Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against rights of property - Forgery and counterfeiting

259: Using altered or reproduced document with intent to deceive

You could also call this:

“It's against the law to use a fake or changed document to trick people, even if it was made in another country.”

If you change a document or make a fake one to trick someone, and you know it’s been changed or made this way, you can get in big trouble if you use it. This is also true if you get someone else to use the changed or fake document. The document doesn’t have to be from New Zealand for this to be against the law.

You could go to jail for up to 10 years if you use a document that’s been changed or made fake to try and get things like money, property, special treatment, or any other valuable stuff. It’s also against the law if you use the document to make someone else lose something.

This law is connected to section 258, which talks about how the document was changed or made fake in the first place.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM330467.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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258: Altering, concealing, destroying, or reproducing documents with intent to deceive, or

“Changing, hiding, destroying, or copying papers to trick someone is against the law.”

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260: False accounting, or

“Making fake records or leaving out important information to trick people or get things you shouldn't”

Part 10 Crimes against rights of property
Forgery and counterfeiting

259Using altered or reproduced document with intent to deceive

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who, knowing any document to have been made or altered in the manner and with the intent referred to in section 258, with intent to obtain by deception any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit, or valuable consideration, or to cause loss to any other person,—

  2. uses, or deals with, or acts upon, the document; or
    1. causes any person to use or deal with, or act upon, the document.

      1. For the purposes of this section, it does not matter that the document was altered or made outside New Zealand.

      Compare
      • 1961 No 43 s 266B
      Notes
      • Section 259: replaced, on , by section 15 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 39).