Pres­i­dent Chris­tine Kan­ga­loo has pro­claimed the Home In­va­sion (Self-De­fence and De­fence of Prop­er­ty) Act, bring­ing in­to force leg­is­la­tion that al­lows home­own­ers to use force, in­clud­ing lethal force, to de­fend them­selves and their prop­er­ty dur­ing a home in­va­sion.

The law, com­mon­ly re­ferred to as “stand your ground” leg­is­la­tion, was passed in the Sen­ate on De­cem­ber 7, 2025, with­out amend­ments, af­ter it was ap­proved in the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives on No­vem­ber 28, 2025.

Un­der the Act, any­one con­vict­ed of a home in­va­sion faces up to 25 years in prison or a fine of $750,000.

The leg­is­la­tion sets out cir­cum­stances un­der which a per­son may law­ful­ly de­fend them­selves or their prop­er­ty against an in­trud­er, re­mov­ing a du­ty to re­treat when faced with an un­law­ful en­try in­to a dwelling.

It al­so out­lines the le­gal pro­tec­tions avail­able to home­own­ers who act in self-de­fence dur­ing a home in­va­sion.