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To support implementation of Te Au Reka in the District Court (including the Youth Court) and High Court, changes to court rules are needed to enable digital ways of working. This will allow parties and their lawyers to file, track progress and access information about their case online.
Rule changes are also needed to implement the requirement for lawyers and prosecutors to use the portal to provide information to and receive information from the court and receive served information through the portal.
The Consultation will be open for five weeks from Monday 12 October until Monday 16 November.
We are consulting on draft amendments to the:
District Court Rules 2014;
High Court Rules 2016;
Criminal Procedure Rules 2012;
District Court (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017;
Senior Courts (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017;
Victims Orders Against Violent Offenders Rules 2014; and
Harmful Digital Communications Rules 2016.
We are also consulting on draft new rules under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 relating to the use of Te Au Reka in civil Youth Court proceedings.
Implementation in the Family Court
This consultation does not include changes to the Family Court Rules to enable Te Au Reka to be implemented in the Family Court: these changes were made earlier this year.
Te Au Reka will be introduced in the Family Court in stages, beginning with registry and judicial functions in Christchurch and Ashburton from 23 November 2026. The courts portal will then roll out across the South Island from March 2027, followed by the Lower North Island and Central regions in April, and the Northern region in May 2027.
In March 2023, the Chief Justice launched the Digital Strategy for the Courts and Tribunals of Aotearoa New Zealand.(external link) The Digital Strategy sets out the judiciary’s objectives and guiding principles for use of technology in courts. Te Au Reka was identified as one of the four priority initiatives for the judiciary, to ‘address the most acute justice infrastructure needs’ of New Zealand’s courts and tribunals.