This Act has the following purposes:

• (a) to secure the benefits of assisted reproductive procedures, established procedures, and human reproductive research for individuals and for society in general by taking appropriate measures for the protection and promotion of the health, safety, dignity, and rights of all individuals, but particularly those of women and children, in the use of these procedures and research:

• (b) to prohibit unacceptable assisted reproductive procedures and unacceptable human reproductive research:

• (c) to prohibit certain commercial transactions relating to human reproduction:

• (d) to provide a robust and flexible framework for regulating and guiding the performance of assisted reproductive procedures and the conduct of human reproductive research:

• (e) to prohibit the performance of assisted reproductive procedures (other than established procedures) or the conduct of human reproductive research without the continuing approval of the ethics committee:

• (f) to establish a comprehensive information-keeping regime to ensure that people born from donated embryos or donated cells can find out about their genetic origins.

All persons exercising powers or performing functions under this Act must be guided by each of the following principles that is relevant to the particular power or function:

• (a) the health and well-being of children born as a result of the performance of an assisted reproductive procedure or an established procedure should be an important consideration in all decisions about that procedure:

• (b) the human health, safety, and dignity of present and future generations should be preserved and promoted:

• (c) while all persons are affected by assisted reproductive procedures and established procedures, women, more than men, are directly and significantly affected by their application, and the health and well-being of women must be protected in the use of these procedures:

• (d) no assisted reproductive procedure should be performed on an individual and no human reproductive research should be conducted on an individual unless the individual has made an informed choice and given informed consent:

• (e) donor offspring should be made aware of their genetic origins and be able to access information about those origins:

• (f) the needs, values, and beliefs of Māori should be considered and treated with respect:

• (g) the different ethical, spiritual, and cultural perspectives in society should be considered and treated with respect.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(1) The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister given after advice tendered by the advisory committee, declare any of the following to be an established procedure for the purposes of the definition of assisted reproductive procedure in section 5:

• (a) a medical, scientific, or technical procedure:

• (b) a medical treatment:

• (c) an application of a medical, scientific, or technical procedure:

• (d) an application of a medical treatment.

(2) In tendering advice to the Minister, under subsection (1), about a procedure or treatment, the advisory committee must provide the Minister with a report that sets out the following:

• (a) information about the procedure or treatment:

• (b) an assessment, drawn from published and peer reviewed research, of the known risks and benefits to health of the procedure or treatment:

• (c) advice as to whether, in its expert opinion, the known risks to health of the procedure or treatment fall within a level of risk that is acceptable in New Zealand:

• (d) an ethical analysis of the procedure or treatment:

• (e) advice as to whether, in its expert opinion, the Minister should recommend that the procedure or treatment be declared an established procedure.

(3) Promptly after providing the Minister with a report under subsection (2), the chairperson of the advisory committee must ensure that the report is published on the Internet.

This Act binds the Crown.

Except for section 63, this Part—

• (a) applies to an embryo if, and only if, the embryo is a donated embryo, or is formed from a donated cell, that was donated after the commencement of this Part; and

• (b) applies to a donated cell if, and only if, it was donated after the commencement of this Part; and

• (c) applies to a donor offspring if, and only if, the donated embryo or every donated cell from which the donor offspring was formed was donated after the commencement of this Part.

The provisions of this Part apply to information only if the information is required to be kept by this Part.

(1) When a person requests a provider or the Registrar-General to give the person access to information required to be kept by this Part, the provider or the Registrar-General must not give the person access to that information unless satisfied about the identity of the person who is making the request.

(2) Each provider and the Registrar-General—

• (a) must adopt appropriate procedures to ensure that any information intended for a person is received—

  • (i) only by that person; or

  • (ii) if the request is made by an agent of the person, only by that person or his or her agent; and

• (b) must ensure that, if the request is made by an agent of the person, the agent has the written authority of that person to obtain the information or is otherwise properly authorised by that person to obtain the information.

(1) A provider must ensure that, before a person consents to donating a donated embryo or a donated cell to or through the provider, or to any service performed or arranged by the provider that involves a donated embryo or a donated cell, the person is told the things described in subsection (3).

(2) Before a provider performs or arranges the performance of a service that may result in the birth of a donor offspring, the provider must ensure that each prospective guardian of the donor offspring is told the things described in subsection (3).

