If you think a place or an object might be making people sick, the local authority can decide to clean or disinfect it. The local authority can send an environmental health officer to the premises to do the cleaning and disinfecting. You can find more information about how this law was changed on the legislation.govt.nz website, which talks about the Health Amendment Act 1988.

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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=DLM307255.

80: Offences in respect of infectious or communicable diseases, or

"Breaking the law when you spread infectious diseases in public"

82: Medical officer of health may order premises to be disinfected, or

"Someone in charge of health can order a sick-making place to be cleaned."

Part 3Infectious and notifiable diseases

81Power of local authority to disinfect premises

Where the local authority is of opinion that the cleansing or disinfection of any premises or of any article is necessary for preventing the spread or limiting or eradicating the infection of any infectious disease, the local authority may authorise any environmental health officer, with or without assistants, to enter on the premises and to carry out such cleansing and disinfection.

Notes

Section 81: amended, on 26 July 1988, pursuant to section 2(4) of the Health Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 99).