Ngā Huarahi Whakatau
Review of Adult Decision-Making Capacity Law
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is reviewing the law relating to adult decision-making capacity.
About the review
We are reviewing the law relating to adult decision-making capacity
The main law we are looking at is the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988. This Act sets out decision-making arrangements which can apply when someone does not have decision-making capacity, such as enduring powers of attorney, welfare guardians and property managers.
Things we are considering include:
- Whether the law should continue to provide for the current decision-making arrangements and any changes to those arrangements.
- Whether the law should recognise and provide for any other decision-making arrangements.
- What the safeguards and accountability mechanisms should be.
Our process
We published a Preliminary Issues Paper in November 2022. Consultation on that paper closed on 3 March 2023.
We published a Second Issues Paper in April 2024. Consultation on that paper closed on 21 June 2024.
The feedback we have received on these papers will inform the recommendations we make in our Final Report. We intend to give our Final Report to the Minister of Justice in 2025.
Second Issues Paper
The Second Issues Paper supported our second round of consultation
The Second Issues Paper
The Second Issues Paper
The Second Issues Paper contains our detailed analysis of issues with the current law and suggests possible options for reform.
The Second Issues Paper has three parts:
- Part 1 explains some important ideas and concepts in relation to the review.
- Part 2 discusses what key features and decision-making arrangements should be in a new Act.
- Part 3 discusses options for systemic reform, including practical improvements and improving court processes.
Read the Second Issues Paper:
Key Topics
We also published Key Topic documents on a few of the most important topics that we cover in the Second Issues Paper. These are topics we think are most relevant to people’s everyday experiences.
The Key Topics summarise relevant information from the Second Issues Paper in plain language. The Key Topics are available in a range of accessible formats: New Zealand Sign Language, Easy Read, audio, large print and Braille. They are also available in te reo Māori.
Read the Key Topics:
Common questions
Select from the common questions below to find out more about the review
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is an independent state agency that provides law reform advice to the Government.
Our independence makes us different from many state sector agencies. The Government does not direct how we carry out our work or the recommendations we make.
We approach each law reform task with an open mind, undertake research and engagement, and consider the broader policy context. We then make recommendations to the Government to improve the law. These recommendations are published in a report to the Minister of Justice.
The Minister must present our report to Parliament. The Government decides whether and how it will change the law.
There has been increased recognition of the human rights of disabled people and a shift towards supporting people to make their own decisions.
There has also been increased recognition that the law in this area does not adequately take into account te Tiriti o Waitangi, te ao Māori or the multi-cultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand. As well, our population is changing. Aotearoa New Zealand has an increasingly aging and culturally diverse population.
In light of these developments, the Minister of Justice has asked Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission to carry out a review and make recommendations to improve the law.
The scope of Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission’s review is set out in our Terms of Reference.
The focus of this review is the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act (PPPR Act). It is the primary piece of legislation relating to decision-making capacity. It provides several decision-making arrangements for people who do not have decision-making capacity, such as welfare guardians, property managers and enduring powers of attorney.
Other laws which address decision-making capacity have a specific focus – such as compulsory treatment for substance addiction, the conduct of litigation, entry into a contract or emergency medical treatment. Each of these areas of law raise different considerations and human rights obligations and reviewing them needs to be done on a case-by-case basis.
It is not practicable to review all these laws and the PPPR Act in a single review. However, the work we do in this review will materially advance future consideration of other, more specific, laws.
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission launched this review with the publication of its Terms of Reference in October 2021.
We published our Preliminary Issues Paper in November 2022. That paper provided high-level information about current law and practice, and asked questions about people’s experiences and views on key issues. Consultation on that paper closed on 3 March 2023.
We published our Second Issues Paper in April 2024. That paper looked at the current law in much more detail and proposed options for reform. Consultation on that paper closed on 21 June 2024.
We are now preparing our final report. This will recommend to the Government how the law should be reformed. We intend to provide our final report to the Minister of Justice in 2025.
Information given to Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 2020.
For more information about the Official Information Act, please visit the Ombudsman’s website. For more information about the Privacy Act, please visit the Privacy Commissioner’s website.
If you sent us a submission, we will consider it in our review and keep it as part of our official records. We may publish the submission on our website, refer to it in our publications and use it to inform our work in other reviews.
Your submission may contain personal information. You have the right to access and correct your personal information at any time.
You can request that we do not publish your name or any other identifying information in your submission. If you request this, we will not publish your name or any other information that we think might identify you or others on our website or in our publications.
However, if you made a submission on behalf of an organisation, we may publish the name of that organisation.
If we receive a request under the Official Information Act that includes your submission, we may be required to release it. If you have requested that we not publish your name or other identifying information, we will not release that information under the Official Information Act without consulting with you.
If you have questions about the way we manage your submission, you can contact us at huarahi.whakatau@lawcom.govt.nz.
Some people may find this information emotional or distressing. If you are upset or distressed you can call or text 1737. This helpline service is free and is available 24 hours a day. You’ll get to talk or text with a trained counsellor. The service is provided by Whakarongorau Aotearoa|New Zealand Telehealth Services.
If you are worried about your safety, or the safety of someone you are supporting, you can seek help. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111 and ask for the police.
Contact us
You can subscribe to receive updates on this review
Contact us
If you have any questions, need assistance or wish to raise an accessibility issue, please contact us:
- Email: huarahi.whakatau@lawcom.govt.nz
- Post: Review of Adult Decision-Making Capacity Law, Law Commission, PO Box 2590, Wellington 6140
Subscribe to receive updates on this review
Please enter your name and email address in the form below:
What happens to your contact details? Please read the Law Commission’s Privacy and Transparency Statement.