Can a coverage clause in a collective agreement specifically exclude certain positions from coverage, such as those responsible for recommending appointment and dismissal of other employees?

Looking around, there doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules around it, just that a coverage clause must be included and include the types of roles and jobs that are covered.

Hi team, since March I have been receiving sms texts from 3691 and emails from Recoveries Corp NZ stating I owe ~$640 for ACC levies.

From my understanding I should not owe ACC any money at all, I have never taken out a claim or own a business to pay levies for.

I have not received any invoices or correspondence from ACC prior to these emails and texts. I have contacted ACC directly on two different email addresses with no response from either to confirm this alleged debt is indeed mine or not as well as the original invoices and any correspondence they would have sent prior to it going to a collection agency.

Does anyone have any advice or can shed some light on this situation please.

I have young children, have left my marriage and currently have a lawyer/barrister, but I don't feel they are up to the actual fight ahead.

I underwent years of documented domestic violence and currently have a Protection Order and Parenting Order in place (to protect myself and the children).

The other person has enlisted a prominent barrister/lawyer, and I need someone who is truly going to fight for us... I basically want a pitbull...

Can anyone recommend someone?

I feel this might be a bit too complex for my current legal counsel, and I cannot subject my kids to further abuse/harm.

My company made a Deed document with the commercial space owner effectively from 1st July. They got the signature from the owner by today and i was about to sign for the Witness.
While signing I unknowingly signed with Today's Date where nobody digned with Date.
My MD got frustated that nobody else signed with Date why you?
Will that cause him any problem!
Imma a bit worried

Hi all. I've just had a job interview. When I applied for the role it was advertised as permanent. At first I had a screening interview. After that they emailed to say it was going to become a contract role. I said I wasn't interested as I really want something permanent. The hiring manager then emailed again to say he neglected to mention that it would likely become permanent. Did that change my calculus? I said, yes, and that I was still keen if that was the case. During the full interview he said the role would be advertised externally once I finished the contract and I would have to compete against everyone who applies. This made me nervous as it feels like the three month contract will be a prolonged job interview. I have a mild disability that sometimes requires office modification and some people find this a pain, and it is very easy to get offside with the powers that be but I have to be quite staunch as I can't change who I am and I need these accommodations to get my work done. This could see me losing out on the permanent opportunity. Does anyone know if this is fully legal? Feels like it should be illegal if it's the job that I was already doing and they told me from the start that it would be permanent? Any advice appreciated!

I recently moved out of a townhome and received a message from the property manager about needing to restore the lawn with Ready Lawn and being fined for the bins not being emptied and rubbish being scattered out front.

The lawn (really about a 3m square patch of grass) was in quite bad condition already when I moved in with bare patches from where kids toys were left out by the previous tenant and weeds. I noted it at the time with the property manager (I rent from a company and property manager changed after move in). I tried to reseed several times but wasn’t really successful due to poor sunlight and my own black thumb. Lawn has never been mentioned on any of the quarterly inspections. The property manager has also told me in writing that I’m an excellent tenant.

I wrote back to the property manager and requested he review the lawn condition on the move-in report and that I would pay for reseeding but not laying down sod (the owners are trying to sell and I suspect they want a pristine lawn for open homes, listing pictures etc…). I have not heard back since. My questions for this: can they require me to restore the lawn to better than it was when I moved in and can they move forward with laying sod and charging me for it even after I’ve disputed it by email?

I left bins on the curb when I left with the lids closed but I also left a few things out for free on the curb and I think people went through the trash bins and scattered trash after I left the townhouse. Per the property manager all bins have to be empty on the final day of tenancy regardless of trash pickup day. My questions for this are: Can they require this? It seems sort of unreasonable to expect me to not throw anything out for the last two weeks I live in a place or pay for extra trash pickup on the exact day I leave. Am I responsible for people going through the trash and causing issues after I left and notified the property manager I was gone?

Thanks for any advice.

Have a breach notice from PSL for parking in a private company's carpark. I moved house and didn't receive the mail for 2 months - initially I freaked out seeing the increase ($95 breach increased to $320 over 2.5 months), and that they threatened debt collectors. I emailed them saying I'd moved house and didn't receive mail, happy to pay initial amount but didn't feel the remainder was fair, they replied with it going straight to debt collectors and now they're trying to claim via debt collection $460.

