New Zealand

Which laws and contracts set a contractor's duties in New Zealand?

Three instruments do most of the work on a New Zealand construction job. The Construction Contracts Act 2002 sets payment claims, payment schedules, adjudication and the retention money held on trust. NZS 3910 sets variations, extensions of time and completion. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 sets what is notified to WorkSafe.

Payment and retention: the Construction Contracts Act

The payer has 20 working days to give a payment schedule, or is liable for the full claimed amount. Retention money is held on trust, and a dispute can go to adjudication, with the determination due within 20 working days of the response period.

How the Act works, or read every duty the library holds from the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (NZ).

Variations, delay and completion: NZS 3910

A variation is notified within 1 month of the instruction and an extension of time claim within 20 working days. The 2013 and 2023 editions differ, and Auckland Transport adds its own special conditions.

How NZS 3910 works, or read every duty the library holds from the 2013 edition.

Site safety: the Health and Safety at Work Act

A notifiable event is reported to WorkSafe NZ as soon as possible, and written notice follows within 48 hours where the regulator requires it.

How the safety rules work, or read every duty the library holds from the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

What this page is, and is not

It is the section text this library holds for New Zealand's Construction Contracts Act 2002 (NZ), NZS 3910:2013 and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, with the window and the consequence. The NZS 3910:2023 rows are read from secondary summaries of the draft, not the published text. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Acts, the contract you signed and any special conditions.

These pages set out the duties the library holds for a New Zealand job.

No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.

Every document we hold

Common questions

Which laws and contracts set a contractor's duties in New Zealand?

When must a payment schedule be given in New Zealand?

Contract time, else 20 Working Days after the claim is served; payer liable for the full claimed amount on the due date if no schedule is given. The window is 20 working days.

Is retention money held on trust in New Zealand?

Retention becomes trust property when the contract allows it to be withheld, whether or not actually withheld; if the contract has no term, when it is actually withheld.

When must a variation be notified under NZS 3910?

Commonly treated as a condition precedent in practice (secondary characterisation); no express bar in the primary text read. The window is 1 month.

What must be notified to WorkSafe NZ?

A notifiable event is a death, a notifiable injury or illness (s 23) or a notifiable incident (s 24) - a narrower and differently-worded list than the AU model Act's. 'As soon as possible' - no number, so no window is recorded.

Does Demiton hold every New Zealand duty?

No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.