The government is moving forward with abortion law reform but will not have a bill in the house for some time, Justice Minister Andrew Little says.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would change New Zealand's abortion laws - which still include abortion in the Crimes Act and haven't been changed since 1977 - during last year's election.

Mr Little faced questions about whether the government was progressing with that promise after the Abortion Supervisory Committee on Thursday said it had not yet been consulted.

He told reporters the government would soon be asking the Law Commission to review the current law, after talking it over with coalition partners.

"The draft referral letter asks them to obviously consider the issue about the criminalising of abortion but also actually to look at modernising the law," he said.

"It's pretty hard to predict how long that might take. My expectation is I get a report back at least by the end of the year and then we have to work through the legislative timetable."

He said any law change would require a conscience vote in parliament.

"There are more issues than just what's in the Crimes Act .. It is the hurdles, if you like, we put in the way of women who are faced with making that decision," he said.

"We want all those issues to be canvassed and considered."

Ms Ardern, in Christchurch on Thursday, also said her position on reform had "absolutely" not changed.

"In a lot of ways (the current law) doesn't match the way we tend or be, or should be, operating in New Zealand," she said.

"This is a very old piece of law that is due an update."