Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

Search and seizure

109A: Search warrants from District Court Judges for offences against sections 126 and 131A

You could also call this:

"Getting a search warrant from a District Court Judge for breaking film and publication laws"

Illustration for Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

You can get a search warrant from a District Court Judge if you think someone has done something wrong under sections 126 or 131A of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. You need to apply in the manner provided in subpart 3 of Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. The Judge must be satisfied that there are good reasons to believe something is happening that could be against the law. You might be looking for a publication that could be against the law under section 126 or section 131A. The Judge must think about how serious the alleged wrongdoing is and how important it is to investigate. They also consider any other relevant information when deciding whether to issue a warrant. When the Judge is considering your application, they look at the nature and seriousness of the alleged wrongdoing. They also think about the importance of the warrant to the investigation and any other relevant matters. This helps the Judge decide whether to issue a search warrant.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM313899.

This page was last updated on 8 December 2025 — View changes

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109: Search warrants for offences against specified sections (other than sections 126 and 131A), or

"Getting a search warrant to find something that breaks the law"

109B: Search warrants from Registrars, etc, for offences against section 126 or section 131A, or

"Getting a search warrant when someone breaks the law about restricted films or publications"

Part 7Search and seizure

109ASearch warrants from District Court Judges for offences against sections 126 and 131A

A District Court Judge may, on an application made in the manner provided in subpart 3 of Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, issue a search warrant if satisfied—
that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is in or on any place or thing—
1. a publication that there are reasonable grounds to believe is being so dealt with as to constitute an offence against section 126 (offences involving knowledge in relation to restricted publications); or
2. any thing that there are reasonable grounds to believe will be evidence of the commission of an offence against section 126; or
3. an objectionable publication that there are reasonable grounds to believe is being so dealt with as to constitute an offence against section 131A (offences relating to possession of objectionable publications and involving knowledge); or
4. any thing that there are reasonable grounds to believe will be evidence of the commission of an offence against section 131A; and
that in all the circumstances it is reasonable to do so.

In considering whether to issue a warrant under this section, the District Court Judge must have regard to—
the nature and seriousness of the alleged offending to which the application relates; and
any information provided by the applicant about the importance, to the investigation of the offence, of the issue of a warrant; and
any other matter the Judge considers relevant.

Notes

Section 109A: inserted, on 22 February 2005, by section 23(1) of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 2).
Section 109A(1): amended, on 8 September 2018, by section 52 of the Statutes Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 27).