(3) The things are as follows:

• (a) which information about donors is obtained and kept by providers:

• (b) how long the information is kept:

• (c) why the information is obtained and kept:

• (d) which part of the information is forwarded to, and kept indefinitely by, the Registrar-General:

• (e) the rights given by this Act to donor offspring, the guardians of donor offspring, and other people to obtain information about donors:

• (f) the rights given by this Act to donors and other people to obtain information about donor offspring:

• (g) the importance of telling offspring about the nature of their conception:

• (h) the availability of counselling.

(4) To avoid any doubt, this section does not limit any right or duty set out in the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) Regulations 1996.

(1) When a donor donates a donated embryo or a donated cell to or through a provider, the provider must ensure that the provider has obtained the following information about the donor or, as the case requires, about each donor:

• (a) the donor's name:

• (b) the donor's gender:

• (c) the donor's address:

• (d) the date, place, and country of the donor's birth:

• (e) the donor's height:

• (f) the colour of the donor's eyes and hair:

• (g) the donor's ethnicity and any relevant cultural affiliation:

• (h) in the case of a Māori donor, the donor's whanau, hapu, and iwi, to the extent that the donor is aware of those affiliations:

• (i) any aspects, considered significant by the provider, of the medical history of—

  • (i) the donor; and

  • (ii) the donor's parents and grandparents; and

  • (iii) the donor's children (if any); and

  • (iv) the donor's siblings (if any):

• (j) the donor's reasons for donating.

(2) The provider must accept any information that is offered by a donor that updates or corrects any of the information about the donor obtained under subsection (1).

(1) A provider must, in accordance with this section, keep all information about a donor obtained or accepted under section 47 in relation to any donated embryo or a donated cell.

(2) In any case where the use of the donated embryo or the donated cell results in the birth of a living donor offspring, the provider must give the information to the Registrar-General on the earlier of the following events:

• (a) the expiry of 50 years after the date of that birth:

• (b) the provider ceasing to be a provider in circumstances where there is no successor provider.

(3) The Registrar-General must keep indefinitely all information given under subsection (2).

(4) In any case where no living donor offspring is formed from the donated embryo or the donated cell, the provider may destroy the information on the occurrence of any of the following events:

• (a) the termination (otherwise than by the birth of a living child) of a pregnancy resulting from the implantation of a donated embryo or an embryo formed from the donated cell:

• (b) the destruction before implantation of a donated embryo or an embryo formed from the donated cell:

• (c) the destruction of the donated cell.

If asked to do so by a donor, a provider must—

• (a) give the donor access to any information about the donor that the provider is keeping; and

• (b) tell the donor whether the donor offspring has asked for information about the donor.

(1) If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is 18 years or older, the relevant agency must tell the offspring whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the offspring access to it.

(2) If asked to do so by a guardian of a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must tell the guardian whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the guardian access to it.

(3) If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must tell the donor offspring whether the relevant agency is keeping any information about the donor or, as the case requires, the donors and, if so, give the donor offspring access to as much of that information as is not identifying information.

(4) The relevant agency may refuse to give a person access to information about a donor if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that the disclosure is likely to endanger any person.

(5) The relevant agency that gives a person access to information under this section must advise the person of the desirability of counselling.

(6) The relevant agency must advise the donor concerned whenever a person is, under this section, given access to identifying information about the donor.

(7) Subsection (4) overrides subsections (1) to (3).

(8) In this section, relevant agency means a provider or the Registrar-General.

A provider or the Registrar-General must not allow any person access to information about a donor unless—

• (a) authorised or required to do so by this Act; or

• (b) required to do so by any other enactment or rule of law; or

• (c) the information is relevant for the purposes of providing medical treatment or medical advice to a person, and is requested by a medical practitioner who produces a certificate signed by 2 medical practitioners that states that access to the information should be obtained for those purposes.

A provider must ensure that, at all times, there is in place an effective system for being notified of, or otherwise becoming aware of, the births of donor offspring.

(1) A provider who learns of the birth of a donor offspring must promptly—

• (a) take all practicable steps to obtain, from any person who knows of the donor offspring, the following information:

  • (i) the date and place of the donor offspring's birth:

  • (ii) the donor offspring's sex:

  • (iii) the donor offspring's name; and

• (b) give to the Registrar-General, on a form provided by the Registrar-General for the purpose,—

  • (i) the information that the provider has been able to obtain under paragraph (a); and

  • (ii) the names and addresses of the guardians of the donor offspring; and

  • (iii) the information specified in subsection (2) about the donor or, as the case requires, about each donor; and

  • (iv) the name of the provider.

(2) The information referred to in subsection (1)(b)(iii) is—

• (a) the donor's name:

• (b) the donor's address:

• (c) the date, place, and country of the donor's birth.

