Inclusionary Zoning “Tax” / The QLDC Affordable Housing Strategy (2022)

Background At a meeting held on 11 August 2022, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (Council) agreed to notify a proposed “Inclusionary Housing” plan change (Plan Change) via the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The Plan Change essentially seeks to “tax” certain property development and subdivision activity by requiring a financial contribution […]

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Experienced business lawyer, Jono Cole, joins the AWS Legal team

Jono Cole has joined the AWS Legal Queenstown team, as an experienced business lawyer specialising in corporate and commercial law. Jono grew up in Queenstown before attending Otago University. He then worked in Wellington for a decade, before returning to the South with his young family. Jono Cole has extensive experience in corporate and commercial law. His […]

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Congratulations to Bella, Rebecca, Rebecca and William on their admission to the Bar.

A huge day today here at AWS Legal, as we celebrated four of our amazing young graduates’ admissions to the bar at the Invercargill District Court. Bella Hiroki works in our rural team, and was moved by Partner, Toni Green. Rebecca Scott works in our Winton office, and was moved by Partner, Chris Menzies. William Swan works in our Property & Projects […]

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Investor visa category shake up with a new visa

The new Active Investor Plus Visa (AI+) opens on 19 September 2022 replacing the current Investor 1 and Investor 2 visas. Announced by the Minister for Economic and Regional Development on 20 July, the new visa pathway is a part of the Government’s Immigration Rebalance strategy which intends to attract high value investors to bring […]

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Residential Care Subsidy – What you need to know

If you need long-term residential care, you may be eligible for the Residential Care Subsidy, also known as a rest home subsidy. Associate Allanah Cunningham answers all your burning questions about the subsidies. What is a rest home subsidy? It is a form of benefit provided by the government to assist with the costs of […]

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AWS Legal see’s biggest Mooving day since 2008

Mooving day has come and gone with the team at AWS Legal seeing a record number of settlements. The first day of winter, mooving day marks the date farming families, shareholders, contract milkers and employees across the region move to new farms. Despite it being just one day, preparation for mooving day takes weeks and […]

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Welcome to the team Emily Barns

Emily Barns is the newest superstar in our Queenstown office. She has been working at AWS Legal since the beginning of the year, after graduating from the University of Canterbury. She recently finished her professional studies and works alongside Partner Haydon Cunninghame and Associate Rachel Buckley on property matters. Emily is one of our Queenstown […]

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Changes made to First Home Grant 2022

As of 19 May 2022, the Government introduced changes to the First Home Grant (administered by Kāinga Ora) as part of the 2022 Budget, in the hope of enabling more New Zealanders to purchase their first home. Kāinga Ora’s First Home Grant programme assists eligible first-home buyers from their deposit through a government contribution. Eligible […]

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Congratulations Rachel Buckley, Jayne Lambie, Chantal Ryan and Georgia Johnston!

We are proud to announce congratulations on the promotion of four talented lawyers: Rachel Buckley, Jayne Lambie, Chantal Ryan and Georgia Johnston. Rachel Buckley, Associate Rachel Buckley is an Associate at the AWS Legal Queenstown office. Rachel has been part of the AWS Legal team since July 2018 and is a member of the New Zealand […]

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What’s new in immigration?

Have you been wondering what is new in the immigration space? The answer is, a lot! There has been quite a bit of movement in the immigration space recently with the ever changing border restrictions, varying commencement dates for new frameworks and introductions of one-off resident visas. For ease, it’s helpful to have a little […]

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