New private statutory adjudication for New Zealand – submissions sought

The Ministry of Justice is seeking public submissions on a proposed Adjudication Act for New Zealand to provide businesses with a quicker way to resolve disputes. 

Up to 230,000 businesses could be experiencing over half a million issues every year and resolving civil disputes can take more than a year, both in and out of the courts.

Reducing the time and cost of dispute resolution frees up businesses get on with more productive tasks. Providing more options for businesses to resolve their disputes quickly and privately will make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s economic growth.

There is a lot of work underway to improve timeliness and accessibility to courts and tribunals. For example, the Disputes Tribunal’s jurisdiction is being increased to $60,000. But there is no law that expressly provides a private, fast track, lower-cost, widely applicable dispute resolution process. Arbitration is out of reach for many businesses as it takes an average of 11 months and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The Ministry’s consultation document, Fast Dispute Resolution – Consultation on a new statutory adjudication framework, proposes a statutory adjudication process similar to that used in the construction industry under the Construction Contracts Act 2002.  The discussion document is available for public submissions from Thursday 7 August to Friday 19 September 2025.

The key features of the proposal are:

• Fast: Statutory adjudication has legislated timeframes of around six to eight weeks. This benefits those who value certainty and timeliness over the finer legal distinctions.
• Pay now argue later: An adjudicator’s decision takes effect immediately and must be complied with immediately, regardless of whether a party subsequently takes the claim to court or arbitration. This allows businesses to maintain their cashflow and keep operations going.
• It’s not final unless you want it to be: Unlike arbitration, statutory adjudication does not replace the courts. Parties can still apply for arbitration or a court hearing if they don’t like the outcome. However, experience from the construction industry is that most people accept the adjudicator's decision and do not take it further.

The proposed adjudication process could be used by businesses with disputes over payment, or rights and obligations under contract. The scheme would be voluntary, so both parties to a dispute would need to agree to participate. An adjudicator’s determination would also be enforceable. 

An Adjudication Act with broad application would be a world first. We want to know whether you think we should develop a new statutory framework and how you think it should be designed. We need your feedback on the proposals to help us to prepare advice for the Government on the detailed proposals for an Act.

For more information about the proposed Adjudication Act visit our Key Initiatives page or to make a submission, visit our online Citizen Space consultation hub(external link).

 

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