Parliament Act 2025

Parliamentary security - Powers and duties of parliamentary security officers - Person does not hand over detected item

172: Powers if person does not hand over detected item

You could also call this:

"What happens if you don't hand over something you're not allowed to have in Parliament"

If you do not hand over a detected item when asked, a parliamentary security officer can take action. The officer can do this if they think you may have committed or are about to commit a specified offence. They can seize the item, detain you, or deny you entry to the parliamentary precincts, as stated in section 178(1). If the officer does not think you have committed or are about to commit an offence, they can still deny you entry or remove you from the precincts. You can be removed from the parliamentary precincts if you do not comply with the request to hand over the detected item, as initially requested under section 171(1).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1029548.

This page was last updated on 25 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyGovernment and voting > Government departments

171: Power to ask to examine detected items, or

"Parliamentary security officers can ask to check items they find during a search"

173: Power to seize detected item connected to specified offence, or

"Security officers can take items from you if they think you might commit a crime"

Part 7Parliamentary security
Powers and duties of parliamentary security officers: Person does not hand over detected item

172Powers if person does not hand over detected item

This section applies if a person does not comply with a request under section 171(1) to hand over a detected item.
Subsection (3) applies if a parliamentary security officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person—
may recently have committed a specified offence; or
may be about to commit such an offence.

The parliamentary security officer—
may exercise the power in section 178(1) (which relates to the power to seize an item) and, if the officer chooses to exercise that power, the power in section 178(2)(a) or (b) (which relates to the power to detain the person or to deny them entry to, or remove them from, the parliamentary precincts); or
may deny the person entry to, or remove the person from, the parliamentary precincts.

Subsection (5) applies if a parliamentary security officer does not have the reasonable grounds specified in subsection (2).
The parliamentary security officer may deny the person entry to, or remove the person from, the parliamentary precincts.

Compare

1999 No 115 s 15(3)–(5)