If a provider who has given the Registrar-General information under section 53(1)(b) receives additional information that updates or corrects any of the information already given, the provider must promptly give the Registrar-General the updated or corrected information.

(1) The Registrar-General must keep indefinitely all information given under section 53 or section 54.

(2) A provider must keep all information obtained under section 53 or accepted under section 56 until the expiry of the specified period.

(3) In subsection (2), specified period means the period that starts with the date of the birth of the donor offspring concerned and expires on the earlier of the following:

• (a) the expiry of 50 years after the date of that birth:

• (b) the provider ceasing to be a provider in circumstances where there is no successor provider.

(1) If a donor offspring who is 18 years or older offers to a provider any information that updates or corrects any of the information already given under section 53(1)(b) about the donor offspring, the provider must accept the updated or corrected information.

(2) If a guardian of a donor offspring who is under 18 years offers to a provider any information that updates or corrects any of the information already given under section 53(1)(b) about the donor offspring, the provider must accept the updated or corrected information.

(1) If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is 18 years or older, the relevant agency must—

• (a) give the donor offspring access to any information about the donor offspring kept by the relevant agency:

• (b) tell the donor offspring whether the donor has asked for information about the donor offspring.

(2) If asked to do so by the guardian of a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must—

• (a) give the guardian access to any information about the donor offspring kept by the relevant agency:

• (b) tell the guardian whether the donor has asked for information about the donor offspring.

(3) If asked to do so by a donor offspring who is under 18 years, the relevant agency must—

• (a) give the offspring access to as much information about the donor offspring that is kept by the relevant agency and that is not identifying information about the donor:

• (b) tell the offspring whether the donor has asked for information about the donor offspring.

(4) The relevant agency that gives a person access to information under this section must advise the person of the desirability of counselling.

(5) In this section, relevant agency means a provider or the Registrar-General.

(1) A provider or the Registrar-General may tell a donor offspring (donor offspring A) and, if donor offspring A is under 18 years, the guardian of donor offspring A whether donor offspring A shares a donor with another donor offspring (donor offspring B) and, if that is the case and the condition specified in subsection (2) is met, give access to identifying information about donor offspring B—

• (a) if donor offspring A is 18 years or older, to donor offspring A; or

• (b) if donor offspring A is under 18 years, to the guardian of donor offspring A.

(2) The condition referred to in subsection (1) is that—

• (a) if donor offspring B is 18 years or older, donor offspring B consents to the giving of access; or

• (b) if donor offspring B is under 18 years, the guardian of donor offspring B consents to the giving of access.

(3) This section overrides sections 51 and 62.

(1) A donor offspring who is 18 years or older may give a provider or the Registrar-General a written notice—

• (a) consenting to the disclosure of identifying information about the donor offspring to any named donor; or

• (b) cancelling a notice given to the provider or the Registrar-General by the donor offspring under paragraph (a).

(2) A provider or the Registrar-General must keep with any information about the donor offspring kept under this Act every notice given by the donor offspring under subsection (1).

(3) For the purposes of any provision of this Act, a provider or the Registrar-General has the consent of a donor offspring to the disclosure to a donor of identifying information about the donor offspring if, and only if,—

• (a) the provider or the Registrar-General holds a notice in relation to that donor given by the donor offspring under subsection (1)(a); and

• (b) that notice has not been cancelled under subsection (1)(b).

(1) At the request of a donor, a provider must tell the donor whether, to the best of the provider's knowledge, there have been born any donor offspring formed from a donated embryo or a donated cell given to or through the provider and (if so) the sex of each donor offspring.

(2) If the provider has the donor offspring's consent to give the donor access to identifying information about the donor offspring, the provider must do so at the donor's request.

(3) The provider may refuse to disclose to the donor, or give the donor access to, information about the donor offspring if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that to do so is likely to endanger any person.

(4) Subsection (3) overrides subsections (1) and (2).

(1) At the request of a donor, the Registrar-General must tell the donor whether information given to the Registrar-General under section 53(1)(b) discloses that there have been any donor offspring born and, if so, the sex of each donor offspring.

(2) If the Registrar-General has the donor offspring's consent to give the donor access to identifying information about the donor offspring, the Registrar-General must do so at the donor's request.

(3) The Registrar-General may refuse to disclose to the donor, or give the donor access to, identifying information about the donor offspring if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that to do so is likely to endanger any person.

(4) Subsection (3) overrides subsections (1) and (2).

