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Legislation Act 2019

Drafting and publishing of legislation - Drafting and publishing legislation - Key publishing responsibilities

71: How and when PCO must publish legislation and consolidations of legislation

You could also call this:

"When and how the government must make new laws and updates available to the public"

The PCO must publish certain things online as soon as they can. This includes Bills, amendments to Bills, and Acts, after they are introduced or enacted. The PCO must also publish secondary legislation and consolidations of Acts and secondary legislation after they are made or amended.

The PCO can also print these things and make them available to the public in a way they tell everyone about. If it is not possible to publish something online, it is okay if it is only available in print, as long as the PCO makes it available to the public. The PCO must publish minimum legislative information, which is information about secondary legislation, and this can be done by publishing the secondary legislation itself.

You can find more information about this by looking at the Legislation Act 1986 and section 21(1) of that Act. The PCO has to follow these rules when publishing legislation and consolidations of legislation. This helps make sure that everyone can access the laws and information they need.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7298355.

Topics:
Government and voting > Government departments
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70: PCO must publish consolidations of legislation that is amended, or

"The government must publish updated laws when they are changed, so you can see the new rules."

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"Accessing laws online: when and how you can view them for free"

Part 3Drafting and publishing of legislation
Drafting and publishing legislation: Key publishing responsibilities

71How and when PCO must publish legislation and consolidations of legislation

  1. The PCO must electronically publish the following things at the following times:

    The following table is small in size and has 2 columns. Column 1 is headed What is required to be published. Column 2 is headed When it must be published.

    What is required to be published

    When it must be published

    Bills

    As soon as practicable after they are introduced

    Amendments to Bills

    As soon as practicable after the amendments are released

    Acts

    As soon as practicable after they are enacted

    Secondary legislation drafted by the PCO

    As soon as practicable after the legislation is made

    Minimum legislative information for secondary legislation drafted by the PCO

    As soon as practicable after the legislation is made

    Consolidations of Acts

    As soon as practicable after the Acts are amended

    Consolidations of secondary legislation that is drafted by the PCO

    As soon as practicable after the legislation is amended

  2. The PCO may also publish those things in printed form and make them available in the way notified to the public.

  3. Legislation or proposed legislation is sufficiently published for the purposes of this Act (for any period during which it is not practicable to publish it electronically) if it is only published and made available in the way set out in subsection (2).

  4. Minimum legislative information is sufficiently published for the purposes of this Act if the secondary legislation containing that information (as required at the time of its publication) is published by the PCO under this Act.

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