New Zealand creates new care law after student lay dead for weeks in dorm room

New Zealand has created a new offence that makes serious breaches of student pastoral care punishable by a fine of up to NZ$100,000 (£50,000) following outcry over the case of Mason Pendrous, who lay dead in his university hall of residence for weeks.

Education minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday: “The recent death at a student hall of residence in Christchurch exposed the limitations of our current system.

“Halls and hostels charge a premium for their accommodation and parents have every right to expect a high level of care for their sons and daughters … students should also be assured that there are minimum standards of safety and that there is support available to them if they need it.”

The government will change the Education Act to introduce a mandatory code of practice for pastoral care. Serious breaches of the new mandatory code, including major injury of death, will result in fines of up to NZ$100,000.

Related: New Zealand hall of residence 'pursued family for cash' as student lay dead for weeks

The swift changes come after the body of 19-year-old e-commerce student Pendrous was found on 23 September in his dorm room at Canterbury university, Christchurch.

Pendrous had been dead for at least a month, New Zealand police said, and his father has expressed anguish that his son’s absence was not noted from university classes, tutorials or meals.

It is still unclear how Pendrous died, and the coroner is investigating.

First-year university students usually live in campus accomodation, often away from home for the first time. Most halls of residence charge between NZ$15,000 and NZ$20,000 per year.

At present, the code of practice is voluntary for university halls of residence, but Hipkins said the self-regulation approach had failed. “There is no consistent approach to the welfare and pastoral care of domestic tertiary students and we needed to change that swiftly,” he said.

The new code of practice will come into effect in 2021, while the new offence and financial penalties will apply from January next year.

Earlier this month an Otago University student died when she was trampled to death while attending an end-of semester party in Dunedin. A number of other students were seriously injured, and student binge-drinking culture has been raised as a contributing factor to the tragedy.