Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017

Licences and permits - Payload permits

21: Minister may vary, revoke, or suspend payload permit

You could also call this:

"The Minister can change or cancel a space permit if rules are broken or for safety reasons"

Illustration for Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017

The Minister can change, stop, or cancel a payload permit at any time. You might wonder why the Minister would do this - it could be because you agreed to the change, or because you asked for it. The Minister can also make these changes if they think you have broken the rules, or if it's necessary for national security, public safety, or for New Zealand to meet its international obligations.

The Minister has to talk to the security Ministers before making any changes to a payload permit, as outlined in section 55. If a special certificate is issued under section 55 about a payload, the Minister must either stop or cancel the permit, or change it to stop the launch of that payload.

The Minister can also make changes to a payload permit if something else you were allowed to do has changed, expired, or been cancelled, and this affects national security or public safety, as considered under section 51. Additionally, the Minister can make changes for any other reason stated in the permit.

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This page was last updated on 4 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6966458.

Topics:

Business > Industry rulesGovernment and voting > Government departments

20: Continuing obligations of permit holder, or

"What you must keep doing if you have a space permit"

22: Radiocommunications Act 1989 presumption does not apply to payloads under payload permit, or

"A special rule about radio transmitters does not apply to space payloads with a permit."

Part 2Licences and permits
Payload permits

21Minister may vary, revoke, or suspend payload permit

The Minister may, at any time, vary a payload permit on any conditions that the Minister thinks fit, or suspend or revoke a payload permit,—
with the prior written consent of the permit holder; or
on the written application of the permit holder; or
if the Minister believes on reasonable grounds that—
1. the permit holder has breached the Act, the regulations, or a condition of the payload permit; or
2. the revocation, variation, or suspension is necessary in the interests of national security, public safety, or compliance with any of New Zealand’s international obligations, or other national interests; or
3. a licence, permit, or other authorisation that the Minister treated as satisfying any criteria under section 51 has changed, expired, or been revoked and the Minister considers that the change, expiry, or revocation affects interests of national security, public safety, other national interests, or New Zealand’s compliance with any of New Zealand’s international obligations; or
for any other reason specified in the permit.

Before varying, suspending, or revoking a payload permit, the Minister must consult the security Ministers in accordance with section 55.
The Minister must, if a certificate is issued under section 55 in relation to a payload or payloads under a payload permit, do 1 or both of the following:
suspend or revoke the payload permit:
vary the payload permit to prohibit the launch of the relevant payload or payloads.