Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

Civil defence emergency management planning and civil defence emergency management duties - General duty to consider alternatives, etc

65: Duties to consider alternatives, assess benefits and costs, etc

You could also call this:

"Think carefully about choices to keep people safe in emergencies"

When you are making decisions about civil defence emergency management, you must think about other options. You have to consider if the rules or regulations you want to make are really necessary to keep people safe. You also have to think about other ways to achieve the same goal, such as giving people information or incentives. You need to weigh up the reasons for and against making these rules or regulations, and consider what might happen if you do nothing.

You have to evaluate the good and bad points of the different options, including doing nothing. The Minister or the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group must be happy that you have done a proper evaluation. You must be sure that the rules or regulations you want to make are the best way to achieve the goal of keeping people safe, and that they are efficient and effective.

This applies to the Minister when they are making national plans or recommending new rules. It also applies to Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups when they are making their own plans. For example, if the Minister is thinking about making an order under section 61, they must follow these steps.

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This page was last updated on 19 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM150773.

Topics:

Government and voting > Emergency management

64: Duties of local authorities, or

"What your local council must do to help keep you safe in an emergency"

66: Minister may declare state of national emergency, or

"The Minister can declare a national emergency if a big problem happens or might happen in New Zealand."

Part 3Civil defence emergency management planning and civil defence emergency management duties
General duty to consider alternatives, etc

65Duties to consider alternatives, assess benefits and costs, etc

In achieving the purpose of this Act, before proposing, recommending, or adopting any provisions or regulations in relation to any function described in subsection (2), any person described in that subsection must—
have regard to—
1. the extent, if any, to which the provisions or regulations are necessary to achieve the purpose of this Act; and
2. other means in addition to or in place of the provisions or regulations that, under this Act or any other enactment, may be used in achieving the purpose of this Act, including the provision of information, services, or incentives; and
3. the reasons for and against proposing, recommending, or adopting the proposed provisions or regulations and the principal alternative means available, or of taking no action if this Act does not require otherwise; and
carry out an evaluation, which the Minister or the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is satisfied is appropriate to the circumstances, of the likely benefits and costs of the principal alternative means; and
be satisfied that the provisions or regulations (or any combination of them)—
1. are necessary to achieve the purpose of this Act; and
2. are the most appropriate means to achieve that purpose, having regard to their efficiency and effectiveness relative to other means.

Subsection (1) applies to—
the Minister, in relation to—
1. proposing any national civil defence emergency management plan provisions:
2. recommending the making of regulations for the purpose of this Act that impose requirements on persons other than the Minister, the Director, or Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups (or their employees or agents):
3. recommending the making of an order under section 61:
a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, in relation to adopting any civil defence emergency management group plan provisions that impose requirements on persons other than the Group, its member local authorities, or emergency services (or their employees or agents).