STOP PRESS - New laws targeting stalking and harassment on the horizon
On 10 December 2024, the Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill (Bill) passed its first reading in Parliament. The Bill aims to create a new Crimes Act 1961 offence of stalking and harassment, repealing the existing offence of criminal harassment in the Harassment Act 1997. This legislation is part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring there are 20,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime by 2029.
Proposed new offence of stalking and harassment under the Crimes Act 1961
The Bill proposes to create a new stalking and harassment offence, in which an offender would be liable to imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years. The new offence will have two elements that ought to be satisfied for a conviction. First, the perpetrator will need to have engaged in a pattern of behaviour against the victim, which includes doing at least 3 “specified acts” to the victim in a 12-month period. Second, the perpetrator would need to know that their behaviour was likely to cause fear or distress to the victim.
The Bill provides a list of the types of behaviours that may be a “specified act”. These include watching, following or loitering near the victim, tracking, recording or communicating with the victim, and damaging or interfering with taonga or property (including pets) that the victim has an interest in (whether or not the perpetrator has an interest in them). It also includes damaging or undermining the victim’s reputation, opportunities or relationships, and acting in any way that would cause fear or distress to a reasonable person.
The Bill also recognises that stalking and harassment may not only be done directly by the perpetrator, providing that “specified acts” may be done directly or indirectly to the victim, for example, through any third-party individual, institution or organisation.
The Bill also recognises the advances in technology, and prevalence of it as a means to stalk and harass, providing that a specified act “may be done by or through any means (for example, tracking devices, digital applications, spyware, drones, or the use of artificial intelligence”.
A police notification system would also be established by the Bill, allowing the New Zealand Police to notify stalkers that their behaviour is causing the victim fear or distress, and that if the behaviour continues, they will liable to be charged with the offence. Such notification would not, however, be required to prosecute the offence. The Bill would introduce a rebuttable presumption that an individual who has received such a notice, knew that any specified acts they did to the complainant after receiving the notice may amount to a pattern of behaviour directed at the complainant, and that the pattern is likely to cause fear or distress to the complainant.
Various other supporting amendments
There are also a number of other supporting amendments that the Bill seeks to make, including amending the Sentencing Act 2002 to introduce two new aggravating factors to more effectively recognise the unique characteristics of stalking and provide better protection for victims. The Bill would also allow the court to make new orders when sentencing an offender convicted of the new offence, including restraining orders under the Harassment Act 1997 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. This aims at providing victims with greater support, by reducing reliance on the civil system to seek such remedies in addition to the criminal trial.
Further, the Bill would amend the Family Violence Act 2018 to clarify that stalking can be a form of family violence. It would also amend the Arms Act 1983 so that a person convicted of the new offence within the last 10 years will be disqualified from holding a firearms licence. The Evidence Act 2006 would also be amended to prevent a defendant charged with the new offence from personally cross-examining the alleged victim.
If an individual is charged with this offence, it would be a defence if they prove that they engaged in their behaviour for a lawful purpose, with a reasonable excuse, or in the public interest.
Concluding remarks
In our view, the proposed new laws are a welcome development in strengthening the protection of individuals who are the victims of stalking and harassment. This is particularly so in an age where stalking and harassment by indirect means, such as social media, or using other people or organisations to stalk or harass a victim, is prevalent.
Having passed its first reading, the Bill has been referred for consultation to the Justice Committee, whose report is due on 10 June 2025. You can view the entire Bill here.
If you require any advice or assistance regarding such matters, please contact us.
