The Government's Sexual Violence Bill has been labelled flawed - by the country's Bar Association

The Bill - which aims to overhaul how rape trials are conducted - was hoped to be passed into law earlier this year.

But the brakes have been applied, after concerns were raised by New Zealand First about the Bill's impact on fair trial rights.

Nicolette Levy QC from the New Zealand Bar Association is worried about the use of pre-recorded cross-examination of complainants in sexual violence cases.

She says material is almost always provided right up to the date of a trial, and it's not fair for a lawyer to cross-examine a complainant without all the information that's going to be available at the date of the trial