A provider or the Registrar-General must not disclose any information about a donor offspring unless—

• (a) authorised or required to do so by this Act; or

• (b) required to do so by any other enactment or rule of law.

(1) This section applies to—

• (a) any donor who has, before the commencement of this Part, donated a donated embryo or a donated cell; and

• (b) any donor offspring formed from a donated embryo or a donated cell that has been donated before that commencement.

(2) A donor to whom this section applies may give to the Registrar-General, on a form provided by the Registrar-General for the purpose, the following information:

• (a) the donor's name:

• (b) the donor's gender:

• (c) the donor's address:

• (d) the date, place, and country of the donor's birth:

• (e) the donor's height:

• (f) the colour of the donor's eyes and hair:

• (g) the donor's ethnicity and any relevant cultural affiliation:

• (h) in the case of a Maori donor, the donor's whanau, hapu, and iwi, to the extent that the donor is aware of those affiliations:

• (i) any aspects, considered significant, of the medical history of—

  • (i) the donor; and

  • (ii) the donor's parents and grandparents; and

  • (iii) the donor's children (if any); and

  • (iv) the donor's siblings (if any):

• (j) the name of the provider who received any donated embryo or donated cell from the donor:

• (ja) the donor's reasons for donating:

• (k) any number or other symbol used by the provider to identify the donor, if known.

(3) The following persons may give to the Registrar-General, on a form provided by the Registrar-General for the purpose, the information specified in subsection (4):

• (a) a donor offspring who is 18 years or older and to whom this section applies:

• (b) the guardian of a donor offspring, being a donor offspring who is under 18 years and to whom this section applies.

(4) The following information is the information referred to in subsection (3):

• (a) the donor offspring's name:

• (b) the date and place of the donor offspring's birth:

• (c) the donor offspring's address:

• (d) if the information is given by the guardian, the guardian's name and address:

• (e) the donor offspring's gender:

• (f) the donor offspring's ethnicity and any cultural affiliation:

• (g) in the case of a Maori donor offspring, the donor offspring's whanau, hapu, and iwi, to the extent that those affiliations are known:

• (h) any aspects, considered significant, of the medical history of the donor offspring:

• (i) the name of the provider who received the donated embryo or donated cell concerned:

• (j) any number or other symbol used by the provider to identify the donor offspring, if known.

(5) The Registrar-General must accept, on a form provided by the Registrar-General for the purpose, information—

• (a) from a donor that updates information provided by the donor under subsection (2):

• (b) from a donor offspring who is 18 years or older that updates information provided by the donor offspring or by the guardian of the donor offspring under subsection (3):

• (c) from a guardian of a donor offspring who is under 18 years that updates information provided by the guardian under subsection (3).

(6) Any person who provides information under this section may also request the Registrar-General to restrict the access to the information in the manner specified in the request.

(7) A donor offspring about whom information has been given by a guardian under subsection (3) may, at any time after turning 18, do either or both of the following:

• (a) request the Registrar-General to restrict the access to that information:

• (b) vary or revoke any request made by the guardian under subsection (6).

(8) The Registrar-General may, subject to any request made under subsection (6), give each of the following persons access to information about a donor provided under subsection (2) and subsection (5):

• (a) the donor:

• (b) any person whom the Registrar-General believes on reasonable grounds to be—

  • (i) the offspring of the donor; and

  • (ii) 18 years or older:

• (c) any person whom the Registrar-General believes on reasonable grounds to be the guardian of a person who is—

  • (i) the offspring of the donor; and

  • (ii) under 18 years.

(9) The Registrar-General may, subject to any request made under subsection (6) or subsection (7)(a), give each of the following persons access to information about a donor offspring provided under subsection (3) and subsection (5):

• (a) the donor offspring, if he or she is 18 years or older:

• (b) the guardian of the donor offspring, if the donor offspring is under 18 years:

• (c) a person whom the Registrar-General believes on reasonable grounds to be the donor of the donor offspring:

• (d) a person whom the Registrar-General believes on reasonable grounds to be a person—

  • (i) who shares a donor with the donor offspring; and

  • (ii) who is 18 years or older:

• (e) a person whom the Registrar-General believes on reasonable grounds to be the guardian of a person—

  • (i) who shares a donor with the donor offspring; and

  • (ii) who is under 18 years.

(10) The Registrar-General may decline to give access to information under this section if satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that the disclosure is likely to endanger any person.

(11) The Registrar-General, when giving access to information under this section to a person, must advise the person of the desirability of counselling.

The provisions of this Part, other than this section and sections 43, 45, 51, 62, 65, and 66, do not apply to section 63.

