New Zealand

New Zealand

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New Zealand is located in the South Pacific, made up of two main islands, with a total land area of 268,021 square kilometres. It is similar in size to Japan or Britain and has a population of 5.2 million.

Wellington is the capital city, while Auckland is the most populous with around a quarter of the country’s population. The next biggest city is Christchurch.

New Zealand has a common law system inherited from England. The system is similar to that found in many British Commonwealth countries and comprises of statute law made by Parliament, supplemented by a collection of common law or case law made by the courts.

The New Zealand Court system has four tiers; District Court; High Court; Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. In additional to the Courts, New Zealand has a large number of specialist tribunals and bodies.

Due to its geographic location and the size of its population, New Zealand is a trade dependent economy, is reliant on Foreign Direct Investment and is a big proponent of a free and open market. Around 60% of its economic activity is made up from international trade. The currency is based on the New Zealand dollar, which is freely floated against all major currencies.

The major industries are agriculture (pastoral farming), horticulture and tourism. On a global scale New Zealand is the 12th largest agriculture exporter by value, the 2nd largest dairy exporter by value, the biggest sheep meat exporter and second biggest wool exporter. Other major industries include forestry, natural resources and fishing.

New Zealand economy depends on trade and is a strong advocate for free trade and the regional and international institutions that support it. New Zealand is party to a large number of free trade agreements, including with Australia, China, the EU, UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, ASEAN, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Chile. We are also signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) and to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Dentons is one of New Zealand’s leading commercial law firms with offices in Auckland and Wellington. Our teams collaborate to provide complete legal solutions that are tailored to each client. We are committed to providing a responsive, professional and client-centred approach.

Find New Zealand’s practice and sector expertise here.

Recognition

Dentons in New Zealand celebrates two rising stars recognised in the NZ Lawyer’s Future Leaders list

April 22, 2025

New Zealand: Dentons is proud to announce that Kate Rouch and Oliver Hobbs have been recognised as Future Leaders by Australasian Lawyer and NZ Lawyer. Selected from a competitive field of young legal professionals across Australia and New Zealand, they have been celebrated for their outstanding achievements, leadership and commitment to the legal profession.

Dentons in New Zealand achieves coveted double Gold ranking in WTR 1000 for IP Enforcement and Litigation and Prosecution and Strategy

February 10, 2025

Dentons New Zealand is proud to announce its Intellectual Property (IP) practice has received Gold recognition in the WTR 1000 rankings for Enforcement and Litigation as well as Prosecution and Strategy. The rankings reinforce Dentons’ dedication to top-tier client service and expertise in New Zealand IP law.

WTR 1000 2025: Dentons’ lawyers among world’s leading trademark professionals

February 3, 2025

The World Trademark Review has highly ranked Dentons in the 2025 edition of WTR 1000 – the directory recognizing the world’s leading trademark legal services providers and practitioners.

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Insights

Regulatory update for Australia's private capital sector

June 24, 2025

Australia: Australia’s private capital markets are under the spotlight with ASIC’s surveillance commencing with its discussion paper in February 2025, Australia’s evolving capital markets: A discussion paper on the dynamics between public and private markets.

You may be saying it best when you say nothing at all … that is until the law decides you’ve said enough

June 24, 2025

New Zealand: The High Court in Preiss v Vermeulen is a good reminder of a familiar lesson: a vendor who consistently offers broad guarantees for certain goods, but sometimes stays silent, may find those guarantees apply across all of their transactions for those goods. To read more about the decision and its key takeaways click the article.

Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2025

June 19, 2025

New Zealand: On 17 June 2025, the Government introduced the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which seeks to provide more certainty and flexibility, especially for employers. The Bill’s introduction comes after proposals by Minister Brooke van Velden to amend several areas of the Employment Relations Act, with the intention of rebalancing the interests of employers and employees. We now have the text of the Bill which covers all of the aforementioned areas of change, as well as some additional changes that are explored below.

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