Letter from Carl Crafar, Chief Operating Officer, Ministry of Justice
Dear members of the legal profession,
Budget 2025
Budget 2025 includes a number of initiatives that will be of interest to the legal profession, and I would be happy for you share this update with them. Budget 2025 arrives in, and reflects, a tight fiscal climate, but it does contain significant elements aimed at easing pressures in the justice system and improving court timeliness.
Investing in the court and justice system
We have received new funding of $245.5 million over 5 years across Vote Justice and Vote Courts to address pressures in the courts and legal aid, increase judicial capacity and improve court timeliness.
This is aimed squarely at the provision of core services by, for example, ensuring that legal aid continues to support those who require it, and that judges get the information they need to progress cases.
Additional funding provided through Budget 2025 will allow the appointment of 2 permanent High Court judges, 3 additional community magistrates and a Chief Community Magistrate, designed to assist with court timeliness.
The Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Bill will be introduced to improve court timeliness and maximise the use of judicial resources. The Bill is being introduced alongside the Government's Budget package, as the changes either link to a Budget initiative, or are required to manage pressures across the justice system.
The Bill is an omnibus bill that makes changes across three Acts.
Amendments to the Senior Courts Act 2016 will:
- allow the appointment of 2 permanent High Court judges, and
- address civil proceedings, applications and appeals that are an abuse of court process, and vexatious litigants, by enabling a single senior court judge to strike out such proceedings without holding a hearing, and enabling a person who has had two proceedings struck out within two years to be restrained from continuing or commencing proceedings without the leave of the court, for a 3-year period.
Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 will:
- enable improvements to the management of District Court cases at the pre-trial stage, and
- reduce the workload of the Court of Appeal by allowing first appeals in criminal trials to be referred to the High Court where appropriate.
Amendments to the Coroners Act 2006 will enable coroners to close inquiries when new information, or a change in circumstances, mean it is no longer appropriate to conduct the inquiry.
Finding savings and managing costs
As with all Budgets, the Government must manage competing Budget bids across a range of sectors, in the context of its overall goals and priorities.
Courthouses
The Government has decided not to fund new courthouses for the Rotorua District and High Court, Rotorua Māori Land Court and Waitākere District Court in Budget 2025.
We are continuing to work on options to deliver these new courthouses.
Te Ao Mārama
A total of $32.1 million of tagged contingency funding for the expansion of Te Ao Mārama programme is being returned. This does not affect the roll-out of Te Ao Mārama at 8 existing sites.
An evaluation of Te Ao Mārama is due to be completed in 2026 and decisions on funding of an expansion of Te Ao Mārama programme beyond the 8 existing sites will be made as part of future budget processes.
Court and tribunal fees increase
While, not part of Budget 2025, I also wanted to inform you of upcoming increases to the fees in all courts and most tribunals to address inflationary cost increases and support the effective delivery of court and tribunal services The new fees will be gazetted on Budget Day and take effect on 1 July 2025.
Fees will be increased by inflation using a weighted average of the Labour Cost Index and the Producers Price Index. This will result in an increase of 3.65%.
Yours sincerely
Carl Crafar
Chief Operating Officer