

Technological innovation in the financial services sphere has enabled financial institutions to adopt and use Financial Technology ("FinTech") to improve or allow for more effective or efficient provision of financial services. FinTech often involves innovation - new business models, applications, processes, and products or new ways of delivering those products. It includes computer programs, apps and other technology used to support or enable banking and financial services. FinTech businesses cater for a wide range of consumer needs; including online banking, obtaining financial advice, personalised investment portfolios, cash transfers, and share trading platforms. Successful FinTech businesses such as PayPal and AfterPay have become household names.

On 1 October 2021, the long anticipated Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Lender Inquiries into Suitability and Affordability) Amendment Regulations 2020 ("Regulations") came into effect after being passed into law by the Government in November last year. The changes are well-intentioned, with the purpose being to tackle high-cost consumer loans and minimise borrower hardship that had been well documented in recent Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment inquiries into mobile trading. However, like all regulation, there is a trade-off, and these highly prescribed regulations place a significant compliance burden on responsible lenders, particularly small and medium enterprises.

The Principal, the Contractor and the Engineer had to navigate through the general and specific conditions of their NZS3910:2013 contracts in regards to variations, extensions of time and payment claims for the Covid-19 lockdown period.

At 3.00 pm on 28 September 2021, the Government announced changes to travel during the current Alert Level 3. Travel across the border from Level 3 into Level 2 has been strictly limited, but the new rules that take effect at 11:59 pm tonight (28 September 2021) now permit travel across the border if one or more of the following situations applies to you: