Driving, swimming pools and drinking

With the Christmas holidays coming up, we want to remind you about keeping safe this summer – on the roads and in the pool, and to reinforce the message about not serving alcohol to people who are not yet 18 years old. Read more…

Having an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is as vital as making sure you have a Will. Whether you're 18 or 80 years old, you never know when you may need to have a responsible person to make decisions on your behalf. Read more…

If you have a claim of up to $15,000 – the Disputes Tribunal provides a simple, cost-effective way of dealing with civil disputes. We outline below the basics of what you need to know to make a claim. Read more…

On 1 April 2017 changes were incorporated into the Retirement Villages Code of Practice. These mainly involve the dispute resolution process in retirement villages.

Changes include a new step-by-step complaints process that includes the option of mediation to encourage earlier resolution.

Over the last 10 years the number of seniors living in retirement villages has grown to a record 32,000 people. Announcing these changes, Minister of Housing, Dr Nick Smith, said that the changes acknowledged the power imbalance between residents and retirement village companies and the need for a robust Code of Practice to ensure residents are treated fairly.

To find out more about the Retirement Villages Code of Practice, go to www.cffc.org.nz/retirement

At last year's Melbourne Cup, a young Kiwi woman had her photograph circulated around the globe after a journalist photographed her antics at the races. As the woman was in a public place with no expectation of privacy no criminal offence was committed, nor was there any civil wrong. This would also be the case in New Zealand. The situation raises some interesting questions about how private is private when taking photographs in a public place? Read more…

Before we know it the cold winter months will be upon us and we will be cranking up our heating.

To check whether you're on the best plan for your household, go to www.whatsmynumber.org.nz, complete all the fields and submit.

What's My Number is an initiative of the Electricity Authority working with Consumer NZ to help New Zealanders make more informed choices about our electricity suppliers.

The site provides information about the ability to switch power companies, the ease of switching and the potential savings you can make on your power bills by switching energy providers.