Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is reviewing the law relating to adult decision-making capacity. We are consulting on our Second Issues Paper. Submissions close at 5pm on Friday 21 June 2024.
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:
We published a Preliminary Issues Paper in November 2022. Consultation on that paper closed on 3 March 2023.
We are now consulting on our Second Issues Paper. This looks at the current law in much more detail and suggests possible options for reform.
Submissions on the Second Issues Paper close at 5pm on Friday 21 June 2024.
The feedback we receive on the Second Issues Paper will inform the recommendations we make in our Final Report. We intend to give our Final Report to the Minister of Justice in early 2025.
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:
Read the Second Issues Paper:
We have 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 will be most relevant to people’s everyday experiences.
The Key Topics summarise relevant information from the Second Issues Paper in plain language. They ask some high-level questions about each topic, rather than the more detailed questions in the full Second Issues Paper.
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:
There are two ways you can have your say. You can:
You can either make your submission online or download and complete a submission form in MS Word.
Submissions close at 5pm on Friday 21 June 2024.
The submission form contains all the consultation questions from the Second Issues Paper.
The submission form contains all the high-level consultation questions from the Key Topics.
If you don’t make your submission online, you can send your submission to us in writing by email or post at the addresses below:
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 are now consulting on our Second Issues Paper. This paper looks at the current law in much more detail and proposes options for reform. Consultation on this paper closes on 21 June 2024. You can make a submission online or though one of our other submission options.
After our second round of consultation, we will prepare 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 early 2025.
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is committed to consulting the public in our review.
We published our Preliminary Issues Paper in November 2022. Consultation on that paper closed on 3 March 2023.
We would like to hear from you in our current consultation. You can make a submission online or though one of our other submission options.
You can also subscribe to receive updates on this review.
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 send 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.
If you or someone you support would like to make a submission, but none of the options given are accessible to you, please get in touch with us.
If you are finding it difficult in other ways to make a submission, we encourage you to seek support to understand what it means to make a submission, how to make your submission, and to understand how your information will be used.
Some people may find it emotional or distressing to make a submission. If you want to make a submission, you may want to arrange to have a support person ready to help. If you are upset or distressed you can also 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.
If you have any questions, need assistance or wish to raise an accessibility issue, please contact us:
What happens to your contact details? Please read the Law Commission’s Privacy and Transparency Statement.