How many speed cameras are there in New Zealand?

There are currently 105 fixed speed camera locations across New Zealand. This includes 61 spot speed cameras (58%), 36 red light cameras (34%), and 8 average speed cameras (8%). Auckland has the most cameras with 76 locations, representing 72% of all fixed cameras nationwide.

Where does this speed camera data come from?

All speed camera location data is sourced directly from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), the official government agency responsible for road safety in New Zealand. The data is provided under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

How often is the camera data updated?

The speed camera data is automatically updated daily from the official NZTA source to ensure accuracy and completeness. New cameras are added and removed cameras are updated promptly.

What types of speed cameras are shown on the map?

The map shows three types of cameras: Spot Speed cameras (61 locations) measure your instantaneous speed at a single point. Red Light cameras (36 locations) detect vehicles running red lights and often also measure speed. Average Speed cameras (8 locations) calculate your average speed between two points.

Is this map free to use?

Yes, NZ Speed Camera Map is completely free to use. No registration, account creation, or payment is required. The site is ad-free and works on all devices.

What is the fine for speeding in New Zealand?

Safety camera fines range from $30 for 1-10 km/h over the limit, $80 for 11-15 km/h, $120 for 16-20 km/h, $170 for 21-25 km/h, $230 for 26-30 km/h, $300 for 31-35 km/h, $400 for 36-40 km/h, $510 for 41-45 km/h, and $630 for 46-50 km/h over. Exceeding 50 km/h over the limit results in a court appearance. Red light camera fines are $150. See the official fee schedule at nzta.govt.nz/safety/driving-safely/safety-cameras/about-safety-camera-notices/safety-camera-notices-and-penalties

Do speed camera fines come with demerit points?

No, NZTA does not issue demerit points for safety camera infringements. This is a key difference from being stopped by a Police officer, where demerit points do apply. Camera fines are financial penalties only. However, demerit points are assigned if you are stopped by Police—10 points for up to 10 km/h over, 20 for 10-20 km/h, 35 for 20-30 km/h, 40 for 30-35 km/h, and 50 for over 35 km/h. See nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/driving-offences-and-penalties/demerit-points for details.

What happens if I speed more than 40 km/h over the limit?

Speeding by more than 40 km/h over the limit can result in a 28-day licence suspension in addition to the fine. If you exceed 50 km/h over the limit, your case goes to court and you may face charges of careless, dangerous or reckless driving with more severe penalties. These apply whether caught by camera or by Police.

Do speed cameras work at night?

Yes, all fixed speed cameras in New Zealand operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including at night. They use infrared technology to capture images in low light conditions.

Can tourists get speed camera fines in New Zealand?

Yes, international visitors can receive speed camera fines in New Zealand. Fines are typically sent to the rental car company, who will charge your credit card and pass on any associated fees. Unpaid fines may affect future visa applications.

How do I pay a speed camera fine in NZ?

Speed camera fines (called safety camera notices) are issued by NZTA and can be paid online at safetycamera.nzta.govt.nz. If you don't pay by the due date on the reminder notice, it's sent to the Ministry of Justice who add $55 to the original fee.

Where are the most speed cameras in New Zealand?

Auckland has by far the most speed cameras with 76 fixed locations, representing 72% of all cameras in New Zealand. Wellington and Waikato each have 7 cameras, followed by Canterbury and Otago with 4 each.

Are there mobile speed cameras in New Zealand?

Yes, NZTA operates mobile safety cameras in SUVs and trailers throughout the country in addition to the 105 fixed cameras shown on this map. NZ Police also conduct speed enforcement separately. Mobile camera locations are not published in advance.

What speed triggers a camera in New Zealand?

Speed cameras in New Zealand have a tolerance threshold, but the exact tolerance is not publicly disclosed. The safest approach is to always drive at or below the posted speed limit.

How accurate are NZ speed cameras?

Speed cameras in New Zealand are highly accurate and regularly calibrated. They must hold a valid certificate of accuracy issued under NZTA requirements. The Measurement Standards Laboratory of New Zealand (MSLNZ) has calculated the measurement uncertainty at approximately 0.5 km/h.

Can I dispute a speed camera fine in NZ?

Yes, you can dispute a safety camera notice. NZTA provides an online process at safetycamera.nzta.govt.nz where you can nominate another driver, request a review, or apply for a court hearing. Common grounds include not being the driver or requesting a hearing to present mitigating circumstances.

How long do demerit points last in New Zealand?

Demerit points in New Zealand remain on your record for 2 years from the date of the offence. Accumulating 100 or more demerit points within 2 years results in a 3-month licence suspension. Remember: camera-detected offences don't add demerit points—only officer-issued tickets do. See nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/driving-offences-and-penalties/demerit-points for details.

How many new speed cameras are coming in 2026?

NZTA is rolling out 17 new average speed camera locations across New Zealand through 2026, with the first at Matakana Road, Warkworth becoming operational in December 2025. Locations include Dairy Flat, Whitford Road, Pokeno, Upper Hutt, Te Hauke, and Tekapo-Twizel. The current plan is to expand the network to around 200 cameras by 2027.

What are average speed camera corridors?

Average speed camera corridors use two cameras placed kilometres apart on a stretch of road. Camera A records when you enter the corridor and Camera B records when you leave. The system calculates your average speed over the distance. If your average exceeds the speed limit, an infringement notice is issued. Unlike spot speed cameras, you cannot defeat them by braking at the camera.

What is the current speed camera tolerance in NZ?

NZTA applies a tolerance to speed camera enforcement, but the exact threshold is not publicly disclosed. For the new average speed cameras, tolerances are understood to be tighter than those historically used for fixed cameras. The safest approach is to always drive at or below the speed limit.

Is this data guaranteed to be accurate?

This website is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency or the New Zealand Government. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee that all camera locations are current or complete. Always follow posted speed limits and road rules regardless of camera presence.

New Speed Cameras in NZ 2026: Complete Guide to the NZTA Expansion

19 March 202614 min readBy Bradley Windybank

new cameras2026average speednztaexpansion

Table of Contents

Overview of the Expansion
Why These Corridors Were Chosen
2026 Average Speed Camera Locations
Budget and Cost of the Expansion
The Technology Behind the Cameras
Who Manufactures the Cameras?
How Average Speed Cameras Differ from Spot Speed Cameras
Early Results: The Matakana Road Pilot
How NZ's Camera Network Compares Internationally
The Road Safety Strategy Context
Community Input and Location Selection
Stricter Speed Tolerances
The Phased Rollout and Construction Process
Fines and Penalties
View New Cameras
What Drivers Should Expect
Sources

New Zealand's speed camera network is getting its largest expansion in years. Waka Kotahi NZTA is rolling out 17 new average speed camera sites across the country through 2026, with plans to grow the network to around 200 cameras by 2027.

Overview of the Expansion#

In July 2025, Waka Kotahi NZTA completed its takeover of roughly 150 speed cameras from NZ Police. That transfer was a major shift in how speed enforcement is managed here, bringing camera operations under the same agency responsible for road safety strategy and infrastructure.

As part of this transition, NZTA has committed to expanding the camera network with a focus on average speed (point-to-point) cameras. The 2026 rollout includes 17 new average speed camera sites across both islands, targeting corridors with high crash rates.

The current plan is to grow the network to around 200 cameras by 2027, with further expansion potentially covering motorways and school zones.

Why These Corridors Were Chosen#

NZTA selects camera locations using a data-driven approach that considers several factors: crash history, traffic volumes, the proportion of drivers exceeding the posted speed limit, and input from communities and road safety partners. NZTA considers both collective risk (the total risk across all users of a road) and personal risk (the risk to each individual user). A rural road with low traffic but no safety infrastructure may have low collective risk but very high personal risk per journey.

Speed surveys also feed into the decision. NZTA uses them to determine how fast drivers are actually travelling and how often they exceed the limit. An indicative mean speed above 95 percent of the posted limit is one indicator that a location warrants enforcement.

Several of the 2026 corridors have particularly bad crash histories:

SH2 Pokeno to Mangatawhiri: This 5.2-kilometre open-road section carries around 22,000 vehicles per day, including heavy vehicles such as log trucks. Over the past decade, it's seen 214 crashes, including 15 fatal crashes and 16 involving serious injuries. Most fatal and serious crashes were caused by vehicles crossing the centreline or running off the road. Speed surveys found 42 percent of drivers exceeding the posted limit.
Matakana Road, Warkworth: Before camera installation, 12 percent of drivers were exceeding the speed limit on this corridor. The road has a history of serious crashes in an area with increasing residential development and traffic growth.
SH8 Lake Tekapo to Twizel: This popular tourist and recreational corridor through the Mackenzie Country has long been identified as a high-risk route, with a mix of local traffic, tourists unfamiliar with NZ road conditions, and high average speeds on an undivided highway. I've driven this road a few times and can confirm people absolutely fly along it.

2026 Average Speed Camera Locations#

The following table lists all 17 new average speed camera sites planned for 2026, along with their current status.

Location	Region	Status	Expected Date
Matakana Road, Warkworth	Auckland	Operational	December 2025
Kahikatea Flat Road, Dairy Flat	Auckland	Under Construction	Late March 2026
Pine Valley Road, Dairy Flat	Auckland	Under Construction	April 2026
Whitford Road, Whitford	Auckland	Under Construction	April 2026
East Coast Road, Auckland	Auckland	Planned	2026
Glenbrook Road East, Auckland	Auckland	Planned	2026
Glenbrook Road West, Auckland	Auckland	Planned	2026
SH2 Pokeno-Mangatawhiri	Waikato	Under Construction	April 2026
SH2 Te Marua-Brown Owl, Upper Hutt	Wellington	Construction Starting	March 2026
SH2 Te Hauke-Pakipaki	Hawke's Bay	Construction Starting	March 2026
SH8 Lake Tekapo-Twizel	Canterbury	Construction Starting	March 2026
Kaitaia-Awaroa Road	Northland	Planned	2026
SH2 Matata	Bay of Plenty	Planned	2026
SH5 Tumunui	Bay of Plenty	Planned	2026
SH1 Sanson-Foxton	Manawatu-Whanganui	Planned	2026
SH1 Allanton-Waihola	Otago	Planned	2026
SH6 Kingston-Five Rivers	Southland	Planned	2026

The first site at Matakana Road in Warkworth went live in December 2025, serving as a pilot for the broader rollout. Several Auckland sites and the SH2 Pokeno-Mangatawhiri corridor are currently under construction, with more sites entering the construction phase through March and April 2026.

Budget and Cost of the Expansion#

Each pair of average speed cameras costs about $2 million to install, covering the camera hardware, mounting infrastructure, road-side cabinets, communications equipment, and civil works. For the 17-site 2026 rollout, that implies a total capital cost in the range of $34 million.

NZTA has indicated that the programme anticipates cost recovery through enforcement revenue, with each camera pair expected to generate about 10,000 infringement notices per year during the initial period when compliance rates are still adjusting. But the stated goal is compliance rather than revenue. The Matakana Road pilot showed this clearly: within three months, compliance rose from 88 to over 99 percent, and the total value of infringement notices issued was just $9,030 between December 2025 and the end of February 2026. As compliance improves, revenue naturally drops.

The broader mobile camera programme involves separate funding. NZTA signed an initial $5 million establishment contract with Acusensus NZ Limited for mobile camera operations, with an expectation of follow-on contracts valued at up to $20 million annually running through December 2029.

The Technology Behind the Cameras#

Who Manufactures the Cameras?#

New Zealand's safety camera network involves multiple technology suppliers:

Verra Mobility (formerly Redflex Traffic Systems) operates the fixed safety camera infrastructure and the cloud-based infringement and case management system called Alcyon. Verra Mobility is the largest transport enforcement company globally, listed on NASDAQ, and has operated in New Zealand since the Redflex era. Data from cameras is encrypted and transferred to cloud-computing services run by Amazon and Microsoft in Australia.
Acusensus NZ Limited operates the mobile safety camera fleet, including the new camera-equipped SUVs and trailers deployed since NZTA took over operations.

The average speed cameras use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology at each camera point. The entry camera records a vehicle's number plate and timestamp, and the exit camera does the same. The system then calculates average speed based on the known distance between the two points and the elapsed time.

How Average Speed Cameras Differ from Spot Speed Cameras#

Traditional spot speed cameras measure your speed at a single point using radar or laser technology. Average speed cameras work in a fundamentally different way. They use two camera points separated by a known distance and calculate your average speed between them.

