The Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, meaning a change will come into effect that ensures children are not able to purchase lottery products.
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden said the Bill seeks to improve the efficiency of the Department of Internal Affairs by tidying up legislation that it administers.
“One issue that was identified was a section of the Gambling Act that in effect meant that 18+ restrictions do not apply to the purchase of all lottery tickets, allowing children to purchase some products like Lotto NZ’s twice weekly draw,” she said.
“This is a really simple change that will ensure age restrictions are clear to retailers and consumers, and ensure children are not inadvertently allowed to gamble.”
The Bill also amends 30 Acts, making changes including:
- strengthening the Department’s ability to share information with international law enforcement agencies to prevent the spread of objectionable content, such as child sex abuse material, online;
- allowing passports to be cancelled if the data has been compromised;
- simplifying the process for enabling organisations to offer the RealMe identity verification service;
- giving the Department more powers to prevent ‘over-donation’ by any individual to fertility clinics;
- improving the efficiency of the Classification Office by allowing the Chief and Deputy Chief Censor to delegate responsibilities;
- simplifying levy administration for insurers through amendments to the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017.
“The suite of minor changes included in this Bill will help to keep the Department operating efficiently, amounting to a significant improvement taken together. I am pleased it has now passed all stages with full support of the House,” the Minister said.
