New Zealand’s Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Act became law on 24 August 2026. The Act is the first national law to comprehensively rule out civil liability for activities that cause harm by contributing to climate change.
In this
New Zealand Legislates Away Climate Tort, Part I: Smith v Fonterra and the Global Backlash Against Climate Litigation
This is the second of three consecutive posts on corporate climate accountability. Yesterday’s post examined the Paris Judicial Court’s June 2026 ruling in Notre Affaire à Tous et al. v. TotalEnergies SE.
On August 18, 2026, New Zealand’s Parliament
New Zealand PM introduces under-16 social media and AI companion ban
The New Zealand government announced on Monday that it has introduced a bill to ban social media for youth under 16. The law would require social media platforms and AI companions to verify users’ ages before providing services.
The Online
Nuances of divisional patent practice in Australia and New Zealand
A recent opposition decision by the New Zealand Patent
Office in Resmed Pty Ltd v Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited [2026] NZIPOPAT 6
provides a useful reminder of how divisional patent practice in New Zealand differs from that
in Australia,
De-Platformed
The BSA has upheld the complaint against Sean Plunket’s internet broadcasting outfit, The Platform. (Of course, the bigger issue here is whether they had jurisdiction at all, but I’ve covered that elsewhere).
I had confidently predicted they wouldn’t uphold the
Overseas surrogacy births are 4 times that of domestic surrogacy births
When talking to colleagues, judges and policymakers, it is assumed that the norm of Australian surrogacy is that of domestic surrogacy births. However, as the most recent figures demonstrate, yet again, domestic surrogacy births are the exception. The norm remains
“Breaches Will Occur. Preparedness Helps You Contain Them”: Five Eyes Releases Statement on AI and Cyber Risk
By: Cameron Abbott, Daniel Knight, Rob Pulham and Emre Cakmakcioglu
Western intelligence alliance Five Eyes has issued a strong warning to business leaders: AI-driven transformation of cyber risk is already here, and the time to act is now.
Quillio and WorkCloud partner on legal AI adoption in Australia and New Zealand
WorkCloud and Quillio announced a partnership to help Australian and New Zealand law firms adopt Quillio’s legal AI platform alongside existing systems such as Actionstep and iManage. The vendor claim is that Quillio supports legal research, document review, drafting, chronologies,
The New Zealand Supreme Court’s judgment in Kea Investments Ltd v Wikeley on anti-enforcement relief
In <a Kea Investments Ltd v Wikeley <a [2026] NZSC 97, the New Zealand Supreme Court recently delivered its reasons for reinstating world-wide anti-enforcement orders in relation to a fraudulently obtained default judgment from Kentucky. The judgment, given by
NZ Hate Crime
The New Zealand Law Commission has released its report regarding the review of law relating to hate crime in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a focus on whether the law should be changed to create standalone hate crime offences. The Commission states 1.2