Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981

The Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 protects the New Zealand Flag and a range of official, Royal, governmental, international, commemorative and other protected names and emblems. For most businesses, the practical issue is not flag etiquette. It is whether your public branding or advertising crosses into protected territory.

The Act is aimed at two common problems. First, using protected symbols, names or words without the right authority. Second, using words, images or claims in a way that is likely to make people think you have official backing, patronage, approval, appointment or some other protected connection.

This means the Act can matter long before a dispute starts. It is relevant when you choose a name, brief a designer, print packaging, launch a website, run a commemorative promotion, or describe your client list and credentials in ads or tender material.

The Act applies broadly to people, associations and businesses. It reaches both incorporated and unincorporated associations in some sections, and it also applies to public use in connection with a business, trade or occupation.

That means it can affect companies, sole traders, charities, incorporated societies, clubs, agencies, online sellers, event organisers and service providers. It is not limited to formal registration steps. Public-facing use can be enough.

The Act also defines emblem broadly. It includes a device, seal, mark, trade mark, badge, symbol, design, logotype or other distinctive sign of identification, and includes representations of those things on flags, banners, signs, printed material and other visual images.

The Act protects several different categories of material. Some are national symbols. Some are Royal or vice-regal emblems. Some are State emblems. Others are specific names and words linked to government, international organisations, military history or preserved statutory protections.

The key point for businesses is that the Act is specific. It does not ban all patriotic branding or all official-looking design. It targets listed symbols, names and words, and uses that are likely to mislead people about protected authority or connection.

Most businesses run into this Act during ordinary commercial activity. The risk often appears when a brand tries to look trusted, official, patriotic or commemorative. That can happen in a name, a logo, a product label, a website banner, a social media ad or a sponsorship campaign.

Common examples include using Government in a trading name, putting the Coat of Arms on packaging, using a crown-like badge on premium goods, claiming to have done work for a ministry when that is not true, or running an Anzac-themed promotion tied to sales.

Another common trap is assuming that trade mark clearance is enough. A mark may still raise issues under this Act even if your team is focused on trade mark availability or design originality.

The Act declares the New Zealand Ensign to be the New Zealand Flag and says the New Zealand Flag is the symbol of the Realm, Government and people of New Zealand. For business purposes, the main operative rule is in section 11.

A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority, they alter the New Zealand Flag by placing any letter, emblem or representation on it. A person also commits an offence if, in or within view of a public place, they use, display, destroy or damage the New Zealand Flag with the intention of dishonouring it.

The section also extends to a flag that so closely resembles the Schedule 1 design that a person is likely to believe it is that design. So a near-copy can still create risk.

Section 12 deals with Royal and vice-regal emblems. It makes unauthorised use an offence where the use is likely to cause a person to believe it is under the authority, sanction, approval, appointment or patronage of the Sovereign or the Governor-General.

The protected material includes representations of the Coat of Arms of the Sovereign or another member of the Royal Family, any Royal crown, Royal coronet, Royal cypher or Royal badge, the Royal Standard, the Sovereign’s personal flag for New Zealand, the Governor-General’s flag, and close lookalikes likely to be taken as those things.

For businesses, the practical issue is not only exact copying. A premium brand, event or charity campaign can still create risk if it uses a close visual imitation in a way that suggests Royal or vice-regal backing.

Section 13 covers State emblems. A person commits an offence if they use a protected representation in a way likely to make people believe the use is under the authority, sanction, approval, appointment or patronage of the Sovereign’s Government, a Minister of the Crown or a government department.

The protected material includes the Coat of Arms of New Zealand, the Seal of New Zealand, any emblem or official stamp of a government department, and close lookalikes likely to be taken as those things.

There are limited carve-outs. The section does not apply where the use is authorised by or under another Act, where there is prior written consent of the Minister, or where an officer of the Crown uses the representation in the course of official duties.

Section 14 is one of the most important business sections. It makes it an offence to form an association under a name that includes certain protected words or statements, and it also makes it an offence to publicly use those words or statements in connection with a business, trade or occupation.

