New civil fees for court and tribunal services

New civil fees for court and tribunal services

As you may be aware, the Government tasked the Ministry of Justice with reviewing civil fees for court and tribunal services.  Fees in civil jurisdictions had not been significantly reviewed since 2003. A comprehensive and consultative process was undertaken to ensure all fees are set in a principled, consistent and equitable basis.  A strong emphasis was placed on ensuring access to justice. The Government has now made decisions on fee changes.

The fee changes cover civil fees across the justice sector, specifically:

• general courts – the District Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court
• specialist courts – the Employment Court, Environment Court, Māori Land Court and Māori Appellate Court
• 13 tribunals the Ministry of Justice administers.

The majority of fee changes come into effect on 1 July 2013.  These relate to the District Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, Māori Land Court, Māori Appellate Court and nine of the tribunals.  Accordingly, the following regulations will be published in the New Zealand Gazette this week:

• District Court Fees Amendment Regulations 2013
• High Court Fees Regulations 2013
  • Court of Appeal Fees Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Supreme Court Fees Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Māori Land Court Fees Regulations 2013
  • Disputes Tribunals (Fees) Amendment Rules 2013
  • Immigration and Protection Tribunal (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Customs and Excise (Customs Appeal Authority Fee) Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Land Valuation Proceedings Fees Regulations Revocation Order 2013
  • Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Legal Complaints Review Officer) Form and Fee Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Disciplinary Tribunal) (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Motor Vehicle Sales Regulations Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Prostitution (Operator Certificate) Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Amendment Regulations 2013
  • Taxation Review Authorities Amendment Regulations 2013
• Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Occupations Tribunal) Amendment Regulations 2013

Later in 2013 new civil enforcement fees in the District Courts are likely to come into effect. These fees are delayed because they are dependent on changes to the District Courts Rules coming into effect first.

The fee changes which are dependent on statute amendments for the Employment Court, Environment Court and four tribunals are likely to come into effect in 2014. 

For further information please refer to the Ministry’s website.

Robert Pigou

Deputy Secretary Higher Courts

Ministry of Justice