Space Law in New Zealand: The Outer Space Act, Payload Permits and Ground Station Rules
Space law in New Zealand explained: the 2017 Outer Space Act, launch licences, payload permits, the national interest test and the 2025 ground station rules.
New Zealand is a small country with an outsized place in the launch business. Rocket Lab’s Electron flies from the Māhia Peninsula, which makes New Zealand a launching State for a steady stream of foreign satellites, and in February 2026 the Government raised the number of launches its environmental rules allow from 100 to 1,000.
This guide explains space law in New Zealand as of 10 November 2026, using the Act as published on the New Zealand Legislation website (shown as at 29 July 2025, so unamended since), the 2025 Amendment Act and Government releases. Section numbers are from the 2017 Act unless I say otherwise.
The Act and what it is for
The Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017 received assent on 10 July 2017 and came into force on 21 December 2017. It is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), where the New Zealand Space Agency sits, and the decision maker is the Minister responsible for space.
Section 3 lists its purposes, including facilitating a safe and secure space industry, implementing Outer Space Treaty obligations and managing “any potential or actual liability that may arise from the space industry”. That last purpose explains much of the design.
The Act also gives effect to the Technology Safeguards Agreement signed with the United States on 16 June 2016, which protects US launch technology used in New Zealand. That is why sections 63 and 64 allow the Minister to declare segregated areas for US launch vehicles and debris protection areas.
The licences and permits
The Act creates five core authorisations, and since 2025 a sixth for ground stations.
A launch licence under section 7 is needed to launch a launch vehicle from a launch facility in New Zealand. Under section 9(1) the Minister may grant it only if satisfied that the applicant is technically capable of conducting a safe launch, has an orbital debris mitigation plan meeting the prescribed requirements, and that the launch is consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations. Under section 9(2) the Minister may still decline if the launch is not in the national interest or the applicant is not a fit and proper person. A licence lasts up to five years and can be renewed.
A payload permit under section 15 is needed to launch a payload from New Zealand or to procure its launch. The criteria in section 17 mirror those for launch licences, including the debris plan. Only one permit is needed per payload, and under section 10 a launch licensee must have, or be satisfied on reasonable grounds that someone has, a payload permit for each payload it carries.
New Zealand nationals launching from outside New Zealand need an overseas launch licence, and those procuring a launch abroad need an overseas payload permit, under sections 23 and 31. Like France, New Zealand follows its own operators abroad, so a Christchurch company buying a ride on a foreign rocket needs New Zealand permission as well as whatever the launch State requires.
A facility licence under section 38 is needed to operate a launch facility, and a high-altitude licence under section 45 is needed to launch a high-altitude vehicle, meaning one that flies above flight level 600 or controlled airspace, whichever is higher.
Under the fit and proper person test in section 52, the Minister may consider compliance history, aerospace experience, knowledge of the rules and convictions in any court.
Debris plans and the national interest test
The detail is in the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities (Licences and Permits) Regulations 2017. Regulation 13 requires a debris plan to identify the standards followed, any independent assessment and the measures taken on debris release, break-ups, collisions and end-of-life disposal. Unlike France, New Zealand does not set a numerical deorbit deadline in the regulations. Operators usually point to the international guidelines described in our explainer on the space debris mitigation guidelines.
The national interest test is where New Zealand is unusual. A Cabinet paper of 25 November 2019, Approach to payload assessments under the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act, set out four categories of payload the Government considers not in the national interest: payloads that contribute to nuclear weapons programmes or capabilities; payloads intended to harm, interfere with or destroy other spacecraft or systems on Earth; payloads supporting defence, security or intelligence operations contrary to government policy; and payloads likely to cause serious or irreversible environmental harm. Officials look at a payload’s intended end use, not only its technology.
An MBIE briefing of 14 March 2024 recorded that Cabinet had decided in April 2023 against a blanket ban on national security payloads, preferring case-by-case assessment, and that no application had yet needed a full national interest assessment.
Liability, insurance and indemnities
New Zealand chose a different model from Australia and France. There is no statutory cap on the operator’s exposure and no State guarantee above it. Instead the Act lets the Minister shift risk back to the operator through licence conditions.
For a launch licence, section 10(2) requires the licence to specify the type and amount of insurance, and section 10(3) allows the Minister to require the licensee to indemnify the Crown against claims under the Liability Convention, the Outer Space Treaty or other international law. Payload permits and the other authorisations carry similar powers, and these obligations survive expiry or revocation.
The practical result is that New Zealand, as launching State, bears the international liability, and the operator bears it back to New Zealand to whatever extent the licence conditions say. Our explainer on space law in Australia shows the alternative: a fixed insurance requirement with a Commonwealth backstop of up to A$3 billion.
