Intelligence and Security Act 2017

Authorisations

47: Interpretation

You could also call this:

"What special words mean in this law"

Illustration for Intelligence and Security Act 2017

When you read this part of the law, some words have special meanings. You need to know what these words mean to understand the law. A person can access an information infrastructure, which means they can use its resources or features.

You can get an authorisation, which is like a permit, to do certain things. This permit is called an authorisation and it can be an intelligence warrant, a permit given under section 78, a removal warrant, or a practice warrant issued under section 93.

If you have a permit, you can do activities that the permit allows, and these are called authorised activities. The Minister who gives the permit is called the authorising Minister, and they are in charge of the agency that asked for the permit.

When you communicate with someone, you are sharing information with them, and this can be through talking, writing, or sending messages. You can also track someone's movement using electronic means, which is called electronic tracking.

Sometimes, you might get information that you were not looking for, and this is called incidentally obtained information. There are different types of permits, like intelligence warrants, which can be Type 1 or Type 2, and these are issued under specific sections of the law, such as section 58 or section 60.

If you intercept a private communication, you are listening to or reading something that was meant to be private. You can use a device to intercept communications, and this device is called an interception device.

A private activity is something that you do in private, and you would not expect others to be watching or listening. A private communication is a message that you send to someone, and you would not expect others to intercept it.

You can search a place or a thing, and this includes looking at something remotely, which is called a remote access search. You can also take something, which is called seizing, and this means you are taking control of it.

A serious crime is an offence that can be punished with imprisonment, and the length of imprisonment depends on the type of offence. In a situation of urgency, there is a threat to someone's life or safety, or a delay in getting a permit could harm national security.

Surveillance means watching or tracking someone, and this can be done visually or electronically. A thing can be an object, a vehicle, or an information infrastructure, like a website or a phone.

A visual surveillance device is something that helps you watch someone or something, and it is defined in the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. You can find more information about this in section 3(1) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on 3 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6921004.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Courts and legal helpGovernment and voting > Government departments

46: Purpose of Part, or

"Rules for spy agencies to follow when doing special jobs"

48: Authorisation not required to carry out lawful activity, or

"Doing something allowed by law doesn't need special permission."

Part 4Authorisations

47Interpretation

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—
access an information infrastructure means instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any of the resources or features of an information infrastructure (including features that provide audio or visual capability)
authorisation means—
1. an intelligence warrant:
2. an authorisation given under section 78:
3. a removal warrant:
4. a practice warrant
authorised activity means an activity that is authorised by an authorisation
authorising Minister, in relation to an application for an intelligence warrant, means,—
1. in the case of an application under section 55, the Minister responsible for the intelligence and security agency making the application; or
2. in the case of a joint application under section 56,—
  1. the Minister responsible for the intelligence and security agencies, if the same Minister is responsible for each agency; or
  2. the Ministers responsible for the intelligence and security agencies, if a different Minister is responsible for each agency
communication includes signs, signals, impulses, writing, images, sounds, information, or data that a person or machine produces, sends, receives, processes, or holds in any medium
electronic tracking means the use of electronic means for the purpose of ascertaining the location, or tracking the movement, of a person or thing
incidentally obtained information means information that—
1. is obtained in the course of performing a function under section 10 or 11; but
2. is not relevant to either of those functions
intelligence warrant means—
1. a Type 1 intelligence warrant; and
2. a Type 2 intelligence warrant
intercept, in relation to a private communication, includes to hear, listen to, record, monitor, acquire, or receive the communication, or acquire its substance, meaning, or sense,—
1. while it is taking place; or
2. in the course of transmission
interception device means any electronic, mechanical, electromagnetic, optical, or electro-optical instrument, apparatus, equipment, or other device that is used or is capable of being used to intercept communications
practice warrant means a warrant issued under section 93
private activity means an activity that, in the circumstances, any of the participants in it ought reasonably to expect to be observed or recorded by no one except the participants
private communication—
1. means a communication (whether in oral or written form, or in the form of a telecommunication, or otherwise) made in circumstances that may reasonably be taken to indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the parties to the communication; but
2. does not include a communication of that kind occurring in circumstances in which any party to the communication ought reasonably to expect that the communication may be intercepted by some other person without having the express or implied consent of any party to do so
private premises means a private residence, a marae, or any other premises to which members of the public do not usually or frequently have access
remote access search means a search of a thing that does not have a physical address that a person can enter and search
removal warrant means a warrant issued under section 85
search includes a remote access search
seize includes to take, remove, and copy, and seizing and seizure have corresponding meanings
serious crime,—
1. for the purposes of section 58, means,—
  1. in relation to New Zealand, any offence punishable by 3 or more years’ imprisonment; and
  2. in relation to any other country, any offence that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would be an offence punishable by 3 or more years’ imprisonment; and
2. for the purposes of section 104, means,—
  1. in relation to New Zealand, any offence punishable by 2 or more years’ imprisonment; and
  2. in relation to any other country, an offence that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would be an offence punishable by 2 or more years’ imprisonment
situation of urgency means a situation where—
1. there is an imminent threat to the life or safety of any person; or
2. the delay associated with applying for the issue of an intelligence warrant in the usual way is likely to materially prejudice the protection of New Zealand’s national security
surveillance includes—
1. visual surveillance; and
2. electronic tracking
thing includes—
1. a vehicle:
2. an information infrastructure (for example, a mobile phone, a website, or a data storage device)
Type 1 intelligence warrant means an intelligence warrant issued under section 58 or 59
Type 2 intelligence warrant means an intelligence warrant issued under section 60
visual surveillance means the observation of private activity in private premises, with or without the use of a visual surveillance device, and includes any recording of that observation
visual surveillance device has the meaning given to it by section 3(1) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.