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.

Offshore Renewable Energy Bill

Administration and enforcement - Enforcement - Offences

154: Offence for office holder having pecuniary interest

You could also call this:

"It's against the law for someone in charge to have a personal financial gain from a permit they oversee."

Illustration for Offshore Renewable Energy Bill

If you are an office holder and you have a financial interest in a permit, you might be breaking the law. This is because the proposed law says you must not have a financial interest in a permit, as stated in section 112. If you break this law, you could be fined up to $20,000 if you are found guilty.

If someone is accused of breaking this law, they can say it is not their fault if they can prove they did not know about the financial interest. They must also show that they could not have reasonably been expected to know about it.

You would need to prove you did not know the office holder had a financial interest in the permit to use this as a defence.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS992339.

153: Offence for failing to comply with requirement of safety zone officer, or

"Breaking a safety zone officer's rules can lead to a fine or prison time"

155: Offence for contravening compliance notice, or

"Breaking the rules: what happens if you don't follow a compliance notice"

Part 4Administration and enforcement
Enforcement: Offences

154Offence for office holder having pecuniary interest

A person commits an offence if they contravene, or permit the contravention of, section 112 (which relates to the requirement for an office holder not to have a pecuniary interest in a permit).
A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000.
In a prosecution of a person for an offence against this section, it is a defence if the defendant proves that they did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that the office holder held a pecuniary interest in a permit.