Newshub understands the Government is going to tear up its most significant COVID powers in an update to the legislation due to be announced later on Tuesday.
Newshub also understands the Government is committed to an inquiry into COVID-19. But it doesn't have its ducks in a row to announce the date or shape of it yet.
The Government will remove the ability to use lockdowns, managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) and vaccine mandates.
It means in the case of a serious outbreak in which any of those powers were needed, Parliament would need to pass new legislation to, for instance, lock down the country.
It's understood the only remaining powers in the Act will be isolation periods and the ability to reintroduce some requirements for incoming travellers - such as testing.
Newshub reported on Monday night the legislation which underpins New Zealand's COVID-19 response is due to be extended a further two years. It's understood this is to be used as a placeholder until a more fulsome and broader pandemic legislation is in place.
The Prime Minister said it's important the Government is prepared in the meantime.
"I do think we need to think about more broadly what's the kind of, as I would describe it, equivalent of Civil Defence powers that you need in reserve for pandemics.
"It's very much a matter, though, of just making sure we continue to be prepared for COVID while we work on what a general epidemic legislative framework would look like," Jacinda Ardern said.
