Division 1 Giving of orders

124   What orders may be given, in what circumstances and to whom?

A council may order a person to do or to refrain from doing a thing specified in Column 1 of the following Table if the circumstances specified opposite it in Column 2 of the Table exist and the person comes within the description opposite it in Column 3 of the Table.

Note. This section does not affect the power of a council to give an order (or a notice or direction) under the authority of another Act.

For example, some of those Acts and the orders (or notices or directions) that may be given include:

Food Act 2003	(by delegation) improvement notice or prohibition order
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997	environment protection notices
Public Health Act 1991	direction concerning maintenance or use of certain air-conditioning systems
Roads Act 1993	order preventing the passage of traffic along a road or tollway
	order for the removal of an obstruction or encroachment on a road
Swimming Pools Act 1992	order requiring owner of swimming pool to bring it into compliance with the Act

A person who fails to comply with an order is guilty of an offence—see sec 628.

Table

Orders

Orders requiring or prohibiting the doing of things to or on premises

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
To do what?	In what circumstances?	To whom?
1    To demolish or remove a building	(a)–(c)  (Repealed) (d)  Building is erected in a catchment district and causes or is likely to cause pollution of the water supply	Owner of building
2   (Repealed)
3    To repair or make structural alterations to a building	(a), (b)  (Repealed) (c)  Building is erected in a catchment district and causes or is likely to cause pollution of the water supply	Owner of building
4   (Repealed)
5    To take such action as is necessary to bring into compliance with relevant standards or requirements set or made by or under this Act or under the Local Government Act 1919: (a)  a camping ground, caravan park or manufactured home estate (b)  a moveable dwelling or manufactured home (c)  (Repealed) (d)  a place of shared accommodation (e)  a hairdressers shop or beauty salon (f)  a mortuary (g)  (Repealed) (h)  a water meter, water supply or sewerage system on premises	Failure to comply with relevant standards or requirements set or made by or under this Act or under the Local Government Act 1919	Owner, occupier or manager or, in the case of a water meter, water supply or sewerage system in respect of which a defect occurs in work due to faulty workmanship of, or defective material supplied by, a licensed contractor (being the holder of a licence in force under the Home Building Act 1989 authorising the holder to contract to do the work) within 12 months after the work is carried out or the material is supplied, the licensed contractor
6   (Repealed)
7    To fence land	Public health, safety or convenience renders it necessary or expedient to do so and there is no adequate fence between the land and a public place	Owner or occupier of land
8    To identify premises with such numbers or other identification in such manner as is specified in the order	Premises have a frontage to or entrance from a road and there are no markings that can readily be seen and understood from the road	Owner or occupier of land
9    To fence, empty, fill in or cover up a hole or waterhole in the manner specified in the order	Hole or waterhole is or may become dangerous to life	Owner or occupier of land
10    To remove or stack articles or matter, to cover articles or matter, to erect fences or screens or to plant trees	Land is in the immediate vicinity of a public place and is used for the storage of articles or matter so as to create or be likely to create unsightly conditions	Owner or occupier of land
11    To do or to refrain from doing such things as are specified in the order to prevent environmental damage, to repair environmental damage or to prevent further environmental damage	Work carried out on land has caused or is likely to cause environmental damage, being damage to the physical environment that is caused by: (a)  drainage, or (b)  drainage works, or (c)  obstructing a natural watercourse other than by a work constructed or used under a water management work approval granted under the Water Management Act 2000, not being environmental damage arising from premises, works or equipment the subject of a licence issued under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 or the subject of a notice or direction issued by a regulatory authority under that Act	Owner or occupier of land
12    To do such things as are necessary to control the flow of surface water across land	Other land, or a building on the land or other land, is being damaged or is likely to be damaged	Owner or occupier of land
13, 14   (Repealed)

Orders requiring that premises be used or not used in specified ways

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
To do what?	In what circumstances?	To whom?
15    Not to conduct, or to cease conducting, an activity on premises (whether or not the activity is approved under this Act)	The activity constitutes or is likely to constitute: (a)  a life threatening hazard, or (b)  a threat to public health or public safety and is not regulated or controlled under any other Act by a public authority	Any person apparently engaged in promoting, conducting or carrying out the activity
15A   (Repealed)
16    To cease the use of premises or to evacuate premises	A person to whom order No 15 is given has failed to comply with the order	The person to whom order No 15 is given
17    To leave premises or not to enter premises	A person to whom order No 15 is given has failed to comply with the order	Any person
18    Not to keep birds or animals on premises, other than of such kinds, in such numbers or in such manner as specified in the order	Birds or animals kept on premises are: (a)  in the case of any premises (whether or not in a catchment district)—of an inappropriate kind or number or are kept inappropriately, or (b)  in the case of premises in a catchment district—birds or animals (being birds or animals that are suffering from a disease which is communicable to man or to other birds or animals) or pigs	Occupier of premises
19    To use or not to use a tennis court as specified	Actual or likely annoyance or threat to the safety of neighbours or users of a public place	Occupier of land