Offences and penalties
Launching without a launch licence or overseas launch licence, where the person knows or ought to know one is needed, is an offence under section 65, punishable for an individual by up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to NZ$50,000 or both, and for a company by a fine of up to NZ$250,000. The same penalties apply to unpermitted payloads, unlicensed launch facilities and high-altitude launches, and breaches of licence conditions (sections 66 to 70).
Intentionally interfering with a launch vehicle, payload, debris or technical data for a commercial purpose carries up to five years’ imprisonment under section 72(3). Under section 76 a court can also order payment of up to three times any commercial gain and, for unlicensed launches and payloads, an indemnity to the Crown.
The 2025 ground station regime
The most significant change since 2017 came in July 2025. The Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Amendment Act 2025 was introduced on 22 July and passed all stages under urgency by midday on 23 July with support from all parties, RNZ reported. It received assent on 25 July and came into force on 29 July 2025.
It adds a new subpart 6A on ground-based space infrastructure. Under new section 49A, nobody may operate ground infrastructure in New Zealand to communicate with, control, track or identify space objects without a GBSI activity authorisation. Personal, recreational, astronomy and emergency uses are excluded, as are satellite TV dishes and phones. Applicants must declare their protective security arrangements and their due diligence on partners, meaning the customers for whom the station is operated. The Minister may refuse an authorisation that is not in the national interest, after weighing economic benefits against national security, public safety and international relations risks.
The enforcement powers are strong. Under new section 83A the Minister can order a person to dispose of ground infrastructure posing a national security or other national interest risk that cannot be managed any other way. Under section 83B the Minister can direct an electricity retailer or internet provider to stop supplying the premises, and under section 83C the District Court can order forfeiture to the Crown. Operating without authorisation carries the same penalties as an unlicensed launch.
Existing operators were deemed to hold transitional authorisations until the earlier of the first regulations or 29 July 2026. In announcing the law in July 2025, Space Minister Judith Collins said it “enhances New Zealand’s national security with immediate effect”.
New Zealand and international law
New Zealand signed the Artemis Accords on 31 May 2021 in Wellington, becoming the 11th signatory, according to NASA. Our explainer on the Artemis Accords covers what that commits it to.
On 12 February 2026 the Government announced that the number of launches permitted under the rules on launch debris in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf would rise from 100, set in 2017, to 1,000. Without the change, every launch after the cap would have needed a fully notified marine consent, a reminder that the space statute is not the only law a launch operator must satisfy.
What I would watch
The first is how the ground station regime works in practice now that transitional authorisations have run out. The first refusal, or the first disposal order, will show how broadly MBIE reads “national interest”, and whether foreign-owned ground station networks can keep operating in New Zealand on the same terms.
The second is whether Parliament reviews the 2025 Amendment Act. Labour supported the urgency but said the law should go to a select committee after enactment, and a law with powers to cut off electricity and internet to private premises deserves that scrutiny.
The third is liability. With launches allowed to rise tenfold, the absence of a statutory cap or Crown backstop will matter more. If operators start pricing that risk into launch contracts, I expect pressure for a clearer model along Australian or French lines.
Questions people actually ask
What is the main space law in New Zealand?
The Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017, in force since 21 December 2017. It requires licences for launches from New Zealand, launch facilities and high-altitude vehicles, payload permits, and overseas licences and permits for New Zealand nationals launching abroad.
Who regulates space activities in New Zealand?
The Minister responsible for space decides applications, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, through the New Zealand Space Agency, administers the Act.
Do you need a permit to launch a satellite from New Zealand?
Yes. A payload permit under section 15 is required to launch a payload from New Zealand or to procure its launch, and the launch provider needs a launch licence. Both require an orbital debris mitigation plan and can be refused if the activity is not in the national interest.
What payloads will New Zealand not allow?
Under a 2019 Cabinet policy, payloads that contribute to nuclear weapons programmes, are intended to harm or interfere with other spacecraft, support defence or intelligence operations contrary to government policy, or are likely to cause serious or irreversible environmental harm are treated as not in the national interest.
What is the penalty for launching without a licence in New Zealand?
Under section 65, up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to NZ$50,000 or both for an individual, and a fine of up to NZ$250,000 for a company. A court can also order payment of up to three times any commercial gain.
What did the 2025 amendment to New Zealand's space law change?
The Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Amendment Act 2025, in force since 29 July 2025, requires authorisation to operate ground stations that communicate with, control or track space objects, and gives the Minister power to order disposal of risky infrastructure and to cut its power and internet supply.
Anuj KumarEditor-in-Chief
Anuj Kumar is the founder of Legal Desire Media and publishes Fashion Law Journal and Space Law Journal.
Space Law Journal is a joint initiative of Legal Desire Media and Odyogeek. Spotted something we got wrong, or want to respond? Write to space@legaldesire.com.
