This Act is the Interest on Money Claims Act 2016.
Interest on Money Claims Act 2016
| Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
| Citation | 2016 No 51 |
| Reference | 2016 No 51 |
| Record Number | DLM6943300 |
| Act Number | 51 |
| Type of Document | Act |
This Act comes into force on 1 January 2018.
Preliminary provisions
The primary purpose of this Act is to provide for the award of interest as compensation for a delay in the payment of debts, damages, and other money claims in respect of which civil proceedings are commenced.
That purpose is to be achieved by the award of interest in accordance with the following principles:
- interest is to be awarded on all money claims except those expressly excluded by this Act:
- interest is to be paid from the day on which the money claim is quantified until the day of payment:
the interest rate to be used for the purposes of this Act is to reflect fairly and realistically the cost to a creditor of the delay in payment of a money claim by a debtor and, in particular,—
- the rate is to be capable of fluctuating in accordance with changes in the retail 6-month term deposit rate published by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand; and
- interest is to be compounded so that it yields the per annum simple interest rate over the period of a year; and
- interest is to be calculated using a calculator that is publicly available on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of the Ministry:
- in special circumstances, a court is to have power to award any interest or compensatory lump sum it may direct, or make no award.
This Act has the additional purpose of providing standard provisions for calculating interest on amounts of money payable under certain enactments, using the Internet site calculator (see Schedule 2).
This Act applies to every civil proceeding commenced after the commencement of this Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
court—
- does not include a tribunal or an arbitral tribunal; and
- in relation to a matter, means the court by or before which the matter falls to be determined
daily effective rate means the interest rate that will yield the per annum simple interest rate when compounded daily over a period of a year
initial amount means the amount specified, in accordance with section 11, by the court in a money judgment on which interest is awarded for a specified period under section 10, 17, or 18
interest,—
- in relation to the payment or non-payment of interest under another Act or a contract, includes the payment of any amount, however calculated, as compensation for a delay in payment; and
- in relation to a claim for, or an award of, interest under this Act, includes a claim for or an award of a lump sum under section 18 or 24
interest rate has the meaning set out in section 12(3)
Internet site calculator means the calculator established and maintained under section 13
judgment debt means the sum of the amounts, if any, that are required to satisfy the liability of a party under a money judgment, together with interest awarded under this Act or any other Act, rule of law, or rule of equity in respect of any period or periods specified in the judgment
last day, in respect of a period, means—
- the day specified in section 9(1)(b); or
- if the period is specified under section 9(2)(b), the date that is at the end of that period
Ministry means the department of State that, with the authority of the Prime Minister, is for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act
money judgment—
- means a judgment or an order given or made by a court in a civil proceeding that requires the payment of money; and
- includes a judgment obtained by default or in accordance with a summary judgment procedure
pay, in relation to the satisfaction of a party’s liability or a judgment debt, includes to satisfy that liability or judgment debt in any way other than by the payment of money
prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under section 27
start date, in respect of a period, means—
- the date on which the period begins under section 9(1)(a); or
- if the period is specified under section 9(2)(b), the date that is at the beginning of that period.
An example used in this Act has the following status:
- the example is only illustrative of the provision to which it relates and does not limit the provision; and
- if the example and the provision to which it relates are inconsistent, the provision prevails.
The transitional, savings, and related provisions...
To continue reading
Request your trial