The Customer and Product Data Bill (Bill) has passed its second reading with unanimous support.
The Bill seeks to establish a New Zealand Consumer Data Right (CDR). For more information on the CDR, including the history of the Bill, please see our related Insights here.
On 6 March 2025, the House of Representatives accepted the Bill as amended by the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee (Committee), which included several changes to the original Bill based on submissions and advice. You can read more about the Committee's amendments here.
Although the Bill received unanimous cross party support during the second reading, some areas for further scrutiny were raised, including:
- the level of focus on the consumer benefits;
- the sufficiency of the penalties for non-compliance; and
- whether the Bill adequately addresses the faults with the Australian regime.
Next, the Committee of the Whole House will meet to examine the Bill in detail and question the Minister in charge (Hon Scott Simpson), following which further amendments may be made to the Bill. After that stage, the Bill will proceed to its third reading.
In terms of timing, the Government has previously indicated that the Bill will be passed into law in early 2025, and that the open banking regulations and standards will start to come into force in December 2025.
The full text of the Report (including a version of the Bill with the Committee's proposed amendments) is available here. Submissions on the Bill will open shortly.
We will continue to monitor developments and will provide further updates as the Bill progresses. In the meantime, if you would like any advice regarding how the CDR might affect you and organisations in your industry, please do not hesitate to contact us.