Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Compliance and enforcement - Power to obtain information

296: Protection of persons acting under authority of Act

You could also call this:

"People doing their job honestly to enforce water laws are protected from getting in trouble."

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you are a compliance officer, or someone helping a compliance officer, you are protected by law. You are also protected if you are a water organisation, a territorial authority, or someone allowed to enter and search a place under section 289. This means you will not be in trouble with the law for doing your job, as long as you do it honestly and with good reason.

You must do your job in good faith, which means you must try to do the right thing. You must also have reasonable cause, which means you must have a good reason for what you are doing.

If you want to know more about this, you can look at section 6 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1950.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004872.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Food and water safetyGovernment and voting > Local councils
Previous

295: Power to ask for assistance, or

"Compliance officers can ask for help to do their job, but must supervise the helper."

Next

297: Power to serve compliance order, or

"When someone might be breaking a rule, the boss of a council or water organisation can give them a special order to stop or fix the problem."

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

296Protection of persons acting under authority of Act

  1. This section applies to the following persons:

  2. a compliance officer:
    1. a person asked to assist a compliance officer:
      1. a water organisation:
        1. a territorial authority:
          1. a specified person authorised to enter and search a place, vehicle, or thing under section 289.

            1. The person is protected from civil and criminal liability, however it may arise, for any act that the person does or omits to do in the performance or purported performance of the person’s duties or functions, or the exercise or purported exercise of the person’s powers, under this Act—

            2. in good faith; and
              1. with reasonable cause.

                1. See also section 6 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1950.

                Compare