New Zealanders are warned of scam text messages currently circulating that claim to be from the Ministry of Justice about overdue traffic fines. The Ministry does not include any links in our texts. Read more about Texts from Ministry of Justice
The Government has decided to repeal and replace the Courts (Remote Participation) Act 2010 with a new law to enable more remote participation in court proceedings.
In December 2023, the Government decided to review the Act as a part of a wider work programme to improve the efficiency, timeliness and performance of the courts system.
The Act provides a framework for determining when court users can attend remotely by audio-visual or audio links instead of in-person.
However, the Act is unclear in places, and it has not kept up with either evolving court practices or public attitudes to remote technology. It also has not been substantially reviewed since it became law 16 years ago.
The Ministry of Justice ran a five-week consultation process, which closed on 6 December 2024. Feedback was sought on options for change related to three areas:
what a remote participation law should apply to;
how decisions about participating remotely should be made; and
when remote participation should be used.
The feedback received has informed the Government’s decisions. On 1 September 2025, Cabinet agreed to replace the Act with a new legislative framework to enable more remote participation use. This will involve a new high-level enabling law supported by Court Rules setting out which court events take place remotely and those which will take place in person.
On 30 June 2026 the Courts Remote Participation Bill was introduced to Parliament.
Information on the Court Rules supporting the Bill
The Ministry and the Judiciary are working together to develop the Court Rules which will draw on the remote participation judicial protocols. To support those with an interest in the Bill to understand how the Bill and Court Rules will work together, a Summary Document on the Court Rules is available here: Summary Document on approach to supporting Court Rules [PDF, 333 KB]
This will be available during the period that the Select Committee considers the Bill. Any feedback that the Ministry receives on the document will support the drafting of the Court Rules.
The discussion document remains available on the Ministry’s consultation hub Citizen Space: