Definition of ‘working dog’ under Section 2 of the Dog Control Act 1996:
working dog means—
(a) any disability assist dog:
(b) any dog—
(i) kept by the Police or any constable, the New Zealand Customs Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Fisheries, or the Ministry of Defence, or any officer or employee of any such department of State solely or principally for the purposes of carrying out the functions, powers, and duties of the Police or the department of State or that constable, officer, or employee; or
(ii) kept solely or principally for the purposes of herding or driving stock; or
(iii) kept by the Department of Conservation or any officer or employee of that department solely or principally for the purposes of carrying out the functions, duties, and powers of that department; or
(iv) kept solely or principally for the purposes of destroying pests or pest agents under any pest management plan under the Biosecurity Act 1993; or
(iva) kept by the Department of Corrections or any officer or employee of that department solely or principally for the purposes of carrying out the functions, duties, and powers of that department; or
(ivb) kept by the Aviation Security Service established under section 72B(2)(ca) of the Civil Aviation Act 1990, or any officer or employee of that service solely or principally for the purposes of carrying out the functions, duties, and powers of that service; or
(ivc) certified for use by the Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management for the purposes of carrying out the functions, duties, and powers conferred by the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002; or
(vi) declared by resolution of the territorial authority to be a working dog for the purposes of this Act, or any dog of a class so declared by the authority, being a dog owned by any class of persons specified in the resolution and kept solely or principally for the purposes specified in the resolution.
Depending which category the dog fits into, owners have to supply the below documents to support their working dog status.