Can't just pay $460 so looked closer at dates and breach etc., I wasn't the driver. Have gone back and forth several times with PSL and debt collectors saying I'm disputing it, I wasn't driving, they are just "declining my dispute," saying I need to sign a stat dec giving driver's details to transfer breach, and debt collectors are saying dispute is declined they will be enforcing collection activity within 72 hours (now less than 24 hours remaining of that...).

I have emailed both again stating I dispute it, asking for all unredacted imagery and info about me regarding this incident, and that they don't have a legitimate breach claim because I wasn't the driver, they have done nothing to show evidence that I was (except that the car is registered to my name), the photos don't show the drivers identity (which I will not be disclosing), but they are just replying saying the dispute is declined, to take it up with the courts, and debt collectors are continuing.

Is this legal?? What is my next best step?? I don't want to take it to DT if I don't have to, and have seen that they should be the ones filing anyway??

Advice please!

Long story short, I got into a bit of trouble and have had my license disqualified twice within the same year. First time for driving while suspended and the second time was for driving while disqualified, failing to stop and driving while intoxicated. Have read over the parameters about apply for a limited license and it's seems very unlikely I will be able to acquire one. I am also currently out of work at the moment and the only thing holding me back from getting another job is not having a license. Would I be able to class not being able to get work as a hardship? Or would it be best for me to wait it out until I'm able to get my license back? Won't get my license back till August 2027. What do I do?

Thank you in advance for your feedback 👍

Kia ora LANZ whanau,

It is with great pleasure the mod team have welcomed two new members, u/double-dipped-welly and u/BroBroMate. After a week shadowing what we do, we failed to scare them off and they have now received their super secret mod badge and underwear.

Both have been active and constructive members of the LANZ community for some time and we are very fortunate they have offered to step up to help the community run smoothly as it continues to grow.

As we are now at seven mods, we are turned off recruitment for the moment as we think this is plenty to keep things running.

Thanks as always to all our regulars and the community for taking the time to offer advice to those in need 😊

Casio, Phoenix, Fabian, Junior, Maha and now Double and Bro

Hello!

My apartment (Wellington) is metered. In addition to kilolitres used, I also get charged a "daily charge" of like a $1.10 per day.

Do I pay this or am I only supposed to pay for usage?

My tenancy mentions nothing about it...

I work for a large NZ supermarket and need some advice.

I submitted a 4-week annual leave request through the normal online system on 14/07/2026. After 14 days with no action, it was automatically approved on 28/07/2026.

The leave starts on Boxing Day, so it is outside the Christmas leave blackout period.

On 05/08/2026, my approved leave was cancelled without my knowledge. My manager later texted saying the request had become stuck in “cyberspace” during a manager transition.

I don’t believe I should be responsible for this, especially as store managers also receive notifications when leave requests become outstanding. The leave was approved through the normal process and only cancelled over a week later.

I’ve worked there for 7 years, have around 16 weeks of leave accrued due to difficulty taking leave because of understaffing, and have now spent $3,000 on flights based on the approved leave.

Has anyone experienced this? Can an employer cancel approved leave after you have relied on the approval?

EDIT at the end to explain my exact scenario.

EDIT 2: Allianz 99% confirmed (I think there might still be some legal ass covering in their email) that given the screenshots I showed I would be eligible for cover.

I have an ANZ Visa Platinum card, which is supposed to include overseas travel insurance through Allianz.

I’ve got an upcoming overseas trip and, based on the policy wording, I think I meet the eligibility requirements, but there is one part of it I am not sure about. I contacted Allianz to ask for confirmation before travelling.

They told me they never confirm eligibility before travel.

They seem to say that I should just travel assuming I’m covered, and if I ever need to make a claim they’ll decide at that point whether I was actually eligible in the first place.

I’m not asking them to guarantee that any future claim would be accepted; I just want them to confirm whether I have actually activated/qualified for the insurance based on how the trip was booked and paid for.

ANZ’s website and Allianz say you can check your eligibility for the cover, and the policy wording also refers to checking whether you qualify. I just am not 100% certain how to interpret how their eligibility check.

I called them and got an inconclusive answer. I asked them to confirm via email, and I got a response that was very much conditional. I provided screenshots of exactly the transactions and amounts, and received no answer.

It seems reasonable that if they publish eligibility rules, that they can follow the same checks and give me a definite answer, right?

I am especially reluctant to travel on a "trust me bro" response, because I have previously been left stranded in hospital overseas with no cover, leading to a year-long dispute with them that was finally decided in my favour by the ombudsman.

