Terms and conditions

What you agree to when you use our online services

The Companies Register is administered by the Companies Office, which is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

These terms and conditions set out what we require from you when you use our online services, as well as our commitment to you in providing those services. They help to ensure that the details you provide are kept secure, and that the information we make available to the public is accurate and up to date.

Using the Companies Register

Please read these terms and conditions carefully and make sure you understand them. If, in creating an online services account, you choose to accept them, they will form an agreement between you and MBIE.

Our commitment to you

If you agree to these terms and conditions, we'll exercise all reasonable care and skill to:

  • provide online services that are easy to use, with online help and guidance
  • make these services available 24/7 — excluding maintenance and unexpected outages
  • provide you with telephone and email support from our Business Service Centre during normal business hours — except on public holidays
  • keep all non-public information you've provided to us secure from unauthorised access
  • allow only authorised users to update information you've provided to us
  • ensure the information we provide about our services is kept up to date.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) transparency statement describes the kind of information MBIE gathers to ensure it can effectively:

  • protect people, information, and places
  • ensure regulatory compliance, and
  • detect and prevent criminal offending.

MBIE’s transparency statement Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Disclaimer

MBIE does not accept any responsibility or liability for:

  • the accuracy of information or material on the Companies Register
  • any loss you incur in connection with your use of these services, including any costs and expenses.

Visitors to the Companies Register website (including the register application) should seek professional advice before undertaking any action as a result of information accessed on this website.

Your commitment to us

In accepting these terms and conditions, you agree to:

  • ensure the information you manage on the register is kept accurate and up to date
  • abide by the terms of use governing the RealMe® login service – or any other login service we make available for accessing our services
  • not knowingly or recklessly use, or attempt to use, any of our services for a purpose for which it was not intended, including any unlawful purpose
  • notify the MBIE Business Service Centre immediately if you know, or have reason to believe, that there has been, or is about to be, fraudulent or other unlawful use of any of our services.

Contact us

If you’re an administrator of an organisation's online services account, you also agree to:

  • manage access to our services by users linked to your organisation, by:
    • keeping user information updated
    • closing user accounts when they are no longer being used.
  • manage delegated authorities permitting your organisation to use our services on behalf of others.

Should you authorise another user to manage information on the register on your behalf, you agree to their making changes to details about your organisation, as and when required. In doing so, you also accept that any such actions taken by another user on your behalf, remain your responsibility.

By honouring your commitments you help to protect the integrity and security of:

  • our online services, and
  • the information provided by you and other users.

Failing to do so may result in a breach of security or privacy.

Access to our services — RealMe®

Access to our online services is provided by your RealMe login. This system ensures secure access to all our sites and confirms who you are.

What is RealMe? RealMe®

You are responsible for keeping your RealMe username and password confidential. Any transactions on our sites linked to your RealMe username and password will be considered by us to have been made by you.

Your online services account

There are two account types available on the Companies Register – individual and organisation.

Your online services account provides us with the following information:

  • details about you – for example, your email address
  • services you’ve opted to use
  • organisations you’re linked to, if any
  • details of companies you’re authorised to edit – for example, those for which you're able to file documents
  • whether you’re an administrator for an organisation registered with us
  • whether you’ve been delegated the authority to act on behalf of any other user(s).

If you’re an administrator for an organisation, you can set up accounts for other users linked to your organisation, allowing them to use our services. Any users you add will need to obtain their own RealMe login before they can activate their online services account with us.

Fees and levies

You’re responsible for the payment of fees and levies for the services we provide through your online services account, no matter who uses it. If there's a charge for the service you're using, you'll be advised of the amount owing at the end of the transaction and taken to our payment gateway.

Please refer to our fee schedule to see which online services you’ll need to pay for.

Schedule of fees

Paying by direct debit

We offer a direct debit payment option that allows you to charge to an account, receive an invoice at the end of each month, and pay by direct debit on the 20th of the following month. This option can be selected by an organisation or by an individual user.

If you choose to pay by direct debit, we’ll email you a Direct Debit Authority Form to complete and return.

Credit checks

We may perform a credit check on your organisation (or you, if you’re applying for the direct debit payment option for your own online services account) through a credit reference agency.

We reserve the right to decline any direct debit payment option request, based on the results of a credit reference check, or based on past history of fees payment with MBIE.

Monthly invoices

At the beginning of each month, we’ll email you an invoice detailing any fee-bearing services used during the previous month. These invoices and other notices will be sent to the email address you've given us. We, and anyone to whom we've assigned the amounts you owe us, will assume any invoice or notice sent electronically has been delivered, unless we receive a 'Failed to Deliver' message.

If you don’t receive an invoice by email, a copy of your invoice will be available online. You'll also have access to your transactions through our online fees search facility, or you can download a data file containing the list of transactions.

Incorrect invoices

If you think there is a mistake with your invoice, please call the contact number or email the address displayed on your invoice. Any incorrect fees will be credited to your account. If your query has been received and processed before the 20th of the month, this will reduce the amount to be direct debited. Queries received or processed after the 20th will be credited to you on the following month’s invoice.

