Health Act 1956

Infectious and notifiable diseases

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

You could also call this:

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

If you have a place that might be making people sick, a medical officer of health can order it to be cleaned and disinfected. They will send a written notice to your local council telling them to do the cleaning within a certain time. You can find more information about this in the Health Act 1956, and it has been amended by the Health Amendment Act 1993 and the Health Amendment Act 1988. If the council does not do the cleaning on time, the medical officer of health can send someone to do it for them. The council will have to pay for the cleaning to be done.

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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=DLM307257.

81: Power of local authority to disinfect premises, or

"Local authorities can clean places to stop people getting sick"

83: Infected articles may be destroyed, or

"Things that might be infected can be destroyed if they can't be cleaned."

Part 3Infectious and notifiable diseases

82Medical officer of health may order premises to be disinfected

Whenever the medical officer of health 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 communicable disease, or otherwise for preventing danger to health, or for rendering any premises fit for occupation, he may, by notice in writing, require the local authority of the district to cleanse or disinfect the premises or article within a time specified in the notice.
On receipt of a notice under subsection (1) it shall be the duty of the local authority, within the time specified in the notice in that behalf, to cleanse and disinfect the premises or article accordingly.
If the local authority fails to carry out any work within the time specified in the notice, or in any other case where the medical officer of health thinks fit to do so, the medical officer of health may authorise any environmental health officer, with or without assistants, to enter on any premises and to carry out such disinfection and cleansing; and the cost of such disinfection or cleansing shall be recoverable from the local authority as a debt due to the Crown.

Notes

Section 82(3): amended, on 1 July 1993, by section 23 of the Health Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 24).
Section 82(3): amended, on 26 July 1988, pursuant to section 2(4) of the Health Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 99).