You can't simply brake before a camera and accelerate afterwards. The system measures your total travel time between the entry and exit points. If the distance is 5 kilometres and the speed limit is 100 km/h, you need to take at least 3 minutes to cover the distance. Any less and you've averaged above the limit.

It's a more effective deterrent for sustained speeding because it encourages consistent speed compliance across the whole corridor rather than just at a single point.

For a full explanation of how average speed cameras work, see our guide to average speed cameras in New Zealand.

Early Results: The Matakana Road Pilot#

The Matakana Road site provides the first real-world data on how average speed cameras perform in New Zealand conditions. The results have been striking:

Before cameras: 12 percent of drivers were exceeding the speed limit.
After cameras: Over 99 percent of drivers are now travelling at or below the speed limit.
Infringement notices: Just $9,030 in total fines were issued between December 2025 and February 2026.
Crash reduction: Crashes on the corridor dropped by 60 percent in the first three months of operation.

NZTA's head of driving regulation, Chris Rodley, described the 99 percent compliance rate as "a huge success," noting that 100 percent compliance with zero infringements is "the ultimate success." International experience with average speed cameras suggests they could reduce deaths and serious injuries on suitable roads in New Zealand by about 48 percent.

These early results line up with international evidence. A Cochrane Collaboration review of 28 studies found that speed cameras reduce all crashes by 8 to 49 percent in the vicinity of camera sites, with most studies reporting reductions in the 14 to 25 percent range. For crashes resulting in death or serious injury, reductions ranged from 17 to 58 percent.

How NZ's Camera Network Compares Internationally#

New Zealand's camera network is small by international standards, though it's growing:

New Zealand: About 150-200 cameras (including average speed, fixed spot speed, red light, and mobile units) for a population of 5.2 million. That's roughly one camera per 26,000 to 35,000 people.
United Kingdom: Over 8,000 speed camera locations for a population of 67 million, or roughly one camera per 8,400 people. The UK has been operating speed cameras since the early 1990s and has one of the most mature networks in the world.
Australia: About 1,335 fixed speed cameras for a population of 26 million, or roughly one camera per 19,500 people. Victoria alone has over 2,400 camera sites, and Queensland operates more than 3,100 mobile speed camera locations.

New Zealand's network density is far lower than both the UK and Australia, even after the planned expansion to 200 cameras. The 2026 expansion starts to close that gap, but New Zealand's approach has been more targeted, focusing average speed cameras on specific high-risk corridors rather than deploying large numbers of fixed cameras across the network.

The Road Safety Strategy Context#

New Zealand's speed camera expansion sits within a broader road safety strategy.

The Road to Zero strategy, published in December 2019, set a target of a 40 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads by 2030. At launch, the country had about 110 cameras (56 fixed), and the strategy called for tripling the camera network within three years. The transfer of camera operations from Police to NZTA was a key element of the plan, originally scheduled for 2022 but delayed until it was completed in stages, finishing in July 2025.

Progress toward the Road to Zero targets has been slower than planned. Government agencies acknowledged difficulty achieving the targets, and the 40 percent reduction was deemed unrealistic at the actual rate of progress, with a revised "realistic" target of 33 percent proposed.

In October 2024, the Government replaced Road to Zero with New Zealand's Road Safety Objectives, which set road safety priorities for the next three years. The new objectives maintain a focus on safer roads, safer drivers, and safer vehicles, and explicitly support the use of speed cameras as part of a combined "highly visible" and "anytime/anywhere" general deterrence approach.

The camera expansion currently under way continues commitments that originated in Road to Zero but now sit under the new Road Safety Objectives framework.

Community Input and Location Selection#

Camera locations aren't chosen in isolation. NZTA deploys cameras to locations where data shows high risk, but also considers locations nominated by the community and road safety partners.

The selection process is transparent in the sense that NZTA publishes its criteria: crash patterns, traffic volumes, and the percentage of drivers exceeding the speed limit. But there's no formal public consultation process, no community hearing or objection period before a camera is installed. Local communities are notified in advance of construction, and signage is erected to inform drivers of camera presence. NZTA has stated that cameras are clearly signed and their locations are publicly available.

That differs from some Australian states where proposed camera locations undergo a more structured public feedback process, