Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Procedures applying to seized or produced materials - Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

162: Other copies and generated material may be retained

You could also call this:

"You can keep extra copies and recordings made during a search"

Illustration for Search and Surveillance Act 2012

When someone uses a search or surveillance power, they might make or generate things like photographs, audio or video recordings, or copies of things. You can keep these things as part of your permanent records if you are the employer of the person who did the search or surveillance. This is allowed under the law, but it is subject to certain rules, including sections 63, 64A, and 136, and other laws.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2136875.

This page was last updated on 4 August 2025 — View changes

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Crime and justice > Police and safetyRights and equality > Privacy

161: Disposal of forensic copies, or

"What happens to computer copies used for investigations: deleting or keeping them safely"

163: Application to District Court to dispose of seized property, or

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Procedures applying to seized or produced materials: Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

162Other copies and generated material may be retained

Any thing made or generated by a person exercising a search or surveillance power (for example, photographs or audio or video recordings or copies of things) may be retained as part of the permanent records of the employer of the person who exercises the search or surveillance power.
Subsection (1) is subject to sections 63, 64A, and 136, and any other enactment or rule of law.

Notes

Section 162(2): amended, on 31 July 2025, by section 21 of the Budapest Convention and Related Matters Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 39).