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Emergency Management Bill (No 2)

Information, enforcement, compensation, appeals, and secondary legislation - Offences

180: Offence involving failure to comply with direction to evacuate premises or place

You could also call this:

"Breaking the Law by Not Leaving a Place When Told To"

Illustration for Emergency Management Bill (No 2)

If you intentionally do not follow a direction to leave a premises or place given to you under section 128 or 161, you commit an offence. You can defend yourself if you can show the person who gave the direction did not have a good reason to think it was necessary to save lives. If you are found guilty, you could face imprisonment or a fine, with the penalty depending on whether you are an individual or an organisation, with a maximum fine of $10,000 for individuals or $100,000 for other cases.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1022590.

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

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawEmergency management > Emergency response

179: Offence involving failure to comply with requirement in emergency management plan, or

"Breaking Emergency Plan Rules is an Offence"

181: Offence involving withholding assessment or giving false or misleading information in assessment, or

"Telling lies or hiding information in an assessment can get you in trouble"

Part 5Information, enforcement, compensation, appeals, and secondary legislation
Offences

180Offence involving failure to comply with direction to evacuate premises or place

A person commits an offence if the person intentionally fails to comply with a direction given to them under section 128 or 161.
It is a defence to any proceedings for an offence against this section if the court is satisfied that the Controller, Recovery Manager, or constable did not have reasonable grounds for believing that in all the circumstances of the case the requirement was necessary to preserve human life.
A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction,—
in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding $10,000:
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

Compare

2002 No 33 s 99