Legislation that will help protect New Zealanders from cybercrime has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said.

“11 per cent of New Zealanders were victims of fraud and cybercrime in 2023, causing significant financial harm and emotional distress," said Goldsmith.

“The Budapest Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, is the only binding international treaty on cybercrime.

“It aligns member countries’ laws and makes it easier for them to cooperate on criminal investigations."

Goldsmith said by joining the convention, New Zealand is signalling to the other like-minded countries that we take cybercrime seriously and we are prepared to do our part to eliminate it.

“It will help our law enforcement agencies to protect New Zealanders, by providing the tools they need to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal offending, even when it happens online," Goldsmith said.

The Bill contains provisions to ensure our domestic laws meet the requirements of the Convention. These include:

• New ‘preservation directions’ in the Search and Surveillance Act, to enable law enforcement agencies to require companies to preserve records that could be evidence of offending.
• Amendments to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to enhance our ability to seek assistance from foreign countries for criminal investigations, and to provide assistance in return.
• Minor amendments to the Crimes Act to ensure offences related to cybercrime and the use of computers are comprehensive and fully align with the Convention.