(1) A donor offspring who is 16 years or older but under 18 years may apply to the Family Court for an order that, for the purposes of 1 or more of the provisions stated in subsection (2), the donor offspring is to be treated as a donor offspring who is 18 years old.

(2) The provisions are sections 50, 56, 57, 58, 59, and 63.

(3) If satisfied that it is in the best interests of the donor offspring to do so, a Family Court Judge may make an order that requires a named provider or the Registrar-General, or both, to treat, for the purposes of 1 or more of the provisions specified in subsection (2), the donor offspring as a donor offspring who is 18 years old.

(4) Rules may be made under section 16A of the Family Courts Act 1980 relating to the practice and procedure of Family Courts in proceedings under this Act.

(1) Any person may make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner holding that office under section 12 of the Privacy Act 1993 if—

• (a) the person is dissatisfied with any decision, action, or failure to act by a provider or the Registrar-General in relation to—

  • (i) a request under this Act for information or access to information; or

  • (ii) a request under this Act to accept updated or corrected information; or

• (b) the person believes that information—

  • (i) has been obtained, kept, or disclosed otherwise than in accordance with this Act; or

  • (ii) has not been obtained, accepted, kept, or given, as required by this Act.

(2) Sections 40 and 41 of the Privacy Act 1993, so far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply to any request of a kind referred to in subsection (1)(a).

(3) Parts 8, 9, and 12 of the Privacy Act 1993, so far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply to the making of a complaint under subsection (1) as if the matter to which the complaint relates were an interference with privacy within the meaning of section 66 of that Act.

(4) Nothing in this section limits the jurisdiction of the Privacy Commissioner under the Privacy Act 1993 to investigate any complaint made under Part 8 of that Act.

(1) Subsection (2) applies if an authorised person believes on reasonable grounds that there is a place (the place) in which—

• (a) a gamete, an embryo or a foetus, or being that has been formed by an action described in Schedule 1 is located; or

• (b) any assisted reproductive procedure is performed or any human reproductive research is conducted.

(2) The authorised person may at any reasonable time exercise any of the powers in section 68 reasonably necessary to ascertain all or any of the following matters:

• (a) whether a gamete, an embryo or a foetus, or being that has been formed by an action described in Schedule 1 is, in fact, located in the place:

• (b) whether any assisted reproductive procedure or any human reproductive research is, in fact, performed or conducted in the place:

• (c) whether the performance of any assisted reproductive procedure or the conduct of any human reproductive research—

  • (i) involves a contravention of any of sections 8 to 13:

  • (ii) involves a contravention of section 26:

  • (iii) complies with any regulations made under section 76(1) that regulate any kind of assisted reproductive procedure or human reproductive research:

  • (iv) complies with the requirement to obtain the approval of the ethics committee for the performance of an assisted reproductive procedure or the conduct of human reproductive research:

  • (v) complies with any conditions included in an approval given by an ethics committee.

(1) The powers referred to in section 67, in relation to any place, are the powers to—

• (a) enter the place:

• (b) inspect—

  • (i) any equipment or device believed on reasonable grounds to be used in the place in relation to any assisted reproductive procedure or human reproductive research:

  • (ii) any document in the place believed on reasonable grounds to relate to any assisted reproductive procedure or human reproductive research:

• (c) take or make copies of, or copies of extracts from, any document inspected and, for that purpose,—

  • (i) take possession of and remove the document from the place for any reasonable period:

  • (ii) in the case of a document or information stored otherwise than on paper, take any reasonable steps to reproduce, in usable form, any or all of the information in it:

• (d) search for and seize—

  • (i) any equipment or device referred to in paragraph (b)(i):

  • (ii) an in vitro gamete:

  • (iii) an in vitro embryo or an in vitro foetus:

  • (iv) a document or record (whether in electronic or other form):

• (e) use any force for gaining entry to the place and for breaking open any article or thing that is in the place, being force that is reasonable in the circumstances and applied in a manner that is calculated to avoid adverse effects on any gametes, embryos, or foetuses:

• (f) take photographs, and make drawings or other representations, of any item that may be seized under paragraph (d):

• (g) mark or identify, by any appropriate means, any item that may be seized under paragraph (d):

• (h) require any person appearing to be in charge of the place concerned (or any part of it) to ensure that any item that may be seized under paragraph (d) is not removed or interfered with:

• (i) require any person appearing to be in charge of the place concerned (or any part of it) to answer any question the authorised person may reasonably ask for the purpose of exercising the powers of the authorised person.

