The Proposed Plan Change 1 for Waikato Regional Council has been dubbed “Healthy Rivers” and is an 80 year plan to clean up the Waikato and Waipa rivers along their entire lengths. The plan change will impact farms in the Waikato Region, of all types, as well as commercial vegetable growers and so it is important that farmers and professionals alike are up to date on what the plan means.

This article considers some of the issues to consider when contracting to ship goods from overseas.

This article summarises the potential benefits available with the KiwiSaver scheme for those in the position of “first-home buyer”.

For many years, trusts have been used as a form of asset management and/or asset protection. They are still very much a useful tool for this, however, the recent Supreme Court case of Clayton v Clayton is a warning that trusts can be “busted” in certain circumstances.

This article summarises the law on the use of electronic signatures.

Aksentijevic v Department of Internal Affairs [2016] NZHC 226 is a recent decision of the New Zealand High Court in relation to breaches of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.

This article considers a recent case concerning a franchisee’s restraint of trade in the context of using business networking social media.

We summarise a recent Court of Appeal decision which considered health claims relating to the honey industry and the interpretation of the Food Standards Code.

Many people may not realise that there is a separate process for dealing with retirement village disputes. This article summarises key information regarding the retirement village disputes process and also discusses some of the issues with the process.

When it comes to selling a unit title, a number of unit owners are still not sure about the disclosure requirements and a number of prospective buyers are not clear about the information set out in the required disclosure statements. This article will summarise the different disclosure requirements under the Unit Titles Act 2010 and also provide buyers with more knowledge about the information they receive.

The NZ government has recently taken legislative steps with the stated objectives of: collecting more information about property buyers and sellers; improving tax compliance; and cooling the heated property market. 

This article discusses the exemption for employee share purchase schemes under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

A review of the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill and the submissions received through the public consultation process. This article contains a brief summary of the Bill itself as well as an overview of the main concerns raised to date.

This article outlines a common process to follow when amending your rules and provides some warnings about the possible pitfalls and how to avoid them.

In May 2014, an Act was introduced that governs the preservation of our cultural and heritage sites. This Act has changed the way heritage sites are recorded, managed and protected in New Zealand. It is important for property owners to be aware of the rules around modifying heritage sites and what to do if a new heritage site is discovered.