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Emergency Management Bill (No 2)

Emergency response and recovery: states of emergency and transition periods - Powers applying during transition periods - Powers exercised by authorised Recovery Managers or constables

161: Power to evacuate premises and places

You could also call this:

"People in charge can make you leave a place to keep you safe in an emergency"

Illustration for Emergency Management Bill (No 2)

If you are in charge of helping during an emergency, you can take certain actions. You can do this if you think it is necessary to save people's lives. You can tell people to leave a building or area, or stop them from entering it. You can direct people to evacuate or exclude them from a place. This includes public places like parks or streets. If you decide to take these actions, it overrides some other rules, like sections 158(1)(b) and 159(1). This means that if you are trying to save lives, you can make decisions about who can or cannot be in a certain area.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1022561.

This page was last updated on 31 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Emergency management > Emergency responseGovernment and voting > Emergency management

160: Transition period powers of authorised Recovery Managers, or

"Powers of the person in charge during an emergency"

162: Power to enter premises and places, or

"Authorised people can enter properties to help people or animals in need"

Part 4Emergency response and recovery: states of emergency and transition periods
Powers applying during transition periods: Powers exercised by authorised Recovery Managers or constables

161Power to evacuate premises and places

An authorised Recovery Manager or a constable may take an action specified in subsection (2) if, in their opinion, the action is necessary to preserve human life.
The actions an authorised Recovery Manager or a constable may take are as follows:
directing the evacuation of persons or vehicles from any premises or place, including a public place:
directing the exclusion of persons or vehicles from any premises or place, including a public place.

Subsection (1) overrides sections 158(1)(b) and 159(1).

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2002 No 33 s 94K