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Land Transport Act 1998

Driving offences involving drink or drugs, and penalties and procedures - Enforcement procedures for offences involving use of qualifying drugs

71G: Approval of oral fluid tests and oral fluid testing devices

You could also call this:

“Rules for approving spit tests to check for drugs”

The Minister of Police can approve devices and methods for testing your saliva (oral fluid) for certain drugs. These are called oral fluid tests and oral fluid testing devices.

Before approving these tests and devices, the Minister of Police must talk to the Minister of Transport and the Science Minister. They need to make sure the device is accurate and only shows a positive result if it finds drugs that you’ve used recently.

When deciding if a device is good enough, the Minister looks at New Zealand and joint Australian/New Zealand Standards.

When the Minister approves a device or test, they must say how much of each drug needs to be in your saliva for the test to be positive. They can also describe the device by its name or number and say how to use it.

A device is considered to have a certain name or number if it’s written on the device, shown on its screen, printed out by the device, or included in papers that come with the device from the manufacturer.

The drugs that can be tested for are called specified qualifying drugs.

This approval is a type of law called secondary legislation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS822585.

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Part 6 Driving offences involving drink or drugs, and penalties and procedures
Enforcement procedures for offences involving use of qualifying drugs

71GApproval of oral fluid tests and oral fluid testing devices

  1. The Minister of Police may, by notice, approve—

  2. a kind of device that may be used as an oral fluid testing device for the purposes of testing oral fluid for the presence of 1 or more specified qualifying drugs:
    1. the manner in which an oral fluid test may be carried out by means of an oral fluid testing device.

      1. Before giving a notice under subsection (1), the Minister of Police must—

      2. consult the Minister of Transport and the Science Minister; and
        1. have regard to the accuracy of the device; and
          1. be satisfied that any device proposed to be approved under subsection (1)(a) and used in a manner proposed to be approved under subsection (1)(b) will return a positive result only if the device detects the presence of a qualifying drug at a level that indicates recent use of a specified qualifying drug.

            1. In determining for the purposes of subsection (2)(c) whether a device will return a positive result only if the device detects the presence of a qualifying drug at a level that indicates recent use of a specified qualifying drug, the Minister must have regard to any relevant New Zealand Standards or joint Australian/New Zealand Standards.

            2. A notice made under subsection (1) for the purposes of approving a kind of device or a test—

            3. must specify, for each specified qualifying drug, the concentration level of the qualifying drug in the person’s oral fluid at or above which the result of the test will appear positive for that qualifying drug; and
              1. may—
                1. define an approved device as a device that bears or is associated by its manufacturer with such trade name or number or other expression, or any combination of those things, as may be specified in the notice:
                  1. provide for a test, or part of a test, to be carried out in accordance with instructions displayed or printed on or by a specified kind of device.

                  2. In the absence of proof to the contrary, a device is to be treated as bearing or being associated with a particular trade name or number or other expression if that name or number or other expression—

                  3. appears on the device, whether on a label or otherwise, or is shown on a display panel on the device; or
                    1. is printed out by the device on a card or on paper; or
                      1. appears on printed matter that—
                        1. accompanies the device; and
                          1. is associated with the device or is intended by the manufacturer of the device to be associated with the device; and
                            1. is issued by or on behalf of the manufacturer.

                            2. In this section, specified qualifying drug means a qualifying drug specified in a notice made under subsection (1).

                            3. A notice made under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                            Notes
                            • Section 71G: inserted, on , by section 21 of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).