24 Finding Bills

Legal research may include researching the Bill related to an Act to aid in statutory interpretation. This type of legal research is often referred to as a legislative history and is typically motivated by the need to discover the source and influence of wording that exists in an Act. The legislative history may shine a light on the context and options discussed at the time the legislation was passed.

All current Bills (from 2002 on) are available from the New Zealand Parliament website.

Current Bills

On the New Zealand Parliament website, each Bill has its own web page that provides links to each copy of the Bill and any Amendment Papers (formerly called Supplementary Order Papers), along with links to Hansard (a transcript of the daily parliamentary debates), submissions to the select committee and any department reports discussing the Bill. In addition, Bills (from 2008 on) can also be found on the New Zealand Legislation website.

As a Bill progresses through the legislative process, different versions of the Bill contain information to help you understand the intent of Parliament in creating or amending legislation. This information is contained within the text of the Bill itself and also in:

• the explanatory note in the –1 version of a Bill, which sets out the policy the Bill seeks to achieve;
• the select committee report in the –2 version of a Bill, which includes the recommendations and amendments agreed upon by the select committee;
• the Committee of the whole House –3 version of the Bill, which includes any amendments made during the Committee of the whole House debate of the Bill in Parliament.

A Bill contains numbered clauses; these are referred to as sections once the Bill is enacted.

Other material, such as Hansard (a transcript of the daily Parliamentary debates), submissions to the select committee, legislative statements, disclosure statements, department reports and the Journals of the House of Representatives, can assist in tracing the history of a Bill, seeing the reasons for a Bill’s proposal and understanding support for or against a Bill. Some of this material is linked to the Bill’s web page on the Parliament website and other material can be found elsewhere on the Parliament website and on NZLII:

• Hansard (2023–);
• Historical Hansard (1854–);
• Legislative statements;
• Disclosure statements;
• Section 7 New Zealand Bill of Rights Act reports;
• Journals of the House of Representatives.

Terminated Bills

A terminated Bill has failed to become an Act and refers to a Bill that has been defeated, discharged, vetoed, withdrawn or has lapsed.

Historic Bills

Historic Bills (prior to 2002) can be found on NZLII. There are several digitised collections of Bills available through NZLII, including:

• New Zealand Bills (1998–);
• New Zealand Historical Bills (1854–2008).

Amendment Papers

Amendment Papers (formerly Supplementary Order Papers) can be found on www.parliament.nz and www.legislation.govt.nz.

There are several digitised collections of Historic Amendment Papers and Supplementary Order Papers available through NZLII, including:

• Amendment Papers (2022–);
• Supplementary Order Papers (2007–2023);
• Historical Supplementary Order Papers (1870–2007).