Christchurch

Dentons Kensington Swan

Westpac Building, 79-81 Cashel Street
PO Box 10246, DX SP26517
Christchurch, 8011
New Zealand

P +64 3 966 6554

F +64 4 472 2291

https://www.dentons.co.nz

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Christchurch (Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland, with an urban population of over 390,000. Christchurch is known for its culture, heritage, and is situated on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. The Avon River (Ōtākaro) flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks.

Dentons is proud of our history working with clients in Christchurch and the South Island. We are part of the world’s largest global law firm, we offer our clients unparalleled access to the legal expertise of over 12,000 lawyers in more than 80 jurisdictions.

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.

Hayden Wilson recognised as one of the Large Law Firm leaders of the year

January 28, 2025

Dentons New Zealand is proud to announce that Hayden Wilson has been selected for Australasian Lawyer and NZ Lawyer’s Law Firm Leaders of the Year 2025. This accolade highlights Hayden's exceptional leadership and significant contributions to the legal profession over the past 18 months.

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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.

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