The protected wording includes the word Royal, the word Government, any other word or statement that claims or implies the patronage of the Sovereign, another member of the Royal Family, the Governor-General, the House of Representatives, the Government, a Minister of the Crown or a government department, and wording that claims or implies connection with a society or body incorporated by Royal Charter.

There are exceptions and authorisation pathways. These include express authority under another Act, authority from the relevant officeholder in specified cases, use as part of the full proper name of a place, and use of a genuine surname where it is not adopted to defeat the section.

Section 15 is a practical advertising rule. A person commits an offence if they publish or cause to be published an advertisement likely to make people believe, contrary to the fact, that they have supplied, are supplying, or will supply goods or services to a government department, or have carried out, are carrying out, or will carry out work for one.

The definition of advertisement is broad. It includes written, printed or spoken words, pictorial representations, designs, devices and visual images used to notify availability, explain use, promote the sale of goods or services, or obtain work.

This matters for websites, pitch decks, social media ads, brochures, tender marketing and sales presentations. If you refer to government clients or projects, make sure the statement is true and not overstated.

Section 16 makes it an offence to use the name or emblem of the United Nations, or words incorporating that name or an abbreviation or variation, without the authority of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Act also allows the Minister, after consultation, to prohibit, regulate or control the use of names or emblems of certain other international organisations by notice.

Section 17 allows the use of the word Anzac, and closely resembling words likely to deceive or mislead, to be prohibited, regulated or controlled by Order in Council when used in connection with a business, trade or occupation. A person commits an offence if they use the word in contravention of such an order.

Section 18 protects Returned Services’ Association and Returned Services, and also catches names containing RSA where the use is likely to lead people to believe the association consists of returned servicemen. There are specific exceptions and approval pathways in the Act.

The contents list also confirms a separate section protecting words and emblems relating to the 28th Māori Battalion. If your campaign, product or organisation uses these references, treat them as a legal clearance issue before launch.

The Act includes a section headed Registering authority not to register in certain cases. It also defines registering authority broadly to include, among others, the Registrar of Companies, the Commissioner of Trade Marks, the Commissioner of Patents, the Commissioner of Designs, and registrars responsible for incorporated societies, charitable trusts, unions and other bodies.

For businesses, the practical message is simple. Do not assume that a filing strategy will solve a naming problem. If your proposed name, emblem or mark touches protected material under this Act, check the issue before filing and before public use.

The Act also preserves protections under other enactments and orders listed in Schedule 3. The schedule includes a range of protected names and emblems under other laws, such as Red Cross-related emblems, some local authority coats of arms, Te Papa names, National War Memorial names, TAB-related names, and other preserved marks and institutional names.

That means a brand can miss the main sections of this Act and still run into a preserved statutory protection elsewhere. If your concept borrows public-interest, memorial, institutional or official themes, widen the clearance review.

Build this Act into your normal brand approval process. The cheapest time to fix a problem is before filing, printing or publishing. Once stock is printed or a campaign is live, rebranding costs rise quickly.

Start with the obvious words and symbols. Then test the overall impression. Ask whether an ordinary person could think your business has official authority, sanction, approval, appointment or patronage, or whether your branding uses a protected name or emblem in a way the Act controls.

A simple internal process can reduce risk. Keep a short clearance file for each new name, logo, campaign or product line. Record what was checked, what protected terms or symbols were considered, and whether any approval was needed.

If you use agencies, freelancers or offshore suppliers, make the rules clear in writing. Many problems start when a designer adds an official-looking crest, a patriotic flag treatment or a government-style endorsement line without understanding the legal limits.

The Act received assent on 15 October 1981 and came into force on 1 January 1982. It is in force in its latest version as at 5 April 2026.

The Act contains a general penalty section, but if you need penalty detail you should check the current legislation text directly. The Act also includes procedural and liability points that matter for organisations.

Prosecutions for offences against sections 11 to 15 require the consent of the Attorney-General before a charging document can be filed. The Act also provides for liability of officers of associations in some circumstances, so management should not assume the risk sits only with the entity.