New Zealand Law Style Guide

The format for citing Bills is as follows:

Element	Short title	Year of introduction	Bill number	Bar number	Reference
Example	Judicial Matters Bill	2008	(216	-1)	, cl 3
Rule	4.2.1(a)	4.2.1(b)	4.2.1(c)	4.2.1(d)	4.2.1(f)

Eg Judicial Matters Bill 2008 (216-1), cl 3.

Where a Government Bill has not yet been introduced to the House, cite it in accordance with rule 5.4. In the case of a Member’s Bill not yet introduced, cite it according to the rule applicable to the medium through which it was accessed.

(a) Short title

Cite the short title as it appears on the Bill.

If the Bill has been given a number, include this after the short title.

Eg Arms Amendment Bill (No 3) 2005 (248-1).

(b) Year of introduction

The year of introduction is not part of the Bill’s title. However, give the year of introduction so that future readers can identify the particular Bill being referred to. For example, there is a Statutes Amendment Bill introduced most years. Without referring to the year of introduction, it would be difficult to identify the particular Statutes Amendment Bill being referred to.

Parliament does not include the year a Bill was introduced in the Bill’s title but instead uses “(No 2)” or “(No 3)” to distinguish between Bills that have identical titles introduced within the same parliamentary term. Accordingly, the Education Amendment Bill (No 3) 2008 (295-1) is not the third Education Amendment Bill introduced in 2008 but the third Education Amendment Bill introduced during the 48th parliamentary term.

The Bill number can be found in the footer of the Bill. Place this in round brackets, together with the bar number, and insert after the year of introduction.

Eg Securities Legislation Bill 2004 (234-2).

(d) Bar number

The bar number, preceded by a hyphen, indicates which version of a Bill is being referred to, indicating how many times the Bill has been amended. The bar number is included together with the Bill number in the footer of the Bill.

Usually, Bills are amended (if at all) at select committee or in the committee of the whole House, but:

it is not uncommon for there to be no amendments made by a select committee; and
it is uncommon but possible for the House:
- to send a Bill back to a select committee (the same committee or a different one) for a second time; or
- if an error is detected after the Bill has been set down for third reading, to send the Bill back to the committee of the whole House for a second time.

Therefore:

56-1 indicates that the Bill has not been amended, that is it refers to the Bill in the form in which it was introduced;
56-2 indicates that this is the second version of the Bill, meaning it has been amended only once (usually by a select committee but possibly in the committee of the whole House if no amendments were made by the select committee); and
56-3 indicates that this is the third version of the Bill.

There is no space between the Bill number and bar number.

Eg Business Law Reform Bill 2003 (56-2).

Where a Bill is being referred to in a general way and the particular version is not material, the bar number may be omitted.

Eg Judicial Retirement Age Bill 2006 (90).

(e) Divided Bills

A slightly different numbering convention applies if a Bill is divided into several Bills. When Bills are divided, the divided Bills will carry the same Bill number as the “parent” Bill but will be distinguished by being referred to as bar-3A, 3B, or 3C.

For example, the Tertiary Education Reform Bill 2001 (180-2) was divided at the committee stage into two Bills, neither of which bore the same title as the parent Bill: the Education (Tertiary Reform) Amendment Bill 2001 (180-3A) and the Industry Training Amendment Bill 2001 (180-3B).

If one of the divided Bills bears the same name as the parent Bill, it will be referred to without a letter reference. For example, the Animal Products Amendment Bill 2001 was divided into the Animal Products Amendment Bill 2001 (194-3) and the Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill 2001 (194-3A).

(f) Pinpoint reference

Pinpoint references for Bills are similar to pinpoint references for statutes. Give them in accordance with rule 4.1.1(d).

Use the following abbreviations in pinpoint references to a Bill, except where the word appears at the start of a sentence:

Clause

Clauses

cls

Sub-clause

Sub-clauses

sub-cl

sub-cls

4.2.2 Select committee reports and explanatory notes

The format for citing select committee reports on, and explanatory notes to, Bills is as follows:

Element	Bill citation	Locator	Pinpoint
Example	Judicial Matters Bill 2008 (216-1)	(explanatory note)	at 5
Rule	4.2.2(a)	4.2.2(b)	4.2.2(c)

Eg Judicial Matters Bill 2008 (216-1) (explanatory note) at 5.

Eg Unit Titles Bill 2008 (212-2) (select committee report) at 4.

(a) Bill citation

Provide the full citation of the Bill that the select committee report or the explanatory note relates to in accordance with rule 4.2.1.

(b) Locator

Specify, in parentheses, the location in the Bill that is being referenced, for example “(explanatory note)” or “(select committee report)”.

Give the pinpoint reference in the numeric style of the original document.

4.2.3 Supplementary order papers

The format for citing supplementary order papers is as follows:

Element	SOP and year	SOP number	Bill citation	Pinpoint
Example	Supplementary Order Paper 2006	(79)	Evidence Bill 2005 (256-1)	(explanatory note) at 3
Rule	4.2.3(a)	4.2.3(b)	4.2.3(c)	4.2.3(d)

Eg Supplementary Order Paper 2006 (79) Evidence Bill 2005 (256-1) (explanatory note) at 3.

(a) SOP and year

Begin with the words “Supplementary Order Paper” followed by the year in which the Supplementary Order Paper was released.

(b) SOP number

Give the Supplementary Order Paper number in round brackets. Supplementary Order Papers are numbered sequentially over a year.

Following the Supplementary Order Paper number, give the Bill citation in accordance with rule 4.2.1.

(d) Pinpoint reference

Include the pinpoint reference after the Bill citation, preceded by a comma. If the explanatory note is being referenced, this should be indicated.