Enforcing New Zealand censorship law
The Office of Film and Literature Classification is not involved in enforcing the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. Enforcement is the job of 3 organisations:
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The Censorship Compliance Unit of the Department of Internal Affairs
Inspectors of Publications from the Censorship Compliance Unit specialise in censorship enforcement, especially monitoring objectionable material on the internet.
Go to the Censorship Compliance section of the DIA website
Contact the Censorship Compliance Unit
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NZ Customs
NZ Customs is responsible for border control. Its role is to stop illegal material entering New Zealand. This includes objectionable (banned) publications carried in by travellers or sent though the mail.
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NZ Police
Censorship enforcement by the NZ Police is often linked to other criminal investigations, for example sexual abuse allegations or drug investigations.
enforcement agencies submit publications for classification
Enforcement agencies all submit publications they have seized to the Office of Film and Literature Classification. Once the Classification Office has classified the material, the enforcement agency decides whether to take people to Court.
Courts can also submit publications for classification
Courts can submit publications to the Classification Office for a 'report of findings' on an unclassified publication involved in a court case.
Read more about the role of the enforcement agencies
People can incur fines or even be sent to jail for breaking the classification law
If anyone, including parents, guardians or teachers, supply or exhibit a restricted film or game to an underage person, they can be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to 3 months. If a retailer breaks the law around restricted classifications, they can be fined up to $25,000.
It is also illegal to possess an objectionable (banned) publication
If you are convicted of possessing an objectionable publication, such as a film or game, you could potentially be fined up to $2,000. If it is proven that you knew it was objectionable, the penalty increases to a fine of up to $50,000 or up to 5 years in prison.
If you are convicted of making, importing, or distributing an objectionable publication, you could be fined up to $10,000 or be imprisoned for up to 10 years.
A conviction can limit your ability to travel to different countries, and employers often require any convictions to be disclosed when applying for jobs.
