The District Courts will remain open until 24 December
The Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the High Courts will be inactive for the holiday period beginning 23 December.
The senior courts will shut their doors at 5:00pm. They will open again on 5 January 2027 at 9:00am.
The shutdown covers the High Courts in Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Invercargill, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru, Wellington, Whanganui and Whangārei. Nonetheless, urgent applications to the High Court may filed during the holidays; these applications will be heard only in the High Court registries in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Meanwhile, the District Courts in Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Hastings, Hutt Valley, Invercargill, Levin, Manukau, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, North Shore, Palmerston North, Porirua, Pukekohe, Queenstown, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru, Waitakere, Wellington, Whakatane, Whanganui and Whangārei are set to close for the year on 24 December at 3:00pm. They are scheduled to reopen on 5 January 2027 at 9:00am.
The District Courts in Ashburton, Dannevirke, Hāwera, Huntly, Kaikohe, Kaitāia, Morrinsville, Taihape, Taumarunui, Taupō, Thames, Tokoroa and Wairoa will also shut down on 24 December. They will resume operations on 11 January 2027 at 9:00am unless gazetted otherwise.
The District Courts in Alexandra, Gore, Papakura and Westport will close for the year on 24 December at 3:00pm. They will reopen on 18 January 2027 at 9:00am unless gazetted otherwise.
The Employment Courts and the Environment Courts will follow the senior courts’ shutdown schedule. The Māori Land Courts will be on break beginning 24 December at 3:00pm, reopening at 10:00am on 5 January 2027.
The Coroners Court will close for the year starting 24 December at 5:00pm, resuming operations on 5 January 2027 at 9:00am. However, the National Initial Investigation Office will continue to operate 24 hours a day.
The tribunals units in Auckland and Wellington will shut down for the year on 24 December at 3:00pm. They will reopen on 5 January 2027 at 9:00am.
Urgent applications to the Family Courts nationwide may be filed through the eDuty platform over the holidays. However, the courts will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and 4 January 2027.
On 24 December, the window for submitting applications closes at 12:00pm, with all registries closing at 3:00pm. On 29, 30 and 31 December, the applications window shuts at 2:00pm; normal operations resume on 5 January 2027.
Judges are available to tackle urgent Family Court applications involving the evaluation of mental health conditions under s.16 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. Persons arrested on new charges, on warrant or for bail breaches during the holidays will make their initial appearance before a judge, community magistrate or justice of the peace at the nearest available court.
If the presiding judicial officer at the initial appearance does not have the jurisdiction to rule on bail requests, remands in custody must be adjourned to the following working day unless there is consent otherwise. This facilitates the handling of bail applications through AVL from the jail or police station to the closest or most convenient court with a sitting judge.
Electronically monitored (EM) bail applications will be processed by the EM Admin team over the holiday period except on statutory holidays. By 10:00am of the relevant filing date, the EM Bail Team should be sent adult applications submitted on or before 10 December and youth applications filed on or before 17 December.
Such applications could be heard before Christmas based on court scheduling and the availability of hearing time and counsel. Ideally, they ought to be set for hearing starting 11 January.
Urgent applications under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 may be heard by a judge over the holiday period.
