Background to the 2009–2015 review of consumer credit law

Initial consultation and decisions

On 31 October 2011, Cabinet agreed to a package of reforms to consumer credit law. This followed a review of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003, which was initiated in 2009, and various research on consumer credit in New Zealand.

Read more about the initial consultation and Cabinet decisions in the documents below:

Discussion Document: Review of the operation of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 [PDF, 1.3 MB] 

Cabinet Paper: Responsible Lending Requirements for Consumer Credit Providers [PDF, 67 KB]

Regulatory Impact Statement: Responsible Lending Requirements for Consumer Credit Providers [PDF, 138 KB]

Cabinet Minute: Responsible Lending Requirements for Consumer Credit Providers [PDF, 487 KB] 

Exposure Draft and Law Commission Review

In April 2012, the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (CCCF) Amendment Bill Exposure Draft was released, setting out how it was proposed to incorporate new responsible lending requirements into the Act.

Read more about the Exposure Draft in the documents below:

Consultation documents: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill Exposure Draft [PDF, 539 KB]

Exposure Draft: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill [PDF, 158 KB] 

Summary of submissions on the CCCF Amendment Bill Exposure Draft [PDF, 2 MB]

In response to submissions received, and the recommendations contained in Law Commission Report 124: Consumers and Repossession, Cabinet agreed to incorporate the current Credit (Repossession Act) 1997 into the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. Cabinet also agreed to make a number of other changes to the existing provisions in the Act.

Read more about the changes made in response to consultation on the Exposure Draft and the Law Commision's report:

Consumers and Repossession: A Review of the Credit (Repossession) Act 1997 – Law Commission Report 124(external link)

Cabinet Paper and Regulatory Impact Statement: Responsible Lending and Changes to Consumer Credit Law [PDF, 2.5 MB]

Cabinet Minute: Responsible Lending and Changes to Consumer Credit Law [PDF, 487 KB]

New government regulations and Responsible Lending Code

The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 required the development of a Responsible Lending Code.

Read more about the development of a Responsible Lending Code in the documents below:

Discussion Document: Responsible Lending Code [PDF, 924 KB] 

Lender responsibility principles(external link) — Consumer Protection

Regulatory Impact Statement: Responsible Lending Code [PDF, 367 KB] 

The Act also required regulations to be developed.

Read more about the credit related regulations in the documents below:

Discussion Document: Credit Related Disclosure and Rebate Regulations [PDF, 678 KB] 

Cabinet Paper: Regulations to Implement the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 [PDF, 279 KB] 

Cabinet Minute: Regulations to Implement the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 [PDF, 1.6 MB] 

Regulatory Impact Statement: Regulations to prescribe costs of borrowing information and a minimum repayment [PDF, 374 KB] 

Regulatory Impact Statement: Regulations to exempt Voluntary Targeted Rate schemes from particular provisions under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 [PDF, 127 KB] 

Regulatory Impact Statement: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Infringement Offences) Regulations 2015 [PDF, 72 KB] 

Regulatory Impact Statement: Securitisation exemptions in the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2015 and Financial Service Providers (Exemptions) Amendment Regulations 2015 [PDF, 67 KB]