Overseas Investment Act 2005

Consent and conditions regime - When consent required and criteria for consent - Transactions of national interest

20C: Consent may be declined if transaction contrary to national interest

You could also call this:

"The government can stop a big deal if it's not good for New Zealand."

Illustration for Overseas Investment Act 2005

The Minister can say no to a transaction that is important to New Zealand if they think it is not in New Zealand's best interest. You should know that the Minister makes this decision when they consider if a transaction is good or bad for the country. The Minister's decision is based on what they think is best for New Zealand.

If the Minister does not say no to a transaction, they can add conditions to the consent they give. This means the Minister can say yes, but only if certain conditions are met. The Minister follows the rules outlined in section 25A when adding these conditions.

The Minister has the power to make these decisions, but the person making the decision under section 24 cannot use this power for a specific application they are working on. This is to ensure that the decision is made fairly and without bias. The Minister's power is used to protect New Zealand's interests.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS357521.

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20B: Other transactions may be transactions of national interest if notice given, or

"The Minister can decide an overseas investment is important to New Zealand if they think it might hurt the country."

20D: Who are critical direct suppliers, or

"What is a critical direct supplier, like a company helping our security agencies with important goods or services?"

Part 2Consent and conditions regime
When consent required and criteria for consent: Transactions of national interest

20CConsent may be declined if transaction contrary to national interest

The Minister may decline consent to a transaction of national interest if the Minister considers that the transaction is contrary to New Zealand’s national interest.
The person making a decision under section 24 in relation to a particular application cannot exercise the Minister’s power under subsection (1) in relation to that application.
If the Minister does not decline consent to a transaction of national interest, the Minister may impose any conditions on any consent that may be granted under this Act, and section 25A applies with necessary modifications.

Notes

Section 20C: inserted, on 16 June 2020, by section 17 of the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 21).
Section 20C(3): inserted, on 5 July 2021, by section 14 of the Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 17).