This page is about a bill. That means that it's not the law yet, but some people want it to be the law. It could change quickly, and some of the information is just a draft.

Planning Bill

Enforcement and other matters - Miscellaneous - Service of documents

287: Service of documents

You could also call this:

"How to give someone a document for the Planning Bill"

If you need to give someone a document for the Planning Bill, you can do it in several ways. You can deliver it to the person, leave it at their home or work, send it by post, or email it to them. You can also follow a method set out in regulations made under section 281. If the document is for a court case, the court might have its own rules for serving documents. The Electronic Courts and Tribunals Act 2016 still applies, even if you follow the rules in this section. If you need to serve a document on a Minister of the Crown, you can give it to the chief executive of their department instead. You can serve a document on a body, like a company, by giving it to one of its officers or leaving it at its registered office. You can serve a document on a partnership by giving it to one of the partners. If you need to serve a document on a Crown organisation, you can deliver it to its head office, send it to its fax number or email address, or use a method you have agreed with the organisation. If you send a document by post, it is assumed to have been received by the person unless they can prove otherwise, and it is treated as received when it would normally have been delivered.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1533061.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Government and voting > Local councilsHousing and property > Land use

286: Matters for which time period must not be extended or waived, or

"Things You Can't Give More Time For"

288: Crown's existing rights to resources to continue, or

"The Crown keeps its rights to land and water even if old laws are changed."

Part 6Enforcement and other matters
Miscellaneous: Service of documents

287Service of documents

A notice or any other document required or authorised to be served on or given to a person for the purposes of this Act may be served or given by—
delivering it to the person (other than a Minister of the Crown); or
leaving it at the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business or at the address specified by the person in any notice, application, or other document given under this Act; or
sending it by post to the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business or to the address specified by the person in any notice, application, or other document given under this Act; or
emailing it to the person at an email address that is used by the person; or
complying with a means of service prescribed in regulations made under section 281.

However, if the document is to be served on a person to commence, or in the course of, court proceedings, subsection (1) does not apply if the court, whether expressly or in its rules or practices, requires a different method of service.
Nothing in subsection (1) overrides the provisions of the Electronic Courts and Tribunals Act 2016.
Where a notice or other document is to be served on a Minister of the Crown for the purposes of this Act, service on the chief executive of the appropriate department of the public service in accordance with subsection (1) is treated as service on the Minister.
Where a notice or other document is to be served on a body (whether incorporated or not) for the purposes of this Act, service on an officer of the body, or on the registered office of the body, in accordance with subsection (1) is treated as service on the body.
Where a notice or other document is to be served on a partnership for the purposes of this Act, service on any one of the partners in accordance with subsections (1) and (5) is treated as service on the partnership.
Despite subsection (1), if a notice or other document is to be served on a Crown organisation for the purposes of this Act, it may be served—
by delivering it at the organisation's head office or principal place of business; or
by sending it to the fax number or electronic address that the organisation has specified for its head office or principal place of business; or
by a method agreed between the organisation and the person serving the notice or document.

Where a notice or other document is sent by post to a person in accordance with subsection (1)(c), it is treated as, in the absence of proof to the contrary, being received by the person at the time at which the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of the post.