The MÃÂori Language Act 1987 was a piece of legislation passed by the Parliament of New Zealand that gave official language status to the MÃÂori language (), and gave speakers a right to use it in legal settings such as courts. It also established the MÃÂori Language Commission, initially called , to promote the language and provide advice on it. The law was enacted as the Maori Language Act 1987 and originally written without macrons. It was repealed by section 48 of the MÃÂori Language Act 2016.
The act was the result of years of campaigning by MÃÂori, particularly those involved in the MÃÂori protest movement. It was also the result of shifts in thinking about the Treaty of Waitangi. By the mid-1980s, the treaty had acquired increased relevance thanks primarily to the Waitangi Tribunal. The act was passed at least in part as a response to Waitangi Tribunal finding that the MÃÂori language was a (treasure or valued possession) under the Treaty of Waitangi. The act also drew on a number of international precedents, primarily the Bord na Gaeilge Act 1978 of Ireland, which is cited several times in the legislation, but also the Welsh Language Act 1967 of the United Kingdom, which enabled the use of the Welsh language in Welsh court proceedings.
Despite the act, MÃÂori does not have the same status under law as English. For example, tax records must be kept in English unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue agrees otherwise.
The act was amended in 1991 and legislated the MÃÂori Language Commission's name change to . It also slightly expanded the range of legal settings in which MÃÂori could be used, to include bodies such as the Tenancy Tribunal and any Commission of Inquiry.
The 1987 act was repealed on 30 April 2016 by section 48 of Te Ture mà  Te Reo MÃÂori 2016 / MÃÂori Language Act 2016. The 2016 act "was intended as a major step forward in legislation promoting the language", according to a paper by the Parliamentary Library. It created a new body, Te MÃÂtÃÂwai, to act on behalf of MÃÂori for the protection, promotion and revitalisation of the MÃÂori language. As a New Zealand first, there are two versions of the new act, one in MÃÂori and the other in English, with section 12 stating that if there was any conflict in meaning between the two versions, the MÃÂori version would prevail.