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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Compliance and enforcement - Compliance orders

297: Power to serve compliance order

You could also call this:

"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."

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

The chief executive of a territorial authority or water organisation can serve you a compliance order. This order can tell you to stop doing something that you are doing, or not to start doing something, if the chief executive thinks you might be breaking a rule or creating a serious risk. The chief executive must have good reasons to think this.

The compliance order can also tell you to do something to make sure you follow the rules or to stop a serious risk from happening.

A compliance order can have specific directions and conditions that you must follow, and it is similar to a provision in the Public Works Act 1986.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004874.

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Government and voting > Local councilsEnvironment and resources > Food and water safetyHealth and wellbeing > Food and water safety
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296: Protection of persons acting under authority of Act, or

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

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298: Compliance with compliance order, or

"Following the rules of a compliance order"

Part 5Miscellaneous provisions
Compliance and enforcement: Compliance orders

297Power to serve compliance order

  1. The chief executive of a territorial authority or water organisation may serve a compliance order on any person—

  2. requiring that person to stop, or prohibiting that person from starting or continuing, anything done or to be done by, or on behalf of, that person that the chief executive believes, on reasonable grounds,—
    1. contravenes, or is likely to contravene, a compliance requirement; or
      1. will or may create a specified serious risk; or
      2. requiring that person to do something that the chief executive believes, on reasonable grounds, will—
        1. ensure compliance by, or on behalf of, that person with a compliance requirement; or
          1. prevent, reduce, or eliminate any specified serious risk.

          2. A compliance order may be made subject to directions and conditions.

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