News & thinking

Corporate Advisory:

Should Fair Trading Act penalties be increased?

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Last week, the chair of the Commerce Commission (Commission), Dr John Small, told a select committee during its annual review process that the potential penalties enforceable under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) are weak and a frustration for…

New requirements for incorporated societies now live

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The new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (Act) and its Regulations came into force on 5 October 2023. This introduces significant changes to the law for incorporated societies, meaning that: Existing incorporated societies are now able…
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Legal risks associated with the use of AI

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In the span of a few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has showcased its potential to revolutionise the way we live, work, and interact. However, for many of us, the concept of AI and what it holds for the future remains a grey area. In…

Ship Arrests – How Do They Work?

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This article Appeared in the October 2020 issue of The Shipping Gazette The drama surrounding recent ship arrests in New Zealand has captured the attention of the shipping fraternity here, with several readers emailing me to try and grasp…

Climate change – reporting on a sleeper issue

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Earlier this week, the Government announced that mandatory climate-related financial disclosures will be introduced for large financial services entities. The announcement follows last year's consultation on the issue, and makes New Zealand…
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Impact of COVID-19 on contractual obligations

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With the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses will be worried about how this impacts contractual performance. In particular, the first lockdown, and the recent sudden move to Alert Levels 2 and 3 will have…

Top tips for SMEs implementing an e-commerce solution

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E-commerce is a very well established means of doing business (Amazon being founded back in 1994 and now having a market cap of over $1 trillion being testament to this!). Yet today, in the Covid-19 world, e-commerce has assumed an even more…
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Implementing new technology during a pandemic

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Covid-19 lockdowns have forced change on the business world. Two of the most visible areas of change have been in relation to the way we work and operate and the technology we use to support our work and operations. As restrictions have eased,…
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5 Quick Questions: NZ-UK Free Trade Agreement 

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On 17 June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officially announced the start of negotiations on a free trade agreement between New Zealand (NZ) and the United Kingdom (UK), stating that the parties are committed to a bilateral…

Honey Bees takes the sting out of penalty clauses

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The Supreme Court has upheld previous decisions in finding that when it comes to penalty clauses, the measure is no longer whether the penalty is a "genuine pre-estimate of loss". A penalty clause will now be enforceable unless it is "out…
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Easing corporate governance in COVID-19

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On 16 May a new law came into effect with temporary measures aimed at easing  corporate governance for companies and certain other types of incorporated entities in these times of physical distancing for COVID-19. The new temporary measures…

Business Debt Hibernation

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As part of the changes to assist businesses ride out the COVID-19 storm, parliament has proposed a business debt hibernation scheme to supplement the existing insolvency mechanisms under the Companies Act 1993. Business Debt Hibernation The…
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Safe harbour for directors – Relief for businesses or storm brewing?

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Parliament is introducing legislation to amend the Companies Act to assist companies facing solvency issues as a result of COVID-19. The hope is that this will assist companies to trade through and keep employees on board during this time…
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Mitigating insolvency risks during COVID-19 lockdown

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The COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant financial impact on all businesses across New Zealand, particularly as a result of the Government-directed lockdown. The nationwide financial impact may give rise to insolvency risks for some businesses. Now…

How the Government plans to leverage its $41 Billion spend

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The New Zealand Government spends approximately $41 billion each year buying goods and services from third-party suppliers and providers. Cabinet agreed last year to more explicitly leverage those contracts to achieve broader social, economic…

Bullies beware: Unfair commercial practices to be banned

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Many New Zealand businesses and consumers regularly confront what they see as unfair commercial practices. The Government believes that these practices may undermine its attempts to build a more productive, sustainable and inclusive economy. Recently,…