(2) An authorised person who enters a place under this section must produce evidence of his or her authorisation—

• (a) on first entering the place:

• (b) whenever subsequently reasonably required to do so by a person appearing to be in charge of the place or any part of the place.

(3) An authorised person who enters a place under this section may be accompanied by any number of persons (including any constable) reasonably necessary to assist him or her with the exercise of his or her powers under this section.

(4) A person who accompanies an authorised person under subsection (3) may, under the direction of the authorised person, exercise each of the powers described in subsection (1)(a) to (g).

(5) This section does not limit the privilege against self-incrimination.

(1) An authorised person may not enter a dwellinghouse under section 68(1)(a), except—

• (a) with the consent of an occupier of the dwellinghouse; or

• (b) with the authority of a search warrant issued under subsection (2).

(2) A District Court Judge, a Justice, or a court Registrar who is not a constable, may, on a written application made on oath by an authorised person, issue a search warrant in the form set out in Schedule 2 in respect of a dwellinghouse if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that in that house—

• (a) an offence against this Act has been or is being committed; or

• (b) there is any gamete, any kind of embryo or foetus, or being that is or may be evidence of the commission of an offence against this Act.

(3) The search warrant authorises the authorised person to whom it is directed to exercise in respect of the dwellinghouse all or any of the powers described in section 68, and the provisions of that section apply to the execution of the warrant.

(4) The Judge, Justice, or court Registrar may issue the warrant unconditionally or subject to any conditions that he or she thinks fit.

(5) The authorised person to whom the search warrant is directed may execute it on 1 occasion within 14 days after the date of its issue.

(1) An authorised person exercising powers under section 68 in respect of any place,—

• (a) if a person appearing to be in charge of the place is present on first entering the place, must identify himself or herself to that person; and

• (b) if asked by the person appearing to be in charge of the place or any part of the place to do so, must produce evidence of his or her identity and evidence of his or her appointment as an authorised person.

(2) If the authorised person executes a search warrant issued under section 69, the authorised person must produce the warrant,—

• (a) on first entering the place specified in the warrant, to the person appearing to be in charge of the place; and

• (b) whenever subsequently required to do so by any person appearing to be in charge of the place or any part of that place.

(1) If the occupier of the place is not present when an authorised person enters a place under section 68(1)(a), the authorised person must leave in a prominent location at the place a written statement of the time and date of the entry, the name of the person, and the address of the office of the Ministry of Health to which inquiries should be made.

(2) If anything is seized under section 68(1)(d), the authorised person concerned must leave in a prominent location at the place, or deliver or send to the occupier within 10 working days after the search, a written inventory of all things seized.

Section 199 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 applies to any property seized by an authorised person under section 68(1)(d), subject to the following provisions:

• (a) an item seized by an authorised person may be retained by the authorised person or the Commissioner of Police pending the trial of the person for the offence in respect of which the item was seized; and

• (b) any item retained under paragraph (a) that is any kind of gamete, embryo, or foetus must receive the expert treatment that is required to preserve it and to avoid any contravention of section 9; and

• (c) the item in question must be returned to the person from whom it was seized,—

  • (i) if no proceedings are taken in respect of an offence to which the item relates, within 6 months after its seizure; or

  • (ii) if proceedings are completed in respect of the offence and no order of forfeiture is made in respect of the item; and

• (d) if any person is convicted of an offence to which the item relates, the court may, if it thinks fit, order that the item be forfeited to the Crown or disposed of as the court directs at the expense of the convicted person, and may order that the person pay any reasonable costs incurred by the authorised person or the Commissioner of Police in retaining the item.

(1) A Customs officer may detain any matter or item that he or she finds in the course of exercising any power of search or examination under the Customs and Excise Act 1996, if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that the matter or item is—

• (a) a gamete, an embryo, or a foetus, or being that is being imported or exported in contravention of section 8(2) or section 9(2); or

• (b) any equipment or device used in relation to that import or export.

(2) If a Customs officer detains any matter or item under subsection (1), he or she must, as soon as practicable, deliver that matter or item into the custody of an authorised person.

(3) Once a matter or item has been delivered under subsection (2),—

• (a) responsibility for that matter or item passes from the Customs officer to the authorised person; and

• (b) section 72 applies to that matter or item as if it had been seized under section 68(1)(d).

