Government gives police power to move people on for rough sleeping and begging
Sunday, 22 February 2026
The Government has given police new powers to force people as young as 14 out of public spaces if they are rough sleeping or begging - and send them to prison if they don’t.
The deputy mayor of Wellington has questioned why the policy did not announce funding to curb homelessness at the same time, while a community housing provider chief executive said it was a quick fix to hide homelessness.
The new “move-on orders” would be applied nationwide, aiming to reduce disorderly behaviour in public places by giving police greater power to intervene earlier, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced.
Police will have the power to move on any person rough sleeping, begging or displaying behaviour described as disorderly, disruptive, threatening, intimidating or breaching the peace. It also applied to any person indicating an intent to inhabit a public space or obstructing or impeding someone entering a business.
Read more:
Ministers decide on ‘move on’ powers but keep decision secret
Begging in the suburbs: The spread of Wellington’s ‘homeless’
The law applied to people as young as 14 years old, with penalties including imprisonment for up to three months or a fine of $2000.
Offenders will have to move a reasonable distance from the area for up to 24 hours or leave the area entirely, as specified by police. The move-on orders would be issued in writing, where appropriate.
Dwell Housing Trust’s Elizabeth Lester said the proposed move-on orders acted as a quick fix to push homelessness out of sight, rather than addressing its root causes.
People experiencing homelessness often choose to sleep in the city centre for visibility and a sense of safety, she said, adding she was particularly concerned about the impact on women.
Lester said the Government’s Housing First funding had enabled social service providers to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, but there had not yet been enough time to see meaningful change.
Wellington deputy mayor Ben McNulty posted on Facebook questioning why the policy did not have have funding boosts for frontline services, drug and alcohol rehabilitation or new social housing alongside it.
He said the Wellington City Council funded all of the above initiatives currently but when the Government imposed its rates capping policy, it would be considered a nice to have.
“I’m glad police are getting these powers but it’s ambulance at the bottom of the cliff stuff.”
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said police currently had limited options to respond, particularly when behaviour doesn’t reach the level of offending.
“It means many disruptive, distressing, and potentially harmful acts can occur before officers have any means of intervention. It doesn’t make sense.”
He said New Zealand’s main streets and town centres had been “blighted” by disruption and disturbance.
“Businesses are declining as some bad behaviour goes unchecked. It needs to stop.
“New Zealanders are fair-minded people, and our culture is one where we seek to help those who are in need, but that doesn’t mean we should accept our city centres, particularly our showcase tourist spots, becoming places of intimidation, and dysfunction.'
Mitchell said the change was about public safety and providing police with extra enforcement powers to ensure the public could feel safe.
The Government was committed to fixing the basics in law and order, and building a future where shoppers, visitors, residents and their families can feel safe in their communities, he said.
He said every situation would be different, and police had the expertise to determine what support was required, if any.
“Our police officers are familiar with the locations they work with and already have strong networks and partnerships with social and housing services.”
He said he expected police to work closely with providers as they developed operational guidance for the frontline.
Labour’s Auckland spokesperson, Carmel Sepuloni, said the orders penalised homeless people without addressing the causes of homelessness or offering support to those who need help.
“Slapping fines or threatening prison time on those who can’t afford a safe place to sleep or something to eat is disgraceful.”
Labour’s housing spokesperson, Kieran McAnulty, said the orders only shifted the problem from the CBD to people’s neighbourhoods.
“The Government must explain how moving on a 14-year-old rough sleeper as this policy allows will do anything other than make their situation even more precarious and dangerous.”
Green Party co-leader and Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick said Christopher Luxon’s Government chose to intentionally make homelessness worse, and was now criminalising the problem it had inflamed.
ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar welcomed the move-on orders, saying New Zealanders had a right to feel safe walking down their own main street, but was clear the powers must be used only to target malicious and intimidating behaviour.
Retail NZ said the orders may be a useful tool to “break the cycle” but they were short-term and may just mean moving people on rather than fixing the problem.
The move-on orders have been controversial, first emerging publicly in November when ministers acknowledged they were among the measures considered to address concerns about antisocial behaviour and rising homelessness in city centres, but decisions kept secret.
Homelessness has continued to rise, particularly in Auckland, with a recent count from the National Homelessness Data Project showing the number has more than doubled from 426 to 940 people in the year to September.
Correction: Penalties include imprisonment for up to three months, not two months as reported in an earlier version of this story. (Amended February 22, 2026 at 1.10pm)