Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Public Works Act 1981

Preliminary

4: Service and content of notices

You could also call this:

“How notices are given and what they must include”

When someone needs to give you a notice under this law, they can do it in a few ways. They can hand it to you directly, leave it at your home or work, or send it by registered mail. If they don’t know where you are, they can even put it in the newspaper twice.

If the notice is sent by mail, it’s considered delivered when it would normally arrive. If it’s put in the newspaper, it’s considered delivered after the second time it’s published.

When sending a notice to a government minister, you can send it to the head of their department in Wellington. For the railways, you send it to the General Manager in Wellington. For local councils, you send it to the chief executive at their office.

Every notice must include some important information. It needs to say what it’s for, how long it lasts (if it’s not permanent), and how you can object to it. It also needs to give you the name and address of someone you can ask questions to. If someone needs to come onto your land, the notice must say why they’re allowed to do that.

The notice has to be signed by the right person. For government notices, it’s either the minister or someone they’ve allowed to sign for them. For local council notices, it’s the chief executive or their deputy.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM45738.

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4Service and content of notices

  1. Any notice under this Act may be served or given—

  2. by delivering it personally to the person on whom it is to be served or to whom it is to be given; or
    1. by leaving it, or sending it by post in a registered letter addressed to such person, at his usual or last known place of residence or business in New Zealand; or
      1. by so delivering or posting it to any agent or attorney of such person; or
        1. if such person is not known, or his whereabouts are not known, or his last place of residence or business is not known, or no agent or attorney of such person is known, to the person issuing the notice, by publishing it at least twice in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land affected by the notice is situated.

          1. If a notice is sent by post in the manner prescribed by subsection (1), it shall be deemed to be served at the time at which the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post; and in proving service of any such notice it shall be sufficient to prove that it was properly addressed and that it was accepted by the post office as a registered letter and that the notice has not, to the knowledge of the person making the declaration or affidavit of service or otherwise proving service, been returned by the post office to the sender.

          2. If a notice is published in a newspaper in accordance with subsection (1), it shall be deemed to be served at the time of the last publication of the notice.

          3. A notice required to be sent to a Minister of the Crown may be sent to the chief executive of the Minister's department at Wellington or, as the case may require, to the General Manager of Railways at the New Zealand Railways Corporation office at Wellington.

          4. A notice required to be sent to a local authority may be sent to the chief executive at the office of the authority.

          5. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every notice shall—

          6. specify—
            1. the purpose of the notice; and
              1. the period covered (if intended to be intermittent); and
                1. the rights of objection to the matters referred to in the notice; and
                  1. the name and address of an officer of the Ministry or local authority to whom inquiries in respect of the notice may be made; and
                    1. if entry on land is intended, the statutory authority for the entry; and
                    2. be signed, as the case may require, by—
                      1. a Minister of the Crown or an authorised officer of the Minister's department on the Minister's behalf; or
                        1. the chief executive of the local authority or his or her deputy.

                        Compare
                        • 1928 No 21 s 3
                        Notes
                        • Section 4(4): substituted, on , by section 3(1) of the Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43).
                        • Section 4(5): substituted, on , by section 262 of the Local Government Act 2002 (2002 No 84).
                        • Section 4(6)(b)(i): substituted, on , by section 3(2) of the Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43).
                        • Section 4(6)(b)(ii): substituted, on , by section 262 of the Local Government Act 2002 (2002 No 84).