BRIEFING NOTE

June 2016

Infringements for Bylaws under the LGA 2002

Background
Bylaws made under the Local Government Act 2002 [the Act] are designed to protect the public from
nuisance; protect, promote and maintain public health and safety; minimise the potential for offensive
behaviour in public places and protect council infrastructure.
A recent topical example is window-washing of cars on streets at busy intersections in Auckland. Auckland
Council, under its Traffic Bylaw states that no person may wash windows at any intersection.
If a local authority wishes to enforce this bylaw (or any other under the Local Government Act 2002) the
only mechanism available is to seek a prosecution through the District Court. Auckland Council has
initiated such proceedings.
Issuing an infringement notice with an associated fine would be much more efficient than taking a case to
the District Court. A court process is also not warranted for many of the bylaw offences and is frequently
more expensive than the payment sought.
The LGA allows for regulations to be made prescribing breaches of bylaws that are infringements under
the Act, the level of infringement fees (under $1000) and infringement notices. The intention was that the
Department of Internal Affairs would draft regulations to enable infringements to be issued. Since the Act
was passed no regulations have been made, due to an issue with the drafting of section 259.
In other jurisdictions, such as Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, Resource Management Act, Freedom
Camping Act and the Dog Control Act, abatements and/or infringements may be served by councils. The
inability to enforce council bylaws enacted under the LGA has required special purpose legislation, such as
the Freedom Camping Act 2011, to be promulgated, with the associated costs of doing so.
The fix
The local government sector has sought a fix for over a decade; we appreciate it is not straightforward
as consideration will likely need to be given to how classes of bylaws can be grouped with corresponding
infringement regimes.
The matter was discussed at a meeting of Local Government New Zealands Metro Sector on Friday 22
May 2015. The meeting passed a unanimous resolution that the Government be requested to amend
section 259 of the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) to allow regulations to be made prescribing breaches
of council bylaws that are infringements under the Act.
What do councils want infringements for?
Some examples of the bylaws that councils would like to be able to issue infringements for are set out
below. Many of these relate to protecting councils own infrastructure.

BRIEFING NOTE

Type of bylaw

Could cover:

Wastewater

discharging stormwater to wastewater

Stormwater / Pollution Prevention

discharges of paint, concrete slurry, oil and

chemicals

Water Supply

taking water without consent

not complying with summer water restrictions
tampering with restricted water supply

Trade Waste

non-compliance
conditions

failure to obtain a consent when required to do

so

General public safety and nuisance matters

car window washing

Control of Animals

keeping of goats, roosters/bees/pigs not in

compliance with bylaw

Stock droving

driving cattle along and across roads without a

permit
dirtying road/not cleaning animal mess from
the road

Public Places and signs

Fire Prevention

Refuse Collection and Disposal

with

discharge

consent

wilful damage to council property

obstructions on a public place
placing or removal of objects on or from a
public place
street trading/mobile shops/selling goods in
public places without permit/licence
signage in public places without permission
persistent use of an incinerator, burning of
vegetation
lighting a fire without permit
lighting a fire likely to become a danger/hazard
improper disposal of live ashes
failure to remove a fire hazard (including
vegetation overgrowth)
non complying use of refuse bags, recycling
stations