Legislation, Ministers & Delegated Powers

The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) is a regulatory unit within LINZ tasked with the administration of the following New Zealand legislation:

• the Overseas Investment Act 2005
• the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005, and
• and sections 56 to 57J of the Fisheries Act 1996.

The Act came into force on 25 August 2005. The Minister of Finance is responsible for the Act, and Treasury is responsible for policy advice relating to this Act. The Minister of Finance has designated the OIO as the regulator.

Powers for determining consent

The relevant Ministers generally make consent decisions after considering a recommendation made by the OIO. However, in certain circumstances, the OIO makes consent decisions under delegation from the Ministers.

Application type	Relevant Minister(s)	Delegation
Sensitive land applications	Minister of Finance and Minister for Land Information	Many consent decisions delegated. See the OIO Guide to Sensitive Land and/or the Designation and Delegation Letter below for more detail.
Significant business assets applications (not including sensitive land)	Minister of Finance	All consent decisions delegated. See the Designation and Delegation Letter below for more detail.
Fishing quota applications	Minister of Finance and Minister of Fisheries	No delegations. The Ministers make all decisions.

The current Designation and Delegation Letter - 22 April 2009 (pdf 1.1MB) contains information on the functions and powers under the Act and the Regulations that have been delegated by the Minister of Finance and Minister for Land Information to the OIO.

The Minister of Finance's current Directive Letter - 31 August 2009 (pdf 2MB) contains information on the government’s general policy approach and other matters, including matters relating to the OIO’s functions, powers and duties as regulator.

The Minister of Finance’s Ministerial Directive Letter - Amendment 21 December 2009 (pdf 0.3MB), amends the Directive letter – 31 August 2009 (pdf 2MB) by directing the OIO to provide recommendations to the relevant Minister or Ministers when the OIO provides advice to them on how an application for consent should be determined. The additional direction comes into effect on 26 January 2010 and is in addition to the directions in the 31 August 2009 Directive Letter.

Other powers

The OIO's powers and functions also include:

• receiving and processing applications
• consulting with government departments and other agencies as appropriate
• providing information about overseas investment to applicants and the public generally
• monitoring approved applications for compliance with any required conditions of consent
• enforcing breaches of the Act and the relevant provisions of the Fisheries Act.

Archived Directive, Designation & Delegation letters

• Ministerial Directive Letter (pdf 100KB) - 31 October 2007
• Designation and Delegation Letter (pdf 1.1MB) - 12 December 2007
• Designation and Delegation Letter (pdf 31KB) - 24 August 2005
• Ministerial Directive Letter (pdf 18KB) - 1 August 2005
• Ministerial Directive Letter (pdf 63KB) - 6 July 2000