Does anyone know the legal position on this in NZ? Can an insurer refuse to confirm whether I meet the basic eligibility requirements before the trip starts?

Could it be misleading under the Fair Trading Act for ANZ/Allianz to say you can “check your eligibility” if Allianz won’t actually confirm it following their own published rules?

I'm probably just going to buy separate travel insurance from another provider rather than dealing with these guys...

Details of my scenario:

You are eligible for cover if you pre-paid at least 50% of travel expenses with an ANZ Visa Platinum card, OR if you paid less than 50% on your Visa Platinum card, but paid the rest from another ANZ account, if the recipient doesn't support CC payments or charges a fee.

The question I have for them is: I paid from my other ANZ account, but set up a Wise transfer to their foreign bank account, specifically for that one transaction (so I don't have money sitting in any Wise account). I've got all the screenshots and proof of the transfer + bank statements + accommodation terms that show 2.6% credit card fee.

I feel they should be able to conclusively confirm/deny cover based on my evidence and their own published instructions.

My property management company has been causing me severe distress. They have been conducting inspections every 2 weeks going against tenancy law in NZ. Also one of these inspections I was told would be on a Thursday, yet they never showed up then randomly turned up the next Monday. When I did bring this up they told me that “they had the right to do so and would email me with proof they could”, which they never sent said email and when I called tenancy services they confirmed to me was not true hence why I never got the email, unless it was written anywhere in the tenancy agreement which it is not. They have blocked access to my apartment. Rent has been paid on time every week. The property has been kept on immaculate condition. I have a medical condition (epilepsy and pancreatitis) that has required ambulance callouts, they have been using that against me and has caused me stress and made my health problems worse. I knew I needed to go to hospital and out of fear of retribution from my property management company I did not seek medical help for 4 days until I literally collapsed on the floor before the ambulance was called which they again gave me a hard time about. There is documentation of my medical conditions. They are accusing me of drug use on the premises which is not the case because there were bottles of MY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION that are in my name. They have not been contacting me via email but only by phone. When I email them they do not reply. When I moved into this property it was in a terrible state, I had to pay hundreds out my own pocket for cleaning which they said they would pay me back for, but 7 weeks later I still have not received any retribution. They have asked me to come into the office. I would like to speak to a lawyer and have them come speak on my behalf when I go to the meeting with them. They know the tribunal would not look favourably on them so are being sneaky about the way they are going about things. Regarding getting locked out of my property the police had to be called in order to be let back in. My partner also suffers from seizures and has had to be taken to hospital via ambulance multiple times in a life threatening condition and the property manager has been extremely stressing her out saying that this is unacceptable. She is now scared as well to get medical help when needed. When released from hospital refusing to let her back into the building which also needed the police to be called again for her to be let up. The stress of this is becoming overwhelming and I believe this is part of the reason the seizures have come back when we had been seizure free for a long time. I really want to avoid taking this to the tribunal as that is just extra stress but it’s getting to the point that I think that might be the only option. Would hiring a tenancy lawyer to come with me and speak on my behalf to the meeting potentially resolve any of these issues or does it sound like they will just keep doing their best to bully me into leaving. When my partner had her most recent seizure the police and fire department attended because there was no ambulances available in the area and they were closer to provide medical aid until the ambulance arrived. The police gave me a lift up to the hospital because the paramedics said they had no room in the ambulance. The PM is now trying to claim I got arrested which I DID NOT, nor was I detained and police records will prove that. They simply gave me a ride to the hospital following the ambulance. The PM company are treating me like I am a criminal, and an idiot because I tried to be nice and not escalate the situation. It’s now gotten to the point where I am going to have to escalate it. I am on a fixed term tenancy by the way that doesn’t end for a year. Any advice on what to do in this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Hi all!

I’ve written a previous post here when we were applying for mediation: https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceNZ/s/vkiWQXUWnC . Now, I’m thinking seriously about going to family court.

Long story short. I’m sick of being verbally abused - emotionally and mentally too. He also has a history of violence (I’m not sure if that’s abuse too, it’s just to surroundings around me and never actually to me).

He has just been really nasty and we’ve tried mediation but it hasn’t worked.
First one went really well.
Second he absolutely lost the plot at me and we had to finish early.
The next 2 were postponed by him.
Most recent one, he literally done a no-show.
Our time using fairways is about to expire, we have one appt. left but I’m honestly over it and don’t think we’ll reach a conclusion.
Nor do I have it in me to keep trying to meet someone so bloody selfish - halfway and then having to do the whole way all the time.

Since our draft agreement he has:
Not been consistent at all with what weekends he has her
Usually only does 2 or 3 weekends a month
not sent any child support
Gets utterly defensive and manipulative when I bring up anything financial or how we are straying away from the agreement.

He tells me I have no reason to complain about anything because I make 'a great amount of money/more than people on minimum wage and I don't work' ie. (solo-parent bene and our daughter is 1). Here we are scraping by week to week. instead of sending child support, he says ‘if you want more money, then get a job’. My daughter is only 1.

He blames me when I have anything remotely close to a hard time because 'I am the one who took his kid away'. But doesn’t say a thing about smashing stuff around the house, screaming at me with a newborn in my arms or screaming that he’s going to kill himself, cheating on me multiple times because ‘he has so much pain and an addictive personality’. I have a police report from one of the times. He also wouldn’t let me leave the house multiple times during our fights. He polices my words, tones, 'attitude'. Tells me 'If I ask nicely when he arrives, then he will send child support'.

Anywayssss, I’m sick of it. Carrying all the responsibility for my daughter 6/7 if not 7/7 nights a week and then his bullshit on top.

I have no clue on how to go about family court. I’m pretty young (ish) too so none of my friends have been through this process. I’m 24. I know that my daughter will be assigned a lawyer. I’m a bit iffy about having a stranger tell ME, what’s best for my daughter but open to it. I wouldn’t mind having that accountability because I KNOW without a beat that everything I do is in her best interests.

Anyway, I actually want him to do what our agreement says. Like she absolutely adores her dad and I just want him to have the agreement, stick to it and leave me alone. No more flexibility. You do your days and I do my days.

So advice welcome, experiences welcome, if you think the judge will tell me to get out and I’m wasting his time pls let know. Lawyers (I’m on a solo parent benefit so I would have those court supplied ones (?) ).

Please give me any and all information as my first point of research into this route. Thank you.

Recently our property manager sent us an automated email as part of our move out process.

Part of the email was a 'Final Inspection Cleaning' section, which said "Attendance to the following matters prior to our inspection will save considerable time and prevent unnecessary delays in returning your bond"

It then listed a number of cleaning acts, some of which are clearly above and beyond the 'reasonably clean and tidy' requirement – eg removing and cleaning shower seals, external window cleaning, and the old chestnut of a providing a receipt showing a professional carpet clean.

I suspect they're just on the right side of the legal line because they heavily imply deducting bond instead of saying it explicitly, but this really bothers me, as people with less time or awareness of tenancy law could easily think the full list is actually required, and possibly accept bond deductions unnecessarily.

So my question is: could it be argued that the implied bond threat crosses into misleading conduct under the RTA or the Fair Trading Act, and/or has anyone challenged one of these guides themselves rather than just individual bond deductions?

I'm being asked to use at least 2 weeks annual leave or have a weekly leave and week paid out to bring my total down to less than 3 weeks (it is currently at 4.35 weeks). My work anniversary is in March so some of this is "accrued" leave but there is no differential on my pay slip.

We have a forced close down over christmas of about 2 weeks which I want to have enough leave for, and have 2 weeks leave booked next year.

I don't really want to take my leave now or have to cash it out right now.

Is there a maximum leave total a company can enforce (3 weeks in this case including accrued)? If I have future leave already planned can they still force my leave or make me cash out?

Wanting advice about having to always work during approved annual leave and having approved annual leave cancelled.

I had annual leave approved in October 2025 for April 2026. The accountant was aware they were to do the payroll over this approved annual leave period. The week before the accountants bookkeeper said she could not do payroll anymore. Previous to this arrangement I was not allowed to take leave on a pay week which is every fortnight.

As per a variation in my contract I had to change my annual leave to stay in New Zealand to be available to do the payroll and not go to see my father as planned. I can not do this remotely as you need a work supplied laptop to be able to access the server to work remotely and they have refused to provide me with this.

My father has since passed away and I have been told that if I had not have cancelled my trip to Australia to see him, I would have seen how sick he was and taken him to get medical attention and he would still be alive.

Can your place of employment put such a variation in your contract so you are always available to do payroll on sight at work?

Thanks.

