New legislation to deter foreign interference and protect New Zealand's national interests and national security will be in place for operators of ground-based space infrastructure (GBSI) by July, Space Minister Judith Collins said today.

"As I announced last year, we're taking action to support New Zealand's interest in the safe, secure and responsible use of space and stop any attempts by foreign entities that do not share our values or interests," Ms Collins says.

"A new regulatory regime will start in July to deter foreign interference in New Zealand's infrastructure that carry out tracking and control of spacecraft, space surveillance and the transfer of data to and from spacecraft.

"During the past five years there have been several deceptive efforts by foreign actors to establish and/or use GBSI in New Zealand to harm our national security.

"They have deliberately disguised their affiliations to foreign militaries and mis-represented their intentions.

"To date these risks have been managed through non-regulatory measures, including relying on the goodwill of GBSI operators. These measures are no longer enough.

"The introduction of this new regime will serve as a deterrent. It sends a very clear message that we take our national security seriously, and we will act if we suspect that it is under threat."

The regime will be rolled out in two stages, with some measures to stop malicious activity available as soon as the legislation comes into effect in July.

Following this, regulations will be put in place setting out detailed requirements for GBSI registration, including for protective security and due diligence systems which in-scope GBSI operators will need to implement. Once the new regulations are in place later this year, there will be a transition period until 1 March 2026 for operators to implement the necessary systems for successful registration.

"The regime will apply to all in-scope operators in New Zealand, including those operating the infrastructure established prior to the regime coming into effect," Ms Collins says.

"It will be an offence to ignore the requirements of the regulatory regime, and could lead to the seizure of equipment, a $50,000 fine and/or up to one year in jail for an individual, and a fine up to $250,000 for an entity."

The regulatory regime targets the following GBSI activities and will apply to existing operators in New Zealand:

Telemetry, tracking and control (including capability that could degrade or disrupt satellite operations) of spacecraft (including, for example, geodetic infrastructure);

space surveillance and identification of spacecraft; and

satellite data reception.

Widespread consumer products such as satellite telephones, satellite television or internet receiving dishes will be excluded.

MBIE will act as the regulator of the regime, with the Minister for Space as the decision maker.

The regulatory regime will be included in an Outer Space High Altitude Activities Amendment Bill.