NAIT legislation
The NAIT legislation provides the legal authority to mandate and establish the NAIT scheme. The legislation comprises three elements, which all work together to implement the NAIT scheme.
The NAIT Act
The National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Act sets out, at a high level, the obligations participants in the NAIT scheme must meet, for example, registering as a person in charge of animals. It also sets up a framework for participants to access data, recover costs and enforce obligations.
NAIT regulations
The Ministry for Primary Industries is responsible for the Cabinet-based processes required to implement the NAIT scheme, specifically, the NAIT Act and regulations - in consultation with NAIT Ltd.
The regulations cover the mechanics and generic procedures of meeting and carrying out the requirements of the NAIT Act. For example, they cover the information that needs to be supplied when registering as a person in charge of animals.
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) released a discussion document on proposed regulations for public consultation in May 2011. The regulations have been passed and will come into effect by 1 July 2012. They can be found on the New Zealand Legislation website or by clicking on the headlines below:
NAIT Information System Access Panel Regulations
- These regulations, which came into force on 10 January 2013, establish the NAIT Information System Access Panel.
NAIT Infringement Offences Regulations
- These regulations, which came into force on 10 January 2013, specify offences against the NAIT Act and regulations that are infringement offences, prescribe infringement fees, and the form of infringement notices.
Obligations and exemptions regulations
- Provide the detail of the obligations and exemptions necessary to enable the NAIT system to work. They came into effect on 1 July 2012.
- Impose levies on owners of animals covered by the NAIT scheme. The levy types are tag, slaughter, and impractical to tag. They came into effect on 28 June 2012. The rates for the levies were notified in the Gazette published on 14 June 2012.
- Prescribe the fees payable, and the forms to be used, for an application for accreditation for an entity as an information provider or as an entity dealing with NAIT animals, and the fees for applying for access to NAIT data. They came into effect on 1 July 2012.
NAIT standards, policies and rules
The NAIT Act authorises NAIT Ltd to issues standards, policies and rules necessary for the operation of the NAIT scheme, for example, standards for identification devices (RFID ear tags) and for individuals or organisations to be accredited to provide information to NAIT on behalf of farmers.
The NAIT Organisation
From 1 June 2013 the Minister for Primary Indsutries designated NAIT Ltd as the NAIT organisation, responsible for carrying out the functions and duties associated with the NAIT scheme.