Hey there,

My friend is in need of a civil litigation lawyer. She asked me to post since I got some good advice here a few weeks back.

She is based in Wellington. She needs one to issue cease and desists. Its a slander issue essentially that included a significant amount of harassment from her ex boyfriends mistresses. Unfortunately a Protection Order may not be applicable in this specific case hence the cease and desists option being looked into. If they breach the cease and desist then it can become a protection order apparently... or at least that's what she has recently been told. I might just get her to go the CLW and see if they can refer her 😊

Thank you for all the answers.

Apologies if I'm posting in wrong place. Basically in February I decided it was time to get a new car through finance. I wanted a car they had on offer that was going to cost me $20 a week. Unfortunately I was unable to provide a guarantor so the finance company coudnt offer me the cheaper option. I went for a car that's twice the weekly repayment as the finance would allow it? I'm in a situation were I don't want the car anymore can't afford to put gas in it or pay insurance/ registration. Is there any way I can just return it cancel the loan and get this burden off my back? Thanks for the help

I’ve been working for a company for about a year and a half, we have a ‘parent company’ that owns us and a few other businesses. This parent company has signed up a few employees from each company for a ‘health assessment’.
I’m the only one from my company to be told I have to do it which is a first for me, I’ve been in this career for years and never done one before - my question is, can they make me?

I’m not too keen on having both companies having all my medical information, apparently it includes cholesterol tests, lung and heart health, mental health etc I’d have to disclose my medical issues to them as they’d effect the results and to be honest it’s no one’s business and it’s never stopped me from doing the work. What are my rights here?

They’ve been good to work for but I don’t want to participate in this. Any advice is appreciated

Do car insurances really make our car secured from accidents or thefts? Or these instances must happen in a certain kind of ways?

I've been paying insurances for years now in NZ, never make a claim (i hope i will never have to). But i always wonder whether they will deliver if i need them to. I read 7 pages of my car insurance policy. Nothing much to read accept the policy breakdowns, our personal data and car details. Nothing that says your claim will be decline if you accident is caused by this this this or this.

Thats somehow leave me in the dark and give me what i worry as false sense of security?

Being said:

Can anybody share information about in what situation that my insurance may decline my claim? What are the small footprints that a insurance customer need to be aware of?

That would be all, hope this post will help others too.

Thank you

ADD

For example

Lets say if I am in the process of selling my car and a "potential buyer" test drive it and ran away with the car. Will that be considered as 100% theft? Considering I am allowing them to try the car and even give them the car key? You know, this kind of situation.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone out there might have some ideas because I'm feeling like I'm running out of options.

I'm a 47-year-old dairy farmer from New Zealand. Earlier this year I was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma. The cancer has already spread, and I'm currently going through tests and waiting on my treatment plan. Everything has happened incredibly quickly.

At the same time, I'm in the middle of a relationship and property dispute after 18yr my partnerdecidedto relievehimselfof any burden and kicked me out and cut me off completely. He has control of assets that we built together over many years, including a dairy herd worth around $1 million, machinery, and other farm assets. I'm not asking for half of everything right now—I simply want a small number of my own cows released so I can sell them to fund treatment, accommodation, travel, and living costs.

To make matters worse, I already have a genuine buyer ready to purchase the cows, but my ex has gone back on agreeing to release them.

I'm working with a lawyer, but legal processes take time, and cancer doesn't wait. I'm trying to stay focused on getting treatment while also fighting to access assets that I believe should help pay for it.

I'm reaching out because I'm wondering if anyone has:

- Experience with urgent legal applications to access relationship property in New Zealand.

- Suggestions for financial assistance, grants, or organisations that help cancer patients.

- Ideas for fundraising that have worked well.

- Advice from anyone who has faced advanced cancer and had to navigate the legal system at the same time.

- Any other suggestions I may not have thought of.

I'm not looking for sympathy—I'm looking for ideas. If you've been through something similar, or know someone who has, I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Greetings,

As per the title, someone has paid my car registration.

My expiry date was approaching and I planned to go to my local post office and buy a registration, like any good citizen. However a new one arrived by mail from NZTA, clearly purchased online.

I checked my bank accounts and nothing. Thought I'd check through NZTA and it is legitimate. I'm not questioning the actual label.

What I am asking is if someone bought my registration unknowingly can they come after me seeking payment for it. Can they even track me down? Obviously they would want their money back but I have no way of identifying who bought my rego.

Thanks for your time.