More foreign investors are being fined for breaching New Zealand's investment rules.
In 2019, civil penalties against foreign investors who had broken the rules were sought in five court proceedings, compared to one the year before.
It comes after the Government announced the second wave of changes to the Overseas Investment Act, bringing in a "national interest test" and introducing a national security "call in power".
The national interest test will let Ministers consider potential risks when deciding to grant consent to overseas investments. If it is found to be against the national interest of New Zealand, consent can be declined or conditions imposed.
The call in power is set to screen high-risk critical national infrastructure. If found to pose risks to national security, then it can be blocked or conditions can be applied.
The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has also ramped up its investigations and are calling for public tip offs.
Group Manager Vanessa Horne told TVNZ1's Q+A with Jack Tame that "New Zealand has always needed investment, but it needs to be the right type of investment by good people".
"The public expects us to not only look at those applications for overseas investment in the country properly, but also to hold people to account.
"If they're trying to bypass the regime, New Zealanders are missing out on something. And if they've come through the regime, we've got to make sure that they do do what they said they were going to do."
She said most of the OIO's work "is where there has been confusion or a misunderstanding or investors haven't quite disclosed all the right information to their lawyers up front so they can get the right advice".
"We spend a lot of time with the lawyers trying to explain how the regime works in practice."
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