Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health Act 1956

Miscellaneous provisions

123: Powers of Director-General on default by local authority

You could also call this:

"What happens when a local council doesn't do its job under the Health Act"

If a local authority does not do what it is supposed to do under the Health Act, the Director-General can step in. The Director-General can start, carry out, and complete the work that the local authority was supposed to do. This can happen if the local authority does not start or finish the work on time, or if it is not working on the project quickly enough. The Director-General can do this work at the direction of the Minister. You can read more about what the local authority is supposed to do in section 25 of the Health Act. The Director-General can also do anything else that the local authority is supposed to do under the Health Act if the local authority is not doing it. The Director-General can hire people to help get the work done. When the Director-General does the work, it is like the local authority did it. The Director-General will pay for the work using public money. The local authority will then have to pay back the money to the government. The government can take the money out of any payments it owes to the local authority. The money that the government gets back from the local authority will go into a Crown Bank Account or a departmental bank account.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM308449.

Previous

122: Special provisions as to regulations, or

"Special rules for health regulations in New Zealand"

Next

123A: Mandamus, or

"The Minister can ask the court to make a local authority follow the rules they are supposed to."

Part 7Miscellaneous provisions

123Powers of Director-General on default by local authority

  1. Where any local authority that is required to provide, alter, or extend any sanitary works pursuant to this Act—

  2. fails to commence or to complete the provision, alteration, or extension of those works within such time as the Director-General, in approving the proposals under section 25, may have fixed; or
    1. has, in the opinion of the Director-General, failed to proceed diligently with the provision, alteration, or extension of those works,—
        1. the Director-General may, at the direction of the Minister, commence, carry out, and complete the provision, alteration, or extension of those works.

      1. Where any local authority otherwise fails to exercise any power or perform any duty under this Act, the Director-General may himself or herself exercise the power or perform the duty.

      2. For the purposes of this section the Director-General may employ all such officers, employees, contractors, and others as may be necessary.

      3. Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, when any work is done or any power or duty is exercised or performed by or on behalf of the Director-General pursuant to this section, it shall be deemed for all purposes to have been done, exercised, or performed, as the case may be, by the local authority.

      4. All expenses incurred by the Director-General under this section shall be paid in the first instance out of public money.

      5. All public money so paid, together with reasonable costs in respect of administration, shall be recoverable from the local authority as a debt due to the Crown, or may be deducted from any money payable by the Crown to the local authority.

      6. All money recovered from any local authority under this section, or deducted as aforesaid, shall be paid into a Crown Bank Account or a departmental bank account.

      Notes
      • Section 123 heading: amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(1): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(1)(a): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(1)(b): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(2): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(3): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(4): amended, on , by section 7(2) of the Health Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 10).
      • Section 123(5): replaced, on , by section 33 of the Health Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 24).
      • Section 123(6): replaced, on , by section 33 of the Health Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 24).
      • Section 123(7): replaced, on , by section 33 of the Health Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 24).
      • Section 123(7): amended, on , pursuant to section 65R(3) of the Public Finance Act 1989 (1989 No 44).