New Zealand

New Zealand

{8A7BDFB1-C6B1-4497-8A0C-96A5A5977CCE}

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.

View all recognition for New Zealand

Insights

The next building crisis - Private consenting authorities, self-certification by builders and remote inspections – the perfect trifecta?

June 11, 2025

New Zealand: In the last few months, a raft of initiatives have been announced and in late May 2025 the first private building consent authority, Building Consent Approvals, was launched. Its director stated that BCA would initially target low hanging fruit in focussing on low-risk residential bulk house builders, with building consents issued within 10 workings days, 30% of inspection undertaken remotely, and code compliance certificates issued within 2 working days. The question now becomes, is history repeating itself? Read our insight to find out more.

Yet another consequence for wrongful Producer Statements – liability under section 40

June 11, 2025

New Zealand: In a previous article in 2022 we highlighted the issue of whether people who incorrectly issue producer statements could be held criminally liable under section 40 of the Building Act 2004. Section 40 provides that a person must not carry out any building work except in accordance with a building consent. Two District Court decisions had found people criminally liable under section 40 but those decisions were overturned on appeal in the High Court. We noted in 2022 that leave had been granted to appeal this point to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has since clarified the law.

Transforming national direction: Government seeks input on wide-ranging RMA changes

June 10, 2025

New Zealand: On 29 May 2025, the Government launched public consultation on what it describes as the most significant package of changes to ‘national direction’ (national policy statements and national environmental standards) under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in New Zealand’s history. In this Insight we briefly outline the new and amended national direction instruments included in each package and provide further detail on selected changes.

View all insights for New Zealand