WELLINGTON
The Customhouse, 1 Hinemoa Street, Wellington
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
www.customs.govt.nz
9 March 2026
Ref: OIA 26-111
A. Mosley
By email:
[FYI request #33667 email]
Tēnā koe A. Mosley
Response to your request under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email received on 9 February 2026 to the New Zealand Customs Service
(Customs) in which you made the following request under Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“I would like to request for the branding guidelines for NZ customs vehicles, both (I believe to
be) older branding as displayed on the NZ Customs website and newer branding on Wade
Group website.
Similar requests through FYI for FENZ and NZ Police for this have been made in the past
and have been released. I would believe there should be no reason for this to be withheld.
Finally I would like to request for the the emergency light patterns used on NZ customs
vehicles, as I'm quite curious as the lightbar shown in the 'Running Man Challenge' on the
NZ Customs Youtube channel shows blue LED's being on. However it appears there are also
Orange LED's, it would be great if some sort of diagram or video could be provided to display
all of the different stages and or modes.”
I have set out the response to each of your questions below.
Question one
I would like to request for the branding guidelines for NZ customs vehicles, both (I believe to
be) older branding as displayed on the NZ Customs website and newer branding on Wade
Group website.
Customs does not have branding guidelines specifically for Customs vehicles so this part of your
request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act, in that the document alleged to contain the
information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
However, please find a PDF attachment titled
‘OIA 26-111 – Customs Identity Guidelines Final 2021’.
This document is being released to you in full and contains the Customs Identity Guidelines, which
set out how the Customs brand is applied.
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E: [email address]
W: www.customs.govt.nz
Question two
Finally I would like to request for the the emergency light patterns used on NZ customs
vehicles, as I'm quite curious as the lightbar shown in the 'Running Man Challenge' on the
NZ Customs Youtube channel shows blue LED's being on. However it appears there are also
Orange LED's, it would be great if some sort of diagram or video could be provided to display
all of the different stages and or modes.
Customs vehicles are authorised to use blue beacons when Customs officers are exercising lawful
enforcement powers, including powers to stop vehicles. This authority is recognised in section 114(2)
of the
Land Transport Act 1998, which provides that an enforcement officer may require a driver to
stop by displaying flashing blue lights. In addition, clause 8.5(1)(ab)(i) of the
Land Transport (Road
User) Rule 2004, permits a blue beacon to be fitted to and operated on a vehicle used by a Customs
officer when exercising a statutory power to stop vehicles.
Customs vehicles are fitted with amber warning lights to alert other road users of operational or
roadside activity. Under the
Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Lighting 2004, amber flashing lights are
permitted for non-emergency vehicles used for enforcement, inspection, or safety purposes but do
not grant any emergency driving powers. When operating within ports or other controlled facilities,
amber lights remain the appropriate warning light, and vehicles must comply with the rule when
entering public roads.
You have the right, by way of complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the
Act, to seek an investigation and review of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint
is available online a
t: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or you can phone 0800 802 602.
If you have any queries in relation to this response, please contact the Correspondence, Reviews
and Ministerial Servicing team by email a
t: [email address].
Please note that Customs proactively releases responses to Official Information Act requests on our
website. As such, we may publish this response on our website after we have sent it to you. Your
name and contact details will be removed.
Ngā mihi,
Debbie Kay
Manager, Correspondence, Reviews and Ministerial Servicing
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