Orders requiring the preservation of healthy conditions

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
To do what?	In what circumstances?	To whom?
20    To do such things as are specified in the order to put premises, vehicles or articles used for the manufacture, preparation, storage, sale, transportation or other handling or use of or in relation to food into a clean or sanitary condition	The premises, vehicle or article is not in a clean or sanitary condition	Owner or occupier of premises or owner or operator of vehicle or article
21    To do or refrain from doing such things as are specified in the order to ensure that land is, or premises are, placed or kept in a safe or healthy condition	The land or premises are not in a safe or healthy condition	Owner or occupier of land or premises
22    To store, treat, process, collect, remove, dispose of or destroy waste which is on land or premises in the manner specified in the order, provided that it is not inconsistent with regulations made under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997	Waste is present or generated on the land or premises and is not being dealt with satisfactorily, and is not regulated or controlled by, or subject to, a licence or notice granted or issued under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997	Owner or occupier of land or premises, owner of or person responsible for the waste or for any receptacle or container in which the waste is contained
22A    To remove or dispose of waste that is on any residential premises or to refrain from keeping waste on those premises	The waste is, in the opinion of an environmental health officer (within the meaning of the Public Health Act 1991), causing or is likely to cause a threat to public health or the health of any individual	Owner or occupier of the premises
23    To connect premises to the council’s water supply by a specified date	The premises are situated within 225 metres of a water pipe of the council	Owner or occupier of land
24    To connect premises with a sewerage system by a specified date	The premises are situated within 75 metres of a sewer of the council	Owner or occupier of premises
25    Not to use or permit the use of a human waste storage facility on premises after a specified date	It is necessary for the purpose of protecting public health	Owner or occupier of premises

Orders requiring the protection or repair of public places

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
To do what?	In what circumstances?	To whom?
26   (Repealed)
27    To remove an object or matter from a public place or prevent any object or matter being deposited there	The object or matter: (a)  is causing or is likely to cause an obstruction or encroachment of or on the public place and the obstruction or encroachment is not authorised by or under any Act, or (b)  is causing or is likely to cause danger, annoyance or inconvenience to the public	Person causing obstruction or encroachment or owner or occupier of land from which the object or matter emanates or is likely to emanate
28    To take whatever steps are necessary to prevent damage to a public place and to repair damage to a public place	There is actual or likely damage:
	(a)  by excavation or removal of material from or adjacent to the public place, or	Person responsible for the excavation or the removal of the material
	(b)  by a work or structure, or	Owner or person entitled to the benefit of the work or structure
	(c)  by surface drainage or irrigation	Owner or occupier of land from which surface drainage flows or from which spray emanates
29    To alter or repair a work or structure on, over or under a public place	It is in the public interest to do so	Owner of the work or structure

Orders requiring compliance with approval

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
To do what?	In what circumstances?	To whom?
30    To comply with an approval	The approval is not being complied with	Person entitled to act on the approval or person acting otherwise than in compliance with the approval

125   Abatement of public nuisances

A council may abate a public nuisance or order a person responsible for a public nuisance to abate it.

Note. Abatement means the summary removal or remedying of a nuisance (the physical removal or suppression of a nuisance) by an injured party without having recourse to legal proceedings.

Nuisance consists of interference with the enjoyment of public or private rights in a variety of ways. A nuisance is “public” if it materially affects the reasonable comfort and convenience of a sufficient class of people to constitute the public or a section of the public. For example, any wrongful or negligent act or omission in a public road that interferes with the full, safe and convenient use by the public of their right of passage is a public nuisance.

126   Giving orders to public authorities

(1)  An order under this Division may not be given in respect of the following land without the prior written consent of the Minister:

•  vacant Crown land

•  a reserve within the meaning of Part 5 of the Crown Lands Act 1989

•  a common.

(2)  The Minister must not give consent in respect of vacant Crown lands or a reserve within the meaning of Part 5 of the Crown Lands Act 1989 until after the Minister has consulted the Minister administering the Crown Lands Act 1989.

127   Making of regulations for the purposes of this Division

The regulations may prescribe acts or circumstances that are taken to be included in or excluded from any of the acts or circumstances specified in Column 1 or 2 of the Table to section 124.

128   Catchment districts

(1)  The Governor may proclaim a district to be a catchment district for the purposes of this Act.

(2)  An owner of a building who complies with order No 1 in the Table to section 124 in the circumstances specified in paragraph (d) for that order, or order No 3 in that Table in the circumstances specified in paragraph (c) for that order, under section 124 is entitled to compensation from the council for the expenses incurred by the owner in complying with the order.

128A   Orders about removal or keeping of waste

(1)  An order in terms of order No 22A in the Table to section 124 ceases to have effect, unless earlier revoked under section 153, at the end of the period of 5 years after it is given.

(2)  The protection of public health is the paramount consideration in giving any such order.