Section 54 of the Legislation Act 2019 settles one question that comes up constantly: does the start or end date count? The answer turns on a single word: "on", "from", "after", "within", "until" or "before". There is no universal "exclude the start, include the end" convention to fall back on.
Two things to note before the table. Section 54 is an interpretation rule for legislation: a contract, court rule or set of terms with its own counting provisions is governed by those, however similar the wording looks. And section 54 only settles the boundaries; it has nothing to say about which event starts the clock or what a working day is.
The seven patterns, in calculator terms
| Wording in the legislation | Does that date count? | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| A period starting at, on or with a specified day, act or event | Yes, count that day or the day of the act or event | Include start date: On |
| A period starting from or after a specified day, act or event | No | Include start date: Off |
| Within a number of days of or after a specified day, act or event | No | Include start date: Off |
| A period ending by, on, at or with a specified day, act or event | Yes | Include deadline date: On |
| A period continuing to or until a specified day, act or event | Yes | Include deadline date: On |
| A period ending before a specified day, act or event | No | Include deadline date: Off |
| A number of days between two specified events | Neither event day counts | Both boxes: Off |
What one word is worth
Say the legislation requires an act within 3 working days after Monday 2 February 2026. "After" falls in the second row, so 2 February drops out and counting starts the next working day. With no public holiday in the way:
- Monday 2 February: trigger, not counted
- Tuesday 3 February: day 1
- Wednesday 4 February: day 2
- Thursday 5 February: day 3
The deadline is Thursday 5 February 2026. To run it yourself:
- Mode: Default Mode → Deadline
- Start date: 2 February 2026
- Direction: Forward
- Period: 3 working days
- Include start date: off
- Include deadline date: on
- Region: No Anniversary
- Shutdown Period: No Shutdown
Open the "after" version in the calculator.
Now change one word. If the same provision says the period starts on 2 February, that date becomes day 1, the third counted working day is Wednesday 4 February 2026, and your deadline has moved a day earlier. That is the whole mechanism, and it is the most common reason two people counting the same provision disagree by one.
When the last day isn't a working day
Section 55 handles a different problem: your calculated date lands on a day that isn't a working day. Where it applies, the act may be done on the next working day.
Run the two provisions in order rather than together. Use section 54 and the exact wording to fix the boundaries, calculate, and only then ask whether section 55 needs to push the result forward. And check which working-day definition the legislation is using before you do. The Act creating your period may define the term for itself, which is exactly why the RMA and the High Court Rules end up with different summer windows.
Where section 54 stops
The boundary checkboxes are a narrow tool. Four questions sit outside them, and all four have to be settled before the two settings mean anything:
Which event starts the period. "After service", "after receipt", "after filing" and "after the decision" can easily be four different dates in the same matter. Fix the event and its date first.
What unit the period runs in. Section 54 is silent on whether you are counting days, working days or months. The provision itself has to tell you.
Which days are working days. Public holidays, regional anniversaries and summer exclusions vary between statutes and rules, so use the calendar your source calls for rather than the general one.
Whether section 54 applies at all. A contract can set its own business day, trigger, boundaries and extension rule. Wording that reads like the statute doesn't import the statute.
Filing cut-off times, service methods, when service is legally complete, required forms and extensions are all separate questions again. A date is only ever part of the answer.
Sources
- Legislation Act 2019, section 54: when periods start and end
- Legislation Act 2019, section 55: extension if the day is not a working day
- Legislation Act 2019, full text
Sources checked 2 August 2026 against the current published version, and both worked results are covered by executable calculator tests. General information about calculator settings, not legal advice.
