Products and equipment you can't use in New Zealand

It’s illegal to buy or use some products in NZ.

Why products are prohibited

If a product causes interference to other products or services — for example, if it interferes with radio signals — it will be listed as prohibited equipment.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment release Prohibition Gazette Notices, which give details of prohibited equipment. These notices stop certain products from being:

  • installed
  • used
  • bought or sold
  • imported
  • distributed, or
  • manufactured.

Currently prohibited products

It’s important to know what products you can and can’t use in New Zealand before you try to buy, import, or use them here.

There are a number of prohibition notices in place at the moment. They cover products like:

  • animal tracking and training devices
  • radio jammer equipment
  • decorative lighting
  • radio microphones
  • unrestricted two-way radios (more information is available in this PDF brochure [PDF, 576 KB])
  • vehicular short-range radar operating in the 22.000 – 26.625 GHz frequency range.

If you're thinking of buying any products like these — like Garmin dog tracking collars, for example — read the details of the prohibition notices before you do. You could be fined or convicted if you're found to be using a prohibited product.

For the full details of products that are prohibited in New Zealand, see the pages:

More Prohibition Notices will be released if other products are found to pose a risk to the radio spectrum.