Non-payment

If the direct debit payment is unsuccessful, we'll follow up with you to find out why.

  • After a month has passed, we’ll contact you to determine what went wrong and work with you to resolve the problem, ahead of the direct debit run for the following month.
  • After two months, your account will be restricted to the credit card payment option only. We’ll contact you to arrange payment of the due amount.
If payment is still not received

If fees and levies are still not paid, we’ll contact you again to find out why, and may look to cancel the service provided to you. For example, we'll take steps to remove the company you've incorporated from the register. If cancelling the service isn’t possible, we may refer the matter to a debt collection agency. You may also be required to pay any costs incurred in recovering the fees you owe us.

Paying by credit or debit card

We accept payment by credit or debit card. We offer secure credit and debit card transactions using 256-bit SSL encryption technology. Your transaction is validated in real time and confirmed immediately. A tax invoice will be emailed to you that you are able to print for your own records if you wish.

We accept the following credit and debit cards:

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Diners.

Paying by internet banking

We also offer the option to pay by internet banking, which allows you to make a direct credit payment from your bank account. This option is available only to individuals who agree to the Windcave terms and conditions prior to authorising the payment.

Windcave terms and conditions Windcave

Unlawful access or use of our services

If you knowingly access or use, or attempt to access or use (or allow an unauthorised person to access or use), any of our services for an unlawful purpose (including fraud or attempted fraud or hacking or attempted hacking), you'll be liable to pay any party (or MBIE on its behalf) the amount of the loss incurred by them, caused directly or indirectly by your unlawful actions.

This clause is not intended to confer benefits enforceable by third parties under the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 New Zealand Legislation

Suspension of your online services account

For the protection of users, other people, or MBIE itself, we may suspend or disable your online services account without notice, if we consider that:

  • disabling your online services account is necessary to maintain the integrity or security of our services or any organisation or person
  • your online services account is being misused or has otherwise been compromised
  • you breach these terms and conditions.

Where appropriate, we’ll notify you if we suspend or disable your online services account, as soon as practicable after doing so.

Privacy

Our privacy statement applies to the personal information we collect about you.

By registering for an online services account and agreeing to these terms and conditions, you'll be regarded as having also agreed to the terms of that privacy statement. Please make sure you've read the privacy statement before agreeing to our terms and conditions.

Privacy statement

Public information

The Companies Register is a public register, and we are obliged to make certain information supplied by you available to the public. This includes director and shareholder names and addresses, which may appear when searched on the internet.

Email address privacy

We won't disclose your email address to third parties, but we may use it to update you with information about our services.

Displaying information not required by the Companies Act 1993

Companies can choose to display information on the Companies Register beyond that which is required by the Companies Act. This information is referred to as ‘Additional NZBN Information’ and can include a company’s trading name, website address, and other contact details.

If you provide this information, it will be made publicly available on the Companies Register and the New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) Register. By providing this type of information on the Companies Register, you agree, and understand, that:

  • no such information or material will infringe any person’s or organisation's intellectual property (including copyright and trade marks)
  • no defamatory, offensive or inappropriate material will be displayed
  • you are solely responsible for the information submitted (including hyperlinks to other websites) and must ensure that it complies with all legal requirements
  • in the event that incorrect, false, defamatory, offensive or inappropriate information or material is displayed on the register, or a security breach of any kind occurs, you will notify us immediately
  • MBIE is not liable or responsible for any information provided and displayed by you or other users of the Companies Office services
  • the display of any additional information on the Companies Register does not constitute MBIE's endorsement of any product or service.

Dispute resolution

Should there be any dispute between you and MBIE over our terms and conditions, or any of our services, please call the MBIE Business Service Centre.

Both sides should make all reasonable efforts, in good faith, to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

However, if you and our Business Service Centre cannot reach an agreement, you can ask to have the matter escalated to the appropriate MBIE representative.

Contact us

If the matter has still not been resolved to your satisfaction, you may wish to take further action, such as making a complaint to the Ombudsman, or commencing legal proceedings.

Office of the Ombudsman

Invalidity or unenforceability

If any of these terms and conditions, or their application to any person or circumstances is, to any extent, held to be invalid or unenforceable:

  • the remainder of these terms and conditions, or the application of such terms and conditions to any other person or circumstances, shall not be affected
  • each term shall be valid and enforceable to the extent permitted by law
  • any invalid or unenforceable term will be deemed to reflect, as nearly as possible, its original intention (as determined from this website).

Amendments to terms and conditions, and privacy statement

We may revise these terms and conditions, and the privacy statement, from time to time – and will advise you of any changes on this website. Your continued use of your online services account with us indicates your acceptance of any changes.

Privacy statement

Contact us

If you have any questions about our terms and conditions, please contact the MBIE Business Service Centre.

Contact us

Last updated: 18 December 2019

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