(4) The following sections of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 apply, with any necessary modifications, to any gamete, embryo, foetus, or being that is imported or exported in contravention of section 8(2) or section 9(2) as if the gamete, embryo, foetus, or being and any equipment or device used in relation to that import or export were a prohibited import or, as the case requires, a prohibited export within the meaning of that Act:

• (a) section 145 (questioning persons about goods and debt):

• (b) section 147 (evidence of identity and entitlement to travel):

• (c) section 148 (detention of persons questioned about goods or debt):

• (d) section 160 (requisition to produce documents):

• (e) section 161 (further powers in relation to documents).

(5) If a Customs officer requests an authorised person to assist the Customs officer in the exercise of a power under this section or any of the sections applied by subsection (4), the authorised person may exercise the relevant power under the direction of the Customs officer.

No authorised person, or a person requested to assist an authorised person, or a Customs officer who does, or omits to do, an act in pursuance of a function or power conferred on that person by this Act or by the Customs and Excise Act 1996 as applied by section 73 is under civil or criminal liability for that act or omission unless the person acts, or omits to act, in bad faith or without reasonable cause.

(1) Every person commits an offence who—

• (a) intentionally obstructs, hinders, or resists an authorised person, or any person lawfully assisting an authorised person, in the exercise of the authorised person's powers under this Act; or

• (b) intentionally refuses or fails to comply with any lawful requirements of an authorised person under this Act.

(2) A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000.

(1) The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:

• (a) providing for the circumstances and the manner in which, and the conditions subject to which, any kind of assisted reproductive procedure may be performed or any kind of human reproductive research may be conducted, including, without limitation:

  • (i) prescribing requirements for informed consent in relation to the performance of assisted reproductive procedures or the conduct of human reproductive research, not being requirements that are inconsistent with this Act or the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) Regulations 1996:

  • (ii) providing for the use or destruction of in vitro gametes or in vitro embryos, in particular, without limitation, in cases where one party from whom such a gamete or embryo has been obtained or formed withdraws his or her consent to any course of action:

  • (iii) prescribing requirements or conditions for, or imposing restrictions on, the import into, or the export from, New Zealand of in vitro gametes or in vitro embryos, including, without limitation, requirements for the giving of informed consent (not being requirements that are inconsistent with this Act or the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) Regulations 1996) by persons from whom gametes are obtained overseas:

  • (iv) requiring any person approved under section 20 as the person responsible for an activity to keep records of information of a kind provided for by the regulations (not being identifying information) in relation to that activity, and requiring that person to disclose, in the manner provided for by the regulations, that information to the advisory committee or any duly authorised representative of that committee or the Director-General of Health:

  • (v) requiring persons who perform, or who arrange for the performance of, established procedures or any class of health practitioner (within the meaning of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003) to keep records of information of a kind provided for by the regulations (not being identifying information) in relation to established procedures, and requiring those persons and health practitioners to disclose, in the manner provided for by the regulations, that information to the advisory committee or to any duly authorised representative of that committee or to the Director-General of Health:

• (b) prescribing offences in respect of the contravention of, or non-compliance with, any regulations made under paragraph (a) and the amounts of fines that may be imposed in respect of those offences, which fines must not exceed $20,000:

• (c) prescribing the fees to be paid in relation to the taking of any action under Part 3 by the Registrar-General:

• (d) providing for any other matters that are contemplated by, or necessary for giving full effect to, this Act, and for its due administration.

(1A) Regulations under subsection (1)(a)(i) may prescribe requirements (not inconsistent with this Act, the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996, or the Human Tissue Act 2008) for informed consent for collection of gametes, embryos, or both—

• (a) from dead individuals; and

• (b) in connection with, or for the purposes of, the performance of assisted reproductive procedures, the conduct of human reproductive research, or any other lawful use or uses of the gametes, embryos, or both.

(1B) Subsection (1A) does not limit subsection (1)(a)(i) or the power under section 6 to declare procedures or treatments not to be established procedures if they involve the use of gametes or embryos collected from a person, who has since died, who did not consent to the specific use of the gametes or embryos before that person’s death.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) may be made only on the recommendation of the Minister after the Minister has consulted and received advice from the advisory committee and consulted any other person the Minister thinks fit to consult.

(1) An act done by a person as the employee (the employee) of another person (the employer) is, for the purposes of an offence against this Act, to be treated as done by the employer as well as by the employee if—

• (a) the employer approved of the act; or

• (b) the employer knew that the act was to be done or was being done and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

(2) An act done by a person as the agent (the agent) of another person (the principal) is, for the purposes of an offence against this Act, to be treated as done by the principal as well as by the agent if—

• (a) the principal approved of the act; or

• (b) the principal knew that the act was to be done or was being done and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

(3) Whenever a body corporate is convicted of an offence against this Act, a director of the body corporate is to be treated as having committed the same offence if—

• (a) the director approved of the act that constituted the offence; or

• (b) the director knew the offence was to be or was being committed and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

(4) In subsection (3), director includes a person who is concerned in the management of a body corporate.

