The House passes laws, provides ministers to form the Cabinet, and supervises the work of government.

[4] Parliament received full control over all New Zealand affairs in 1947 with the passage of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act.

[8] A government is formed when a party or coalition can show that it has the "confidence" of the House, meaning the support of a majority of members of parliament.

Once sworn in, MPs normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of parliament and subsequent general election, which must take place at least every three years.

List MPs are free to stand in electorate by-elections and in the case of successful contest their own seat will be filled 'in turn'.

[15] To be an MP a person must be a New Zealand citizen (by birth or naturalisation) at the time of the election and not be disqualified from enrolling to vote; unlike certain other countries,[16] bankruptcy is not grounds for disqualification from office.

[45] There are a few disqualifications; for example, mentally-impaired persons detained in hospital and prisoners sentenced to a term of over three years are ineligible to vote.

[50] Under the MMP system each person has two votes; one is for electorate seats (including some reserved for Māori),[51] and the other is for a party.

It is the speaker's role to apply the rules of the House (called the Standing Orders),[58] and oversee procedures and the day-to-day operation of the chamber.

The leader of the House is an MP appointed by the prime minister to arrange government business and the legislative programme of Parliament.

[61] Another important officer is the serjeant-at-arms,[61] whose duties include the maintenance of order and security in the precincts of the House.

[65] The speaker of the House sits in a raised chair at the open end of the horseshoe, giving them a clear view of proceedings.

MPs cannot lawfully meet without the mace, a formal symbol of the authority of the House, being present in the chamber.

[72] Members have the option of addressing the House in English, Te Reo Māori,[73] or New Zealand Sign Language (with an interpreter provided).

No member may speak more than once on the same question (except that the mover of a motion is entitled to make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end).

[77] Every sitting day a period of time is set aside for questions to be asked of ministers and select committee chairs.

Written questions are submitted to the clerk, either on paper or electronically, and answers are recorded in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).

The House examines and amends bills—the title given to a proposed piece of legislation while under consideration by the House—in several formal stages.

Once a bill has passed through all its parliamentary stages it is enacted and becomes an act of Parliament,[81] forming part of New Zealand's law.

Bills become acts after being approved three times by House votes and then receiving the Royal Assent from the governor-general.

Submitters can opt to also give an oral submission, which are heard by the committee in Wellington, and numbers permitting, Auckland and Christchurch.

Unless Parliament grants an extension, the time limit for select committee deliberations is six months or whatever deadline was set by the House when the bill was referred.

In theory, speeches should relate to the principles and objects of the bill, and also to the consideration and recommendations of the select committee and issues raised in public submissions.

Parties will usually have made their final decision on a bill after the select committee stage, and will make their views clear during the second reading debates.

The final reading takes the same format as the first and second readings—a two-hour debate with MPs making ten-minute speeches.

[98] In addition to the work of the main chamber, the House of Representatives also has a large number of committees, established in order to deal with particular areas or issues.

The strengthening of the committee system was in response to concerns that legislation was being forced through, without receiving due examination and revision.

This major national event is open to 16- to 18-year-olds who are appointed by individual MPs to represent them in their role for a few days in Wellington.

The Youth MPs spend time debating a mock bill in the House and in select committees, and asking questions of Cabinet ministers.

[105] The following list is of news agencies which are accredited members of the New Zealand House of Representatives press gallery.