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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Contracts legislation - Contractual mistakes

25: Mistake does not include mistake in interpretation of contract

You could also call this:

“A mistake in understanding a contract's meaning is not the same as other contract mistakes”

When you make a mistake about a contract, it’s important to know what kind of mistake you’ve made. If you’ve misunderstood what the contract means, that’s not the kind of mistake that can be fixed under section 28. This rule applies even if you haven’t asked for help yet.

Remember, making a mistake about what a contract means is different from other types of mistakes. The law treats these differently, and you can’t get special help for misunderstanding a contract’s meaning.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844080.

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24: Relief may be granted if mistake by one party is known to another party or is common or mutual, or

"Courts can help if you made a mistake when agreeing to a contract"

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26: Decision to enter into contract not influenced by mistake if party aware of it, or

"You can't claim a mistake if you knew about it before signing the contract"

Part 2 Contracts legislation
Contractual mistakes

25Mistake does not include mistake in interpretation of contract

  1. For the purposes of relief under section 28 in respect of a contract, a mistake, in relation to that contract, does not include a mistake in its interpretation.

  2. This section applies whether or not an application for relief is made.

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