The Registrar-General may refuse to take any action under this Act for which a fee is prescribed unless the fee has been paid.

(1) Until the expiry of 9 months after the date on which this Act receives the Royal assent, the Director-General of Health is deemed to be the advisory committee for the purposes of this Act.

(2) This section expires, and is taken to be repealed on the date that is 9 months after the date on which this Act receives the Royal assent.

(1) For the purposes of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001, fertility services are deemed to be included in the definition of specified health or disability services in section 4(1) of that Act.

(2) In this section and in sections 81 and 82, fertility services means services performed for the purpose of assisting human reproduction that involve—

• (a) the creation of an in vitro human embryo; or

• (b) the storage, manipulation, or use of an in vitro human gamete or an in vitro human embryo; or

• (c) the use of cells derived from an in vitro human embryo; or

• (d) the implantation in a human being of human gametes or human embryos.

(3) Subsection (1) overrides section 7 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.

(1) During the interim period, the provision of fertility services by a person is deemed to comply with section 9 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001 if the person who provides those services—

• (a) is certified by the Director-General of Health; and

• (b) has been the subject of an audit report completed, for the purposes of the person's accreditation, by an organisation approved under subsection (4); and

• (c) has, within 5 days after the receipt of the most recent report of the kind described in paragraph (b), given the Director-General a copy of the report; and

• (d) complies with any standards approved by the Director-General of Health under section 82.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a person who is accredited by an organisation approved under subsection (4) is deemed to be certified for the purposes of section 26 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.

(3) The provision of fertility services is not in compliance with section 9 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001 unless it is deemed to comply with that section by subsection (1).

(4) The Director-General may approve any organisation to act as auditing agency to accredit a person for the purposes of the interim period if the Director-General is satisfied that the organisation has the expertise and experience to carry out that function.

(5) An organisation approved under subsection (4) may be a body corporate or an association of persons, whether or not that body is incorporated, or any of those persons reside, in New Zealand or overseas.

(6) In this section and in section 82, interim period means the period that commences on the day after the date on which this Act receives the Royal assent and ends immediately before the commencement of the first notice under section 13 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001 that approves standards for fertility services.

(1) During the interim period, the Director-General of Health may,—

• (a) by written notice describing by name the standards concerned, approve standards for providing fertility services; and

• (b) amend or revoke such a notice.

(2) A notice, or the amendment or revocation of a notice, comes into force on the 28th day after the day on which it is published in the Gazette.

(3) A notice and any amendment of a notice, unless sooner revoked, expires at the end of the interim period.

(1) In this section, interim period means the period that commences on the day after the date on which this Act receives the Royal assent and ends on the third anniversary of that day.

(2) During the interim period, the Minister may—

• (a) issue a requirement requiring the ethics committee to treat specified provisions of any document as guidelines issued by the advisory committee for the purposes of this Act; and

• (b) amend or revoke a requirement of that kind.

(3) A requirement, or the amendment or revocation of a requirement, comes into force on the 28th day after the day on which it is published in the Gazette.

(4) A requirement and any amendment of a requirement, unless sooner revoked, expires at the end of the interim period.

(5) The ethics committee must give effect to the current form of every requirement.

(6) Every requirement and any amendment or revocation of the requirement must be published in the Gazette, and the publication of a requirement or an amendment of a requirement must identify the provisions that are to be treated as guidelines but need not set them out.

(1) This section applies to the following documents:

• (a) current notices issued under section 82:

• (b) standards for the time being approved under section 82:

• (c) current requirements issued under section 83:

• (d) provisions required to be treated as guidelines under section 83.

(2) The Director-General of Health must ensure that there are—

• (a) sufficient copies of the documents available for public inspection, free of charge, at the Head Office of the Ministry of Health during normal office hours; and

• (b) sufficient copies of the documents available either for distribution free of charge or for purchase at a reasonable price during normal office hours at places designated by the Director-General of Health.

Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).

(1), (2) Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).

(3) Any application made, before the commencement of this section, under section 96G of the Medicines Act 1981 for the grant of an authorisation in relation to any germ-cell genetic procedure or any cloning procedure must be treated as if this Act had not been enacted; and an authorisation under section 96C or section 96D of that Act granted in respect of such an application has effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).