Police diversion in New Zealand, who gets it, how to ask and what it means for your record

Last updated 4 July 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. If you are facing a charge, talk to a lawyer, the duty lawyer at court is free.

A first criminal charge changes how you sleep. The good news most people find out too late is that New Zealand has a formal way for a first, low-level offence to end without a conviction. The Police Adult Diversion Scheme lets you take responsibility, put things right, and walk away with the charge dismissed. This guide explains what the current police policy actually says, which is often quite different from what people assume, and how to give yourself the best chance.

What diversion is

Diversion is an agreement with police. You accept responsibility for the offence and complete agreed conditions, and in return the police prosecutor notifies the court, and the judge must dismiss the charge under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. A dismissal that way counts as an acquittal. No conviction is recorded, ever.

The decision sits with the Police Prosecution Service, the police lawyers who run criminal cases in the District Court, not with the officer who charged you. It is discretionary, and it has become rarer, Ministry of Justice court data shows about 3,000 people were diverted in 2022, roughly half the number of 2015. Diversion still happens every week in every District Court, but it is not handed out automatically, which makes asking properly matter more than it used to.

Who qualifies

The core profile is a first offence at the lower end of seriousness, where you accept full responsibility for what the summary of facts says. The summary of facts is the police document describing what you did, and it pays to read it carefully, because accepting diversion means accepting that version of events. If something in it is wrong, your lawyer can ask the prosecutor to amend it before you agree to anything.

Accepting responsibility means admitting the offence and showing genuine remorse. It does not mean pleading guilty. The police policy is explicit that a guilty plea, entered or signalled, must be neither a prerequisite for diversion nor a bar to it. Even someone who pleaded not guilty and later decided to own what happened can still be considered.

Two other things feed the decision. The victim’s views are weighed, along with the views of the officer in charge of the case, so the call is never only about you. And a past record is not the absolute bar people assume, the policy allows diversion for someone with a previous diversion, past convictions or Youth Court history in some circumstances, although a prior diversion for similar offending counts against you.

What is excluded or restricted

Serious offending is out, and so are a few specific categories, but the list is narrower and more nuanced than most people expect.

• Drink driving and similar traffic offences. Any offence carrying a mandatory minimum disqualification, excess breath alcohol, driving while disqualified, sustained loss of traction, cannot be diverted, because diversion would sidestep the disqualification Parliament made compulsory. Careless driving causing injury or death and patterns of demerit offending are also out. Our drink driving guide covers what you can do instead.
• Breaches of court orders. Protection orders, restraining orders and name suppression breaches are not diverted.
• Family violence, restricted but not banned. The policy allows diversion for low-level family violence events, but not where the event is part of a continuing pattern, and assault against a person in a family relationship will only infrequently qualify.
• Drug offences, more open than assumed. Diversion may be considered even for class A and B drug offences where the amount is low-level and clearly for personal use, usually with health-centred conditions attached. A minor drug charge does not automatically rule you out.

Offending against police or emergency staff is treated as an aggravating factor rather than an automatic exclusion. If your charge sits anywhere near these lines, that is exactly when a lawyer’s advocacy earns its keep.

How to ask for diversion

A prosecutor reviews every eligible file for diversion, so in theory you do not need to apply. In practice, marginal cases are won by people who ask and who put their circumstances in front of the decision-maker properly.

1. Before court, you can politely ask the officer handling your case whether diversion is being considered.
2. At your first appearance, find the duty lawyer before your case is called. They can speak to the prosecutor at the front of the courtroom before you are ever asked for a plea, and will usually have the case stood down or adjourned while diversion is assessed.
3. Make your circumstances known. Work, study, family responsibilities, health, what led to that night, what you have done since, an apology already written, counselling already started. The prosecutor weighing your file cannot consider what nobody told them.

The interview and the conditions

If your file passes the first look, you will be invited to a diversion interview with a diversion officer. It is a conversation, not an interrogation, they go through what happened, your circumstances, and what conditions would put things right. The offer is made after the interview, and you sign a written diversion agreement recording the conditions. You can withdraw at any point before your next court appearance and defend the charge instead, so agreeing to the interview costs you nothing.

Typical conditions under the current policy are a written apology, reparation to put right any loss or damage, counselling or a course aimed at whatever contributed to the offending, community work, or a restorative justice process. There is no scheme fee, but the money side is real, you pay any course fees yourself, and reparation must be paid in full at least three days before your next court appearance. Conditions are set to be completed by that appearance, typically a few weeks away, and the timetable can be extended if you are making genuine progress.

What it means for your record

Once police confirm you completed the conditions, the charge is dismissed and you are treated as acquitted. The Ministry of Justice is explicit that police diversions do not appear on your criminal record. Job applications, insurance forms and visa forms that ask “have you ever been convicted” can honestly be answered no. The Clean Slate scheme never comes into it, because there is nothing to conceal.

Two honest caveats. Police keep their own record of the diversion in their national database, and it can be disclosed through police vetting for certain roles, particularly work with children, national security roles and some occupational licences. And a question worded “have you ever been charged with an offence” is different from a conviction question, answer that one truthfully too.

Te Pae Oranga panels

Te Pae Oranga is a related route most guides skip. Instead of charging you at all, police can refer low-level offending to an iwi community panel, held at a marae or community venue, where you meet panel members, take responsibility, and agree a plan to put things right. Complete the plan and no further action is taken, nothing goes to court. The panels run in more than twenty locations around the country under 23 iwi partnerships, are open to people of all ethnicities, and are for adults 18 and over. The scheme can also be used as a pathway within diversion after a charge has been laid. If police offer you Te Pae Oranga, it is generally a better offer than a courtroom.

If police say no

You do not have to accept the first answer. The diversion policy gives you a formal right to request a review, in writing or verbally, of a decision not to offer diversion, or of conditions you think are unfair. The review is done by a prosecutor not involved in the original decision, or by the District Prosecution Manager. A short written submission from a lawyer setting out your circumstances and pointing to the policy is often all it takes, and it is worth doing before considering anything else.

If diversion is finally refused and the charge proceeds, a court can still discharge you without conviction under section 106 of the Sentencing Act 2002 where the consequences of a conviction would be out of all proportion to the offence. That is a genuinely different and harder path, and one to walk with a lawyer, not alone.

Common questions

Is diversion a conviction

No. Completing diversion ends with the charge dismissed, which the law treats as an acquittal. You were charged but never convicted.

Does diversion show on my criminal record

No. The Ministry of Justice lists police diversions among the things that do not appear on a criminal record. Police keep their own internal record, which can surface in police vetting for roles like the children’s workforce, and which they will consider if you ever seek diversion again.

How much does diversion cost

There is no fee for the scheme itself. You pay reparation if any is owed, in full at least three days before your next court appearance, and the cost of any course or counselling that forms part of your conditions.

Can I get diversion twice

Usually it is once. But the policy does allow diversion for someone with a previous diversion in some circumstances, especially where the earlier matter was different in kind or long ago. A second diversion for similar offending is rare.

Do I have to plead guilty to get diversion

No. Police policy says a guilty plea must be neither a prerequisite nor a bar. You accept responsibility for the summary of facts, which is not the same thing as entering a plea, and your duty lawyer will usually keep the question of a plea parked while diversion is considered.

Where to get free help

Knowing your rights before anything goes wrong helps too. Our guides on your rights if you are arrested, police search powers and when you must give police your name cover the ground before court.

Have you been through diversion or a Te Pae Oranga panel? What were your conditions, and how long did it take? Share your experience in the comments, it will help the next person sitting up the night before court.