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NZ Reserve Bank Bumps Up OCR Rate by 25bp

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Governor Adrian Orr announced that the official cash rate (OCR) has been lifted by the New Zealand government by 25 basis points to 1%. This is part of the easing of monetary policy stimulus measures undertaken during the pandemic and to help combat currently rising inflation, increasing housing costs, and…

NZ Government Announces Minimum Wage Increase

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Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Michael Wood, has announced an increase in minimum wages. The increase, set to take effect in April, will see the training minimum wage boosted to $16.96 and the lowest-paid workers earning a higher $21.20 an hour. This 6% increase is expected to benefit about 300,000…

Cost of Living Rises by 5.2 percent in New Zealand in Q4 of 2021

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Statistics NZ has confirmed that household living costs price indexes (HLPI) increased by an average of 5.2% during the last quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period the year before. This is the highest increase since the metric was first tracked in 2008 for 7 of the 13…

Annual Inflation Rate in NZ Reaches 30-Year High

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Recently released figures by Statistics New Zealand confirm that inflation reached a record-setting level of 5.9% by the close of 2021. This increase was driven by rising consumer prices, as construction costs, petrol and rents recorded a sharp upsurge in the final quarter of the year. Though disappointing, this outcome…

CCCFA Changes Make Accessing Credit Difficult

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Borrowers are facing additional challenges when it comes to accessing credit following the implementation of changes made to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA). The changes were made in 2019 to institute better protections for borrowers against spiralling costs of debt and came into effect from December 1.…

NZ Wage Levels Rise As Signs Of Labour Shortage Emerge

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According to Infometrics, New Zealand wages are on the rise across the board. During the last 12 months leading up to November 2021, the average salary per filled job increased by 7.6%, with the national average salary rising by 9.6%. This represents a 20-year high. Infometrics principal economist, Brad Olsen,…

NZ Property Market Closes 2021 On a High Note

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Aotearoa’s red hot property market closed out 2021 at peak levels. Although there were prospects of the market cooling following plans to increase interest rates, tighten bank lending criteria, and new tax policy restrictions, the market appears to still be on the rise. CoreLogic’s House Price Index (HPI) found that…

Strong Economic Growth in NZ Over Next 5 Years

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New Zealand Finance minister, Grant Robertson, recently gave a summary of the Treasury’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2020 report. The report indicates that the economy is expected to bounce back in the coming years following depressed performance since the pandemic started. The report has projected that unemployment will…

NZ Government Shifts on Excise Tax

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New proposals have been presented under the Smoke-free Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan document to combat tobacco smoking in New Zealand. The NZ government has for years relied on increased excise taxes to help discourage smoking. The intention had been for smokers to see the rising cost and opt to curtail…

Accounting Body Calls for Simplicity in New Property Tax Rules

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During its oral submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee earlier this week, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) urged the government to resolve the complexities brought on by the new tax laws related to the bright-line test. The accounting body recently surveyed 361 of its members and…