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Fair Trading Act 1986

Product safety - Product safety officers

33D: Suspension of supply notices

You could also call this:

“Stopping the sale of possibly dangerous goods to keep people safe”

A product safety officer can stop you from selling certain goods if they think those goods might be dangerous. This is called a suspension of supply notice. The officer can give you this notice if they know the goods have caused serious injury or death, or if they think the goods might not be safe. They must also believe that selling the goods could seriously harm someone and that stopping the sale is necessary while they check if the goods are safe.

The notice tells you that you can’t sell the goods listed in it. It will say which goods can’t be sold, when the notice ends (which can’t be more than three working days after it starts), who must follow the notice, and which product safety officer gave the notice.

If you get a suspension of supply notice, you can’t sell the goods mentioned in it until the notice ends. The product safety officer can extend the notice twice, but it can’t last for more than nine working days in total.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5837741.

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Business > Fair trading
Business > Industry rules
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Part 3 Product safety
Product safety officers

33DSuspension of supply notices

  1. A product safety officer may issue to a person in possession of goods a suspension of supply notice in respect of those goods, and any other goods of that description or class, if the product safety officer—

  2. either—
    1. knows that the goods, or goods of that description or class, have been implicated in serious injury or death; or
      1. has good reason to suspect that the goods, or goods of that description or class, may be unsafe; and
      2. believes on reasonable grounds that—
        1. the supply of the goods may lead to a person suffering serious harm; and
          1. the order is necessary to prevent the supply of the goods pending further investigation into their safety.

          2. A suspension of supply notice is a notice prohibiting the person or persons identified in the notice from supplying the goods identified in the notice during the period before the expiry of the notice.

          3. Every suspension of supply notice must be in the form prescribed by the chief executive, and must clearly set out—

          4. the goods, or the description or class of goods, to which the notice relates; and
            1. when the notice expires, which must be no later than 5 pm on the third working day after the day on which the notice is issued; and
              1. the person or persons to whom the notice applies, who may be any of the following:
                1. the person in charge:
                  1. any employee or agent of that person:
                    1. any employer or manager of that person:
                      1. any employee or agent of that person's employer or manager; and
                      2. the name of the product safety officer who issues the notice.

                        1. A person to whom a suspension of supply notice applies must not supply the goods identified in the notice at any time before the notice expires.

                        2. A product safety officer may, with the approval of the chief executive, renew a suspension of supply notice before its expiry, but—

                        3. may do so not more than twice; and
                          1. may not renew the notice so that the total prohibition exceeds 9 consecutive working days.

                            Notes
                            • Section 33D: inserted, on , by section 22 of the Fair Trading Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 143).