Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996

It's provisions include:

• prohibiting the import, manufacture, sale or export of such substances except as allowed under the Regulations (Section 6)
• allowing exemptions for essential uses, such as the import of CFCs for meter dose inhalers for asthma and related conditions (sections 8 and 9)
• allowing the Minister for the Environment to require that people handling ozone-depleting substances develop codes of practice and/or know their obligations under the Act and have sufficient knowledge to be able to fulfil them (sections 10 to 12)
• making it an offence to breach the above prohibition or to release controlled substances knowingly during installation, servicing, operating or dismantling equipment (Section 13(f))
• enabling the making of regulations to control ozone-depleting substances (Part 3).

The Act requires the Minister for the Environment to prepare an annual report on the operation of the Act and present it to Parliament.

Read the annual reports for:

• 2018
• 2017 [New Zealand Parliament, Pāremata Aotearoa website]
• 2016 [New Zealand Parliament, Pāremata Aotearoa website].

The Environmental Protection Authority is responsible for enforcing the legislation, and managing the permit system for imports and exports, while the Ministry for the Environment has overall responsibility for policy.

The Ozone Layer Protection Regulations contain the rules relating to specific substances. Most of the controls are on importing bulk substances. The regulations also prohibit the import of some goods containing ozone-depleting substances.

Important features of the regulations are:

• a full list of substances which are controlled
• prohibition on the import or export in bulk and the manufacture of most controlled substances
• prohibition on the import or export of hydrofluorocarbons except under a permit
• provision for the import of methyl bromide under permit for quarantine and preshipment purposes
• prohibition on the import of certain items containing ozone-depleting substances, including fire extinguishers containing any controlled substances
• details of exemptions that can be made for “essential uses”.

Information on applying for import or export permits for ozone-depleting substances is available at Ozone-depleting substances [Environmental Protection Authority website].

New Zealand’s obligations under the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer are implemented through the Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996 and the Ozone Layer Protection Regulations 1996.

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer