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Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw 2013

This bylaw helps people enjoy Auckland’s public places. It includes rules about behaviour in public places, including restrictions for fires, fireworks, drones, camping in tents and fishing.

What the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw does

This bylaw contains rules about:

Bad behaviours in any public place

  • Wilfully obstructing, disturbing or harming any other person in a public place.
  • Using any item or object recklessly or in a way that could be dangerous, cause injury or nuisance to any person in a public place.
  • Placing or leaving any object material or structure in a public place that is likely to cause a safety risk, nuisance or interference to any person in a public place.

Use of public places under control of the council

A person must comply with any restrictions on the use of public places under control of the council (for example at parks, beaches and public squares) relating to:

  • aircraft
  • boats
  • building or construction materials, equipment and amenities
  • building, structures and tents
  • consumer goods
  • fences
  • fires
  • fireworks, flares of explosive materials
  • gates or doors
  • shipping or storage containers
  • soil, rock, shingle, shell, sand, vegetation, material, object or other naturally occurring thing
  • UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), including drones
  • vegetation
  • weapons, traps or instruments of a dangerous nature
  • recreational fishing, including set netting
  • surfcasting.

Restricting access to a public place under control of the council

The council may restrict or close entry to the whole (or part) of any council-controlled public places to:

  • protect flora, fauna, land, structures and infrastructure from damage
  • protect public health and safety
  • allow for maintenance
  • allow exclusive use for any group or specified activity.

What the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw does not cover

  • Activities and behaviours in public places that are part of the Auckland transport system. This is regulated by the Auckland Transport Activities in the Road Corridor Bylaw 2022.
  • This bylaw does not apply to any matter addressed in any other bylaw made by the council, or any bylaw made by Auckland Transport or the Maunga Authority.
  • Activities regulated by central government legislation including car window washing, mind-altering (psychoactive) substances, graffiti, noise, fish offal, gates in parks, fireworks in non-public places and street names and property numbering.
  • Issues about animals, signage, stormwater and traffic which are contained in other existing bylaws dedicated to those topics.

Get a copy of the bylaw

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