National outlined some headline changes it wanted to make within its first 100 days in power. Here are some major changes businesses should look out for.

1. The reintroduction of the 90-day employment trial period

The National-led government has extended the availability of 90-day employment trial periods for all businesses. This reverses the changes under the Employment Relations Amendment Act made in 2018, which scrapped the 90-day trials for businesses with more than 20 employees.

2. Clean car discount and ‘ute tax’ to end

The clean car discount, under which people could claim back up to $8,625 for an electric or hybrid vehicle, will disappear for all vehicles registered after 31 December 2023. The levy on higher emissions vehicles, such as utes, has also been scrapped. 

3. Fair Pay Agreements cancelled

The government has also repealed the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, which was introduced to give workers in certain industries powers to negotiate minimum employment terms.

Collective agreements can still be negotiated by unions through collective bargaining, however, with the repeal of the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, any person or organisation that obtained personal information for the purpose of Fair Pay Agreement bargaining must now dispose of that information in live with the Privacy Act 2020.

4. Bright-line test for property investors reduced

National is expected to reduce the bright-line test for property investors from 10 years to 2 years, returning the law to its 2015 setting from 1 July 2024. New builds will not be exempt from the two-year bright-line.

As part of the coalition government negotiations, National’s proposed restrictions on foreign persons acquiring residential properties for more than $2m in New Zealand and the proposed 15% ‘foreign buyer tax’ on such purchases have been cancelled. The expected increase in demand for residential property due to this proposed change will no longer occur. Tax deductions for depreciation on commercial and industrial (non-residential) buildings will be removed from the 2024-25 income year. 

4. Fuel Tax changes 

National wants to cancel planned fuel tax increases that would have added a further 12 cents to the litre.

5. Rural regulations to go 

National and Act have committed to reducing regulation and red tape in the farming sector. What that looks like we are still to find out. 

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