Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Other commercial matters - Carriage of goods - Miscellaneous provisions

293: Common carrier of goods abolished

You could also call this:

“Carriers can choose which goods to transport”

You should know that carriers, which are people or companies that transport goods, are not required to accept or carry goods that are offered to them. This means they can choose whether or not to take on a job to move items.

This rule applies even if there were older laws that said something different. However, if there’s a specific law or a contract that says otherwise, those would still need to be followed.

When you see other laws talking about the responsibilities of ‘common carriers’, you should think of it as referring to the responsibilities of carriers as described in this part of the law.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844623.

Topics:
Business > Industry rules Business > Fair trading Transport and travel > Public transport
Previous

292: Liability of carrier extinguished in respect of sale or disposal of goods, or

"Carrier not responsible when goods are sold or disposed of"

Next

294: Proceedings against New Zealand agents of overseas carriers, or

"Taking legal action against NZ agents for overseas shipping companies"

Part 5 Other commercial matters
Carriage of goods: Miscellaneous provisions

293Common carrier of goods abolished

  1. A carrier is not under any duty or obligation to accept or carry goods that are offered to the carrier for carriage.

  2. Subsection (1) applies despite any rule of law, but subject to the provisions of any enactment and of any contract entered into by the carrier.

  3. Every reference in any other enactment to the liability of common carriers as such must be treated as a reference to the liability of carriers under this subpart.

Compare