New Zealand Acts

HARASSMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 4

4 Meaning of specified act

1 For the purposes of this Act, a
"specified act" , in relation to a person, means any of the following acts:

a) watching, loitering near, or preventing or hindering access to or from, that person's place of residence, business, employment, or any other place that the person frequents for any purpose:

b) following, stopping, or accosting that person:

c) entering, or interfering with, property in that person's possession:

d) making contact with that person (whether by telephone, correspondence, electronic communication, or in any other way):

e) giving offensive material to that person or leaving it where it will be found by, given to, or brought to the attention of that person:

ea) giving offensive material to a person by placing the material in any electronic media where it is likely that it will be seen by, or brought to the attention of, that person:

f) acting in any other way—

i) that causes that person (
"person A" ) to fear for his or her safety; and

ii) that would cause a reasonable person in person A's particular circumstances to fear for his or her safety.

2 To avoid any doubt, subsection (1)(f) includes the situation where—

a) a person acts in a particular way; and

b) the act is done in relation to a person (
"person B" ) in circumstances in which the act is to be regarded, in accordance with section 5(b) , as done to another person (
"person A" ); and

c) acting in that way—

i) causes person A to fear for his or her safety; and

ii) would cause a reasonable person in person A's particular circumstances to fear for his or her safety,—

whether or not acting in that way causes or is likely to cause person B to fear for person B's safety.

3 Subsection (2) does not limit the generality of subsection (1)(f).

History: Section 4(1)(d): amended, on 3 July 2015, by section 33(1) of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (2015 No 63).   Section 4(1)(ea): inserted, on 3 July 2015, by section 33(2) of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (2015 No 63).