Search and Surveillance Act 2012

Enforcement officers' powers and orders - Surveillance device warrants and declaratory orders - Issuing of surveillance device warrant

55: Form and content of surveillance device warrant

You could also call this:

"What a surveillance device warrant must look like and what it can be used for"

When you get a surveillance device warrant, it must be in a special form. You must give it to every enforcement officer who can use the warrant. The warrant can only be used for 60 days after it is issued. You have to report back to the Judge who issued the warrant within one month after the warrant expires, as stated in section 59. You must not use any private information you get from the warrant unless the person it belongs to says you can, or a Judge says you can, especially if it is covered by section 136.

The Judge who issues the warrant can add other conditions to it, like what information you must include in your report, as mentioned in section 59. The warrant must have some important details, including the Judge's name, the date it was issued, and what type of surveillance device you can use. It must also say what you are looking for, where you will be looking, and what help you can get to do your job. If you are listening to someone's phone calls, you can ask the phone company for information about those calls, as defined in section 3 of the Telecommunications Act. You can also enter certain places, break open things, or move things to install or remove the surveillance device, as long as you follow section 45.

If you do not have all the information you need, you can still get a warrant, but you must say why you do not have it and what you plan to do instead, as mentioned in section 52(2). You can get another warrant for the same reason if you already have one, and a Judge can issue a new warrant even if another Judge already issued one for the same suspected offence.

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This page was last updated on 24 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2136709.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Police and safetyRights and equality > Privacy

54: Restrictions on issue of surveillance device warrant, or

"Rules to stop spying on private chats between lawyers and clients"

56: Carrying out authorised surveillance activities, or

"Doing surveillance when you have a special permit and following the rules"

Part 3Enforcement officers' powers and orders
Surveillance device warrants and declaratory orders: Issuing of surveillance device warrant

55Form and content of surveillance device warrant

Every surveillance device warrant must—
be in the prescribed form, if any; and
be directed to every enforcement officer who has authority to carry out the activities authorised by the surveillance device warrant; and
specify a period, of no more than 60 days after the date on which the warrant is issued, for which it is in force; and
contain a condition that, in accordance with section 59, a surveillance device warrant report must be provided within 1 month after the expiry of the period for which the warrant is in force to the Judge who issues the warrant or, if that Judge is unable to act, to a Judge of the same court as the Judge who issues the warrant; and
contain a condition that the enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant must not use any communication obtained under the authority of the warrant unless the privilege is waived or its use is authorised by a Judge, if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the communication may be subject to a privilege specified in section 136.

A surveillance device warrant may be subject to any other conditions specified in the warrant that the Judge issuing it considers reasonable, including a requirement for inclusion of specified information in the surveillance device warrant report provided under section 59.
Every surveillance device warrant must also contain, in reasonable detail, the following particulars:
the name of the Judge issuing the warrant and the date of issue:
the provision authorising the making of an application for a search warrant in respect of the suspected offence:
the type of surveillance device the use of which the warrant authorises:
the name, address, or other description of the person, place, vehicle, or other thing that is the object of the proposed surveillance:
the evidential material relating to the suspected offence that may be obtained by use of the surveillance device:
that an enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant may use any assistance that is reasonable in the circumstances:
that an enforcement officer who, while carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant, obtains the content of a telecommunication may direct the relevant network operator to provide call associated data (as defined in section 3 of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013) that is—
1. a document within the meaning of section 70; and
2. related to that telecommunication:
that, subject to section 45, an enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant may do any or all of the following, using any force that is reasonable in the circumstances to do so, in order to install, maintain, or remove the surveillance device, or to access and use electricity to power the surveillance device:
1. enter any premises, area, or vehicle specified in the warrant:
2. break open or interfere with any vehicle or other thing:
3. temporarily remove any vehicle or other thing from any place where it is found and return it to that place.

Despite subsection (3)(d) and (e), if the Judge has not been provided in the application, or otherwise, with the information specified in those provisions because the applicant is unable to provide it, the warrant must instead state the details (as provided under section 52(2) or otherwise) of the circumstances in which the surveillance is to be undertaken in enough detail to identify the parameters of, and objectives to be achieved by, the use of the surveillance device.
Despite subsection (1)(c), a Judge may issue a further surveillance device warrant in respect of the same suspected offence in regard to which the Judge, or another Judge, has previously issued a surveillance device warrant.

Notes

Section 55(3)(g): amended, on 13 November 2018, by section 40 of the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 48).
Section 55(3)(g): amended, on 11 May 2014, by section 123 of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013 (2013 No 91).