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Natural Environment Bill

Enforcement and other matters - Emergency works

303: Emergency works under Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

You could also call this:

"Doing emergency work to keep people safe during a disaster"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If you are in a state of emergency, you can do things to keep people safe without following some rules. You can remove the cause of the emergency or minimise its effects without getting a permit first. The person in charge must tell the permit authority within 7 days what they have done. If what you did would normally break the rules and the effects are still happening, you must apply for a permit within 60 working days. You can keep doing the activity until your application and any appeals are finished. If you follow these rules, you will not get in trouble for doing something that would normally be against the law. You are protected if you act in accordance with these emergency rules, and you will not commit an offence under section 278(1)(a) of the law. This means you can take action to deal with the emergency without worrying about breaking the rules. You just need to follow the steps outlined in this section to make sure you are doing the right thing.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1521384.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Emergency management > Emergency responseGovernment and voting > Emergency management

302: Natural resource permits for emergency works, or

"Notifying and getting permission for emergency work on someone else's land"

304: Reimbursement or compensation for emergency works, or

"Paying back costs for emergency work or getting compensation if it damages your property"

Part 6Enforcement and other matters
Emergency works

303Emergency works under Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

If any activity is undertaken by any person exercising emergency powers during a state of emergency declared, or transition period notified, under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, the provisions of sections 17, 18, 19, 12, and 20 do not apply to any activity undertaken by or on behalf of that person to remove the cause of, or minimise any actual or adverse effect of, the emergency.
If an activity is undertaken to which subsection (1) applies, the person who authorised the activity must advise the appropriate permit authority, within 7 days, that the activity has been undertaken.
If such an activity, but for this section, would contravene any of sections 17, 18, 19, 12, and 20 and the adverse effects of the activity continue, the person who authorised the activity must apply in writing to the appropriate permit authority for any necessary natural resource permits required in respect of the activity, within 60 working days of the notification under subsection (2).
If the application is made within the time stated in subsection (3), the activity may continue until the application for a natural resource permit and any appeals have been finally determined.
A person does not commit an offence under section 278(1)(a) by acting in accordance with this section.