On Wednesday 19 April, 2017, the Immigration Minister announced changes to New Zealand’s immigration policies. One of these changes is to create a pathway to residence for people who have worked in the South Island for five years.
Nicola Tiffen
When buying, selling or transferring New Zealand property, individuals and entities who live overseas (“offshore persons”) need to supply both a New Zealand IRD number and a taxpayer identification number from any other country where they currently have to pay tax.
A legislative change in France requires companies with more than 50 employees to guarantee those employees the ‘right to disconnect’ from their smart phones and other technology that gives them access to emails outside of work hours.
Here’s a common scenario: You’ve found the perfect premises for your business and, after a little back and forth over the lease terms, you’ve signed an agreement to lease which was put together by the landlord’s agent. However just as you’re moving in you’re ...
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act) came into full force on 4 April this year. The Act creates new classes of duty holder, new duties and increased penalties for non-compliance. Commercial property landlords will now, in most cases, be duty holders, with obligations under the Act ...
In October 2016 we warned about a much tougher borrowing environment for commercial property investors and developers in our article Borrowing against commercial property - be prepared for tougher banking practices.
In this article we look at where things are at now: Is it easier to secure finance, and if not ...
Much of the land in New Zealand has been used for more than one purpose. Previous uses can have unanticipated consequences for prospective owners. For example:
• Sites of early dry cleaning operations which used various chemicals, have now become the sites of central city office buildings.
• Rural land may now ...
Last week, the government announced that the Skilled Migrant Category will change. The following outlines what these changes might mean for you or your employees.
On 1 February 2002 the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 heralded in new rules regarding parties’ rights to property on the breakdown of a relationship, or on death. After 15 years of operation it is now being reviewed.
In our article 'Do you know about the changes affecting enduring powers of attorney?', we advised that changes to the law governing enduring powers of attorney were imminent. Those changes in fact came into force on 16 March 2017.
New Zealand is a great place to live and recent world events are making many overseas residents consider moving to “Godzone”. However, if you are not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, you may require consent under the Overseas Investment Act (OIA) to purchase land.
Restructures and resulting redundancies are not straightforward. This is a complex area of law, and employers who get it wrong can face significant penalties and awards against them. These are our top tips for ensuring you protect yourself and your business.
So your co-trustee’s memory is failing, prior decisiveness is gone and there is a variety of opinion within the family group as to how to handle the possible warning signs of mental incapacity. This is a not uncommon scenario, especially when a family trust owns only the family home ...