Clause 4 replaces section 3, which provides that the Act is repealed—

• on the expiry of a relevant period if no resolution is passed to continue the Act by the House of Representatives within that period; or

• if not repealed sooner, on the close of 13 May 2023.

The amendment removes these provisions and provides instead that the Act is repealed 2 years after the Royal assent of this Bill.

Clause 5 amends section 4, which outlines the purpose of the Act. This amendment consequentially removes references to recovering managed isolation or quarantine facility (MIQF) costs.

Clause 6 amends section 5, which defines terms used in the Act. Clause 6 repeals the defined terms that will no longer be used in the Act as amended and inserts new definitions. Section 5 is also amended to remove the Director-General’s power to make notices regarding vaccination exemptions and vaccine doses.

Clause 7 repeals section 10, which empowers the Director-General to make an order under the Act (a COVID-19 order). The repeal of section 10 leaves only the Minister with the power to make COVID-19 orders.

Clause 8 replaces section 11, which specifies the purposes for which the Minister can make COVID-19 orders. This amendment repeals the existing powers of the Minister to make COVID-19 orders and replaces them with a narrower set of powers to make COVID-19 orders—

• to require COVID-19 cases, household contacts, close contacts, and persons arriving in New Zealand to self-isolate:

• to require a person conducting a business or undertaking (a PCBU) to maintain systems and processes to ensure that workers comply with requirements relating to self-isolation and to mitigate the risks of spreading COVID-19 that relate to a worker leaving their place of self-isolation to carry out work for the PCBU:

• to require persons to wear masks in specified places and ways:

• to require PCBUs to maintain systems and processes to ensure that workers comply with mask requirements and to mitigate the risks of spreading COVID-19 if a worker is unable to wear a mask:

• to require persons arriving in New Zealand to comply with certain requirements:

• to require persons to take reasonable steps to ensure that persons arriving in New Zealand comply with requirements:

• to prohibit persons from importing, manufacturing, supplying, selling, packing, or using a test or testing device, or to authorise them to do so only in specified circumstances.

Clause 9 repeals the following sections:

• section 11A (which relates to compensation and payments available to an owner of a requisitioned testing laboratory):

• sections 11AA and 11AB (which relate to the Minister’s power to make orders to specify work that may not be carried out unless a worker meets specified requirements).

Clause 10 makes various consequential amendments to section 12, which sets out general provisions relating to COVID-19 orders.

Clauses 11 and 12 amend sections 14 and 15, which relate to the form and amendment of COVID-19 orders. These amendments consequentially remove references to the Director-General and COVID-19 orders made by the Director-General. The amendment to section 14 in clause 11(1) also clarifies that part of a COVID-19 order may come into force less than 48 hours after it is published if the Minister is satisfied that—

• that part of the order should come into force urgently to prevent or contain the outbreak or spread of COVID-19; or

• the effect of that part of the order is only to remove or reduce requirements imposed by a COVID-19 order.

Clause 13 consequentially amends section 16 to reflect that only the Minister will have the power to make COVID-19 orders.

Clause 14 repeals subpart 2A of Part 2. Subpart 2A sets out the duties of workers and persons conducting a business or undertaking in relation to work specified under section 11AB (which is repealed by clause 9).

Clause 15 replaces section 18(1), which sets out the persons the Director-General may authorise to carry out the functions and powers of an enforcement officer. The amendment narrows the scope of persons who may carry out those functions and powers.

Clause 16 amends section 20, which sets out enforcement officers’ powers of entry. The amendments remove the power of enforcement officers to enter a marae or dwellinghouse without a warrant.

Clause 17 consequentially amends section 21 to remove a cross-reference to section 32Q, which is repealed by clause 23.

Clause 18 repeals section 22 to remove the power of an enforcement officer to close roads and public places and to stop vehicles if a COVID-19 order provides for restriction of access to those roads or public spaces. The replacement of section 11 removes the power of the Minister to make an order for those purposes (see clause 8).

Clause 19 repeals section 23A to remove the power of an enforcement officer to direct a person to produce evidence of compliance with a specified measure.

Clause 20 amends section 24 to remove reference to a COVID-19 order imposing conditions on the operation of a business or undertaking. The replacement of section 11 removes the power of the Minister to make an order for those purposes (see clause 8).

Clauses 21 and 22 amend sections 26 and 27. Those sections set out various offences under the Act and the fines associated with those offences. Clauses 21 and 22 reduce the maximum fees and fines for infringement offences and the maximum fine for an individual convicted of an offence. Clause 21 also consequentially amends section 26 to remove a reference to section 32Q (which is repealed by clause 23).

Clause 23 repeals subparts 3A and 3B of Part 2 (which relate to MIQF cost recovery and MIQF management).

Clause 24 amends section 33, which provides for regulation-making powers. The amendments reduce the maximum infringement fees and fines that regulations may set and consequentially remove regulation-making powers relating to provisions under subpart 3B of Part 2 (which is repealed by clause 23).

Clause 25 consequentially repeals sections 33A, 33AA, and 33AB (which contain regulation-making powers relating to MIQF cost recovery, PCBU assessment tools, and PCBU work assessments).

Clause 26 amends section 34A, which relates to protecting contact tracing information. This amendment reduces the maximum fines for an individual for offences against section 34A(3).

Clause 27 amends section 34B to consequentially remove references to vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine certificates. Clause 27(4) also reduces the maximum fines for an individual for offences under section 34B(1).

Clause 28 repeals Parts 3 and 4, which set out amendments to the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 and the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 that were made by the Act in 2020. Parts 3 and 4 are spent. Repealing them does not undo the amendments they made.

Clause 29 amends Schedule 1, which contains the transitional, savings, and related provisions. The amendment, which is set out in the Schedule of the Bill, inserts a new Part 4 into Schedule 1. New Part 4 contains a transitional provision to enable outstanding MIQF charges to continue to be collected once the provisions relating to MIQFs are repealed. The transitional provision also enables the chief executive to continue to be able to waive or refund MIQF charges and the Minister to continue to be able to waive those charges.

Clauses 30 to 33 consequentially repeal provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that empower the making of orders to prevent termination of residential tenancies if a COVID-19 order restricts people in the area from moving to a new home or other place of residence. The Act as amended will no longer empower COVID-19 orders to be made to restrict movement in that way.

Clause 34 consequentially revokes the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Managed Isolation and Quarantine Charges) Regulations 2020.

Clauses 35 to 37 consequentially amend the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Infringement Offences) Regulations 2021 to remove references to infringement offences that relate to repealed provisions of the Act.