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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Compliance and enforcement - Power to obtain information

285: Power to question

You could also call this:

"Compliance officers can ask you questions to check if rules are being followed"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you have information that a compliance officer thinks is relevant, they can ask you to answer questions. They can do this to check if rules are being followed or to investigate a serious risk. You must answer their questions, but there are some exceptions.

The compliance officer can ask you questions to make sure rules are being followed now, were followed in the past, or will be followed in the future. They can also ask questions if they think there is a serious risk that needs to be investigated.

Some rules from the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 apply when you are asked questions, which are about keeping some information private. Other laws that restrict collecting information still apply, even if you are asked questions by a compliance officer.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004862.

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Part 5Miscellaneous provisions
Compliance and enforcement: Power to obtain information

285Power to question

  1. If a compliance officer reasonably believes that a person holds relevant information, the compliance officer may direct that person to answer any question for the purpose of—

  2. ensuring that compliance requirements have been, are being, or will be met; or
    1. investigating anything the officer believes is a specified serious risk.

      1. The person must answer the questions, subject to subsections (3) and (4).

      2. Subpart 5 of Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (privilege and confidentiality) applies to anything done under this section.

      3. Nothing in this section limits any other legislation that imposes a prohibition or restriction on the collection of information.

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