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.

Natural Environment Bill

Enforcement and other matters - Enforcement - Infringement offences

294: How infringement notice may be served

You could also call this:

"How you can get an infringement notice"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If you get an infringement notice, it can be given to you in several ways. You might get it by having it delivered to you, or by someone leaving it at your home or work with another person. It can also be sent to you by post or to your electronic address. If the notice is sent by post, you are usually considered to have got it five working days after it was posted. If it is sent to your electronic address, you are considered to have got it when the message first arrived in your system. This is how the proposed law says infringement notices may be served on you.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=LMS1539779.

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

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

293: What infringement notice must contain, or

"What information must be on an infringement notice"

295: Payment of infringement fees, or

"What happens to the money you pay for breaking environmental rules"

Part 6Enforcement and other matters
Enforcement: Infringement offences

294How infringement notice may be served

An infringement notice may be served on the person who the enforcement officer believes is committing or has committed the infringement offence by—
delivering it to the person or, if the person refuses to accept it, bringing it to the person’s notice; or
leaving it for the person at the person’s last known place of residence with another person who appears to be of or over the age of 14 years; or
leaving it for the person at the person’s place of working or work with another person; or
sending it to the person by prepaid post addressed to the person’s last known place of residence or place of business or work; or
sending it to an electronic address of the person.

Unless the contrary is shown,—
an infringement notice (or a copy of it) sent by prepaid post to a person under subsection (1) is to be treated as having been served on that person on the fifth working day after the date on which it was posted; and
an infringement notice sent to a valid electronic address is to be treated as having been served at the time the electronic communication first entered an information system that is outside the control of the enforcement authority.