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Land Transport Act 1998

Driver licensing

24A: Authorised persons may request driver licences for certain persons

You could also call this:

“Police and officials can ask for fake driver licences to protect certain people”

You can ask the Director to create and issue a driver licence with a fake identity in certain situations. This can happen if you’re a police employee, a witness in a court case, or someone who needs protection because of your connection to a witness or police employee. The Director-General of an intelligence agency can also ask for a fake licence to protect the identity of an employee. The chief executive can request one to protect fishery officers or people working for the Ministry.

If the Director gets a request like this, they can make a fake driver licence. To do this, they might change information about your birth, what you look like, your name, or your address. They might even create other fake identities to support your new one. They’ll also change any other information needed to make the fake identity work.

If the fake licence is no longer needed or if someone finds out it’s not real, the person who asked for it can tell the Director. The Director can then change or remove the fake information.

The law explains what some of the words in this section mean. For example, it tells you what “chief executive”, “fishery officer”, and “Ministry” mean in the Fisheries Act. It also explains terms like “Director-General of an intelligence and security agency” and “employee” for intelligence agencies. The law also defines what “Police employee” means, including people who work for overseas police forces and are keeping their identity secret for police work approved by the Commissioner.

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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=DLM3820285.

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24: Director may issue temporary driver licences, or

"The person in charge can give you a short-term driver licence if you need one"

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25: Minimum age for driver licensing, or

"You must be 16 or older to get a driver licence"

Part 4 Driver licensing

24AAuthorised persons may request driver licences for certain persons

  1. Despite section 23, the following persons may make a written request to the Director to create and issue a driver licence for an assumed identity:

  2. the Commissioner, for the purpose of protecting a person who—
    1. is a Police employee or a person who is, has been, or may be a witness in any proceedings:
      1. needs protection because of his or her relationship to a person who is, has been, or may be a witness in any proceeding:
        1. needs protection because of his or her relationship to a Police employee:
        2. the Director-General of an intelligence and security agency, for the purpose of protecting the identity of a person who is, has been, or will be an employee:
          1. the chief executive, for the purpose of protecting a person who is, has been, or will be—
            1. a fishery officer; or
              1. approved by the chief executive to undertake activities for the Ministry.

              2. The Director may create and issue a driver licence for an assumed identity if the Director receives a request under subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c).

              3. New identity information is created by the Director by omitting, amending, or adding to—

              4. birth information, description information, name change information, or address information (including, if necessary, the creation of other identities to support the person's new identity information); and
                1. operational or administrative information as necessary, so that it supports the information described in paragraph (a).

                  1. The Director may omit, amend, or add information as necessary if the Director receives notification that the driver licence is no longer required, or has been compromised, from—

                  2. the Commissioner, in relation to the driver licence created as a result of a request under subsection (1)(a); or
                    1. the Director-General of an intelligence and security agency, in relation to new identity information created as the result of a request under subsection (1)(b); or
                      1. the chief executive, in relation to the driver licence created as a result of a request under subsection (1)(c).

                        1. In this section,—

                          chief executive, fishery officer, and Ministry have the same meanings as in section 2(1) of the Fisheries Act 1996

                            Director-General of an intelligence and security agency has the meaning given to it by section 4 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017

                              employee, in relation to an intelligence and security agency, has the meaning given to it by section 22 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017

                                intelligence and security agency has the meaning given to it by section 4 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017

                                  Police employee means—

                                  1. a person appointed under section 18 of the Policing Act 2008; or
                                    1. a person—
                                      1. who is a member of an overseas law enforcement agency that corresponds to the New Zealand Police; and
                                        1. whose identity is concealed for the purpose of carrying out a policing function approved by the Commissioner.

                                      Compare
                                      Notes
                                      • Section 24A: inserted, on , by section 11 of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                                      • Section 24A(1): amended, on , by section 31(1) of the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 48).
                                      • Section 24A(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 281(1) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                                      • Section 24A(2): amended, on , by section 31(2) of the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 48).
                                      • Section 24A(3): amended, on , by section 31(3) of the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 48).
                                      • Section 24A(4): amended, on , by section 31(4) of the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 48).
                                      • Section 24A(4)(b): replaced, on , by section 281(2) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                                      • Section 24A(5) Director-General of an intelligence and security agency: inserted, on , by section 281(4) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                                      • Section 24A(5) Director of Security, employee, and officer: repealed, on , by section 281(3) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                                      • Section 24A(5) employee: inserted, on , by section 281(4) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                                      • Section 24A(5) intelligence and security agency: inserted, on , by section 281(4) of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).