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Land Transport Act 1998

Enforcement of responsibilities - Enforcement powers for offences involving certain vehicles

128E: Powers of parking wardens

You could also call this:

“Parking wardens can check vehicles, ask for information, and move cars to keep roads safe”

You should know about the powers that parking wardens have. A parking warden who is in uniform or has proof that they are a parking warden can do several things:

They can enforce rules about stationary vehicles and special vehicle lanes. They can ask you for your full name, address, and other details to identify you. They can also ask you for information to help identify the driver or person in charge of a vehicle.

If a parking warden thinks a vehicle is blocking the road or a driveway, or if moving the vehicle would make the road safer or more convenient for others, they can tell the driver to move it. They can even enter the vehicle themselves or ask someone else to enter it and move it to a safer place.

You must follow the parking warden’s instructions. If you don’t, or if you give false information, you could be fined up to $1,000.

If someone moves your vehicle because a parking warden told them to, they must be careful not to damage it. If they keep your vehicle, they must give it back to you as soon as possible when you prove it’s yours.

Remember, these rules are there to keep the roads safe and running smoothly for everyone.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3812421.

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Part 9 Enforcement of responsibilities
Enforcement powers for offences involving certain vehicles

128EPowers of parking wardens

  1. A parking warden in uniform or in possession of a warrant or other evidence of authority as a parking warden—

  2. may enforce the provisions of any stationary vehicle offence or special vehicle lane offence:
    1. may, in relation to enforcing the provisions of any stationary vehicle offence or special vehicle lane offence, direct any person on any road, and apparently in charge of or in any vehicle, to—
      1. provide the person’s full name and full address and give any other identifying particulars required as to the person’s identity (for example, the person’s date of birth, occupation, and telephone number):
        1. give any information that is within the person’s knowledge and that may lead to the identification of the driver or person in charge of any vehicle (for example, the other person’s full name, full address, date of birth, occupation, and telephone number):
        2. may direct the driver or person in charge of any vehicle on any road to remove the vehicle from the road or any specified part of any road, if the parking warden believes on reasonable grounds that—
          1. the vehicle causes an obstruction in the road or to any vehicle entrance to any property; or
            1. the removal of the vehicle is desirable in the interests of road safety or for the convenience or in the interests of the public:
            2. may, if the parking warden believes on reasonable grounds that a vehicle on a road causes an obstruction in the road or to any vehicle entrance to any property or that the removal of the vehicle is desirable in the interests of road safety or for the convenience or in the interests of the public,—
              1. enter, or authorise another person to enter, the vehicle for the purpose of moving it or preparing it for movement; and
                1. move, or authorise another person to move, the vehicle to any place where it does not constitute a traffic hazard.

                2. Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 who—

                3. fails to comply with any direction given under subsection (1)(b); or
                  1. gives, in response to a direction given under subsection (1)(b), any information that the person knows to be false.

                    1. Every person to whom any direction is given under the authority of subsection (1) must comply with the direction, and no person may do any act that is for the time being forbidden by any direction given under the authority of subsection (1).

                    2. A person who is authorised by a parking warden to enter a vehicle for the purpose of moving it or preparing it for movement or to move a vehicle to a place where it does not constitute a traffic hazard may do so, but must do everything reasonably necessary to ensure that the vehicle is not damaged while doing so.

                    3. Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction for a fine not exceeding $1,000 if the person—

                    4. has possession of a vehicle as a result of its being moved under subsection (1)(d); and
                      1. fails to deliver possession of the vehicle, as soon as practicable, to a person who produces satisfactory evidence, at any reasonable time, to the effect that the person was lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle immediately before it was moved.

                        Notes
                        • Section 128E: inserted, on , by section 71 of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 128E(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 12 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 31).
                        • Section 128E(2): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
                        • Section 128E(5): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).