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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Compliance and enforcement - Power to obtain information

287: Power to enter place without search warrant

You could also call this:

"Compliance officers can enter some places without permission if there's a serious risk, but they need to follow rules."

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

A compliance officer can enter a place without a search warrant if they think it's necessary to deal with a serious risk. They can enter the place, search it, and use other powers listed in sections 282 to 285. Before entering, the officer must try to contact the owner or person in charge of the place. You should know that a compliance officer cannot enter your home without your permission. They also need permission to enter certain types of land, like a marae or Māori reservation, or land that is a reserve. In some cases, the compliance officer must give notice in writing before entering the land, and this notice must be given to the right people, such as the owner or the trustees of the principal marae. A compliance officer cannot enter a defence area without a written agreement with the Chief of Defence Force. Some rules from the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 apply to what the compliance officer can do under this section, which you can find out more about by looking at Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, but not all of the rules apply. When someone gives consent for the compliance officer to enter a place, that person must be able to make decisions for themselves.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004864.

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286: Powers of entry and inspection, or

"Compliance officers can enter places to check rules are being followed, with some exceptions and rules to follow."

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

287Power to enter place without search warrant

  1. A compliance officer may exercise a power under subsection (2) if the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the exercise of the power is required in relation to a specified serious risk.

  2. A compliance officer may, in relation to a place,—

  3. enter the place without a search warrant; and
    1. search the place; and
      1. exercise any of the powers in sections 282 to 285.

        1. Before exercising the power to enter a place, the compliance officer must make reasonable efforts to contact the owner, occupier, or person in charge of the place.

        2. A compliance officer must not enter a home, except with the consent of an occupier.

        3. A compliance officer must not enter any land on which a marae or an urupā is situated or that is a Māori reservation, except with the consent of an owner.

        4. A compliance officer must not enter any Māori land unless, before entering, the compliance officer has given reasonable notice in writing to the owner (or owners) of the land.

        5. However, if the land referred to in subsection (6) is owned by more than 10 persons with no clear management structure or is owned by more than 10 persons and not vested in a trustee, the compliance officer must not enter the land unless, before entering, the compliance officer has given reasonable notice in writing to the trustees of the principal marae of the hapū associated with the land.

        6. A compliance officer must not enter any land that is a reserve vested in a post-settlement governance entity and managed by an administering body unless, before entering, the compliance officer has given reasonable notice in writing to the post-settlement governance entity and the administering body.

        7. A compliance officer must not enter a defence area (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Defence Act 1990) under this section, except in accordance with a written agreement between the compliance officer’s chief executive and the Chief of Defence Force.

        8. Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (other than subparts 2, 3, 6, and 8 and sections 118 and 119) applies to anything done under this section.

        9. For the purposes of this section, in relation to circumstances in which consent is required, the person giving consent must be a person who has the capacity to consent.

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