2Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   active service order means an order of the Chief of Defence Force, or of an officer authorised by the Chief of Defence Force, for the purpose of—

   1. posting a part of the Armed Forces or any member of the Armed Forces on active service; or
   2. declaring that a part of the Armed Forces or any member of the Armed Forces has ceased to be on active service

   air cadet means any person, other than a cadet officer, who is a member of the Air Training Corps; and includes an under-officer or any other non-commissioned officer of the Air Training Corps; but does not include a member of the Armed Forces

   aircraft means any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air; and includes any aeroplane, balloon, kite balloon, airship, or glider

   Air Force means the Royal New Zealand Air Force constituted under section 11(5)

   air force base means any area of land or water (either in New Zealand or elsewhere) used or set aside for the purposes of the Air Force; and includes any building or other premises, tents, structures, or works on any such land, and any structures or works in any such water

   allied force means a force or part of a force of another country acting in co-operation with a part of the Armed Forces

   Armed Forces means the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force collectively; and includes any branch, corps, command, formation, unit, or other part of the Armed Forces; but does not include any part of the cadet forces

   Army means the New Zealand Army constituted under section 11(4)

   Army camp means any area of land or water (either in New Zealand or elsewhere) used or set aside for the purposes of the Army; and includes any building or other premises, tents, structures, or works on any such land, and any structures or works in any such water

   aviator—

   1. means any person duly attested for service in the Air Force or declared by or under this or any other enactment to belong to the Air Force; and
   2. includes—
      1. a non-commissioned officer of the Air Force; and
      2. a rating of the Navy attached to the Air Force; and
      3. a soldier of the Army attached to the Air Force; but
   3. does not include an officer

   cadet forces means the Sea Cadet Corps, the New Zealand Cadet Corps, and the Air Training Corps collectively; and includes any part of those forces

   cadet officer means a person who holds a cadet commission from the Minister in any corps of the cadet forces; but does not include an officer of the regular forces, the territorial forces, or the reserve forces

   Civil Staff means the persons employed as members of the Defence Force under section 61A

   component, in relation to the Navy or the Army or the Air Force, means the regular force or a territorial force or a reserve force of that Service

   defence area means any land, water, or part of the seabed, or any building, or part of a building, either in New Zealand or elsewhere, that is set apart, used, or occupied for the purposes of the Defence Force, whether the property is owned by the Crown or is used or occupied by or on behalf of the Defence Force with the consent of the owner or is requisitioned under section 10(2)(b); and more particularly includes—

   1. every naval establishment, army camp, and air force base:
   2. any arsenal and any other place used for the purpose of building, repairing, making, or storing munitions or equipment for or belonging to the Defence Force:
   3. any land, or any building or part of a building, declared by Order in Council (see subsection (5)) or Defence Force Order to be a defence area for the purposes of this Act

   Defence Force means the New Zealand Defence Force constituted by section 11(1)

   enemy means any country, or any armed force, or any authority or government controlling any such force, with which New Zealand, or any force acting in co-operation with any part of the Armed Forces of New Zealand, is at war or is engaged in armed combat operations; and includes—

   1. any member of any such armed force or any member of that authority or government, as the case may be:
   2. any person materially assisting that country, force, authority, or government in its war effort or armed combat operations:
   3. any ally of that country, force, authority, or government:
   4. all pirates:
   5. all armed persons who are engaged in any mutiny, rebellion, or riot against New Zealand or against any Service authority of the Armed Forces of New Zealand or against any ally of New Zealand

   intellectual property includes patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, and other intellectual property rights whether enforceable by Act or rule of law

   joint force means a joint force established under section 12

   joint force commander, in relation to a joint force, means the officer appointed under section 12 to command that force

   land includes any estate or interest in land

   leading aviator classification includes an aviator classification, a general service hand, and an air force cadet

   member of the Defence Force means—

   1. an officer, a rating, a soldier, or an aviator; and
   2. a member of the Civil Staff

   military means of or pertaining to the Armed Forces

   Minister means the Minister of Defence; and includes any other Minister for the time being lawfully exercising the powers of the Minister of Defence

   naval establishment means any area of land or water (either in New Zealand or elsewhere) used or set aside for the purposes of the Navy; and includes any building or other premises, tents, structures, or works on any such land, and any structures or works in any such water

   naval ship means any of His Majesty’s New Zealand ships; and includes any ship used or set aside for the purposes of the Navy

   Navy means the New Zealand Naval Forces constituted under section 11(3)

   New Zealand cadet means any person, other than a cadet officer, who is a member of the New Zealand Cadet Corps; and includes an under-officer or any other non-commissioned officer of the New Zealand Cadet Corps; but does not include a member of the Armed Forces

