Electoral Act 1993

The House of Representatives - Vacancies

58: Registrar of Births and Deaths to notify Speaker of death of member

You could also call this:

"What happens when an MP dies: the death registrar must tell Parliament's Speaker within 12 hours."

When a member of Parliament dies, the Registrar of Births and Deaths who records the death must tell the Speaker within 12 hours. You need to know that the Registrar of Births and Deaths is the person who records births and deaths in New Zealand. The Speaker is an important person in Parliament.

If the Registrar of Births and Deaths does not tell the Speaker about the death, they can get a fine of up to $100. This is because they have broken the law by not sending the notice as required. The law says they must send the notice, and if they do not, they will be in trouble.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM308558.

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

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Part 3The House of Representatives
Vacancies

58Registrar of Births and Deaths to notify Speaker of death of member

The Registrar of Births and Deaths by whom the death of any member of Parliament is registered shall, within 12 hours of making the registration, notify the fact to the Speaker.
Every person commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100 who, being a Registrar of Births and Deaths, fails to send any notice required by subsection (1).

Notes

Section 58(1): amended, on 28 February 2002, by section 11 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 1).
Section 58(2): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).