   New Zealand force means a force comprising a part or parts of the Armed Forces or any Service

   non-commissioned officer means,—

   1. in relation to the Navy, a rating of warrant officer, chief petty officer, petty officer, or leading rank; and includes—
      1. a non-commissioned officer of the Army or the Air Force attached to the Navy; and
      2. a person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the Navy:
   2. in relation to the Army, a soldier above the rank of private but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—
      1. a non-commissioned officer of the Navy or the Air Force attached to the Army; and
      2. a person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the Army:
   3. in relation to the Air Force, an aviator above the rank of leading aviator classification but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—
      1. a non-commissioned officer of the Navy or the Army attached to the Air Force; and
      2. a person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the Air Force

   officer means,—

   1. in relation to the Navy, a person who is of or above the rank of midshipman or is a chaplain in the Navy; and includes—
      1. an officer of the Army or the Air Force attached to the Navy or any part of it; and
      2. any person duly attached or lent as an officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as an officer with the Navy:
   2. in relation to the Army, a person who is of or above the rank of officer cadet or is a chaplain in the Army; and includes—
      1. an officer of the Navy or the Air Force attached to the Army or any part of it; and
      2. any person duly attached or lent as an officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as an officer with the Army:
   3. in relation to the Air Force, a person who is of or above the rank of officer cadet or is a chaplain in the Air Force; and includes—
      1. an officer of the Navy or the Army attached to the Air Force or any part of it; and
      2. any person duly attached or lent as an officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as an officer with the Air Force

   prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under this Act or by Defence Force Orders issued under this Act or under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

   private includes a gunner, trooper, sapper, signalman, driver, or craftsman

   public property means any property belonging to the Crown in right of New Zealand; and also includes any other property (whether belonging to the Crown or not) used by or in the possession or under the control of the Defence Force or an allied force

   rank, in relation to any member of the Armed Forces, means the rank held by that member for the time being, whether substantive, temporary, acting, or honorary

   rating means any person duly attested for service in the Navy or declared by or under this or any other enactment to belong to the Navy; and includes—but does not include an officer

   1. a non-commissioned officer of the Navy; and
   2. a soldier of the Army and an aviator of the Air Force attached to the Navy;—

   regular forces means the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Regular Force of the New Zealand Army, and the Regular Air Force collectively

   relative rank means the appropriate rank prescribed under section 17

   reserve forces means the Naval Reserves (other than the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve and the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve), the Army Reserve, and the Air Force Reserve collectively

   sea cadet means any person, other than a cadet officer, who is a member of the Sea Cadet Corps; and includes any non-commissioned officer of the Sea Cadet Corps; but does not include a member of the Armed Forces

   Service means the Navy, the Army, or the Air Force or any part of the Navy, Army, or Air Force; and, when used adjectivally, means belonging or pertaining to, or connected with, one or more of those Services or any part of one or more of those Services

   ship means every description of vessel, boat, barge, or watercraft, however propelled; and includes a machine designed to be supported in the atmosphere, wholly or partly by air expelled from the machine to form a cushion extending beneath the machine to the surface of any ground, water, or other portion of the earth’s surface

   soldier means any person duly attested for service in the Army or declared by or under this or any other enactment to belong to the Army; and includes—but does not include an officer

   1. a non-commissioned officer of the Army; and
   2. a rating of the Navy and an aviator of the Air Force attached to the Army;—

   territorial forces means the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve, the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, the Territorial Force of the New Zealand Army, and the Territorial Air Force collectively

   unit means any part of the Armed Forces determined by the Chief of Defence Force to be a unit

   warrant officer means—

   1. a warrant officer in the Navy; and
   2. in relation to the Army, a warrant officer class one and warrant officer class two; and
   3. in relation to the Air Force, a warrant officer and master aircrew.

2. In this Act and in any instrument made under this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, mention of a person by reference to the designation of that person’s office or appointment includes a reference to any person who for the time being is lawfully performing the functions or duties of, or acting in, the office or appointment—

3. by virtue of a permanent, temporary, or acting appointment; or
4. by assumption of the functions or duties of the office or appointment pursuant to this Act or any other Act; or
5. pursuant to an order, or to a custom of the Service that pertains to the office or appointment.

6. For the purposes of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, a member of the Armed Forces is released from the component of the Service in which that member is serving when—

7. that member, or that component or the part of that component in which that member is serving, is transferred to another component of that Service; or
8. in the case of an officer only, that member is placed on the Retired List of that Service.

9. For the purposes of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, a member of any component of a Service is discharged from the Service when, otherwise than by release, that member leaves that component in accordance with Defence Force Orders.

10. An Order in Council under paragraph (c) of the definition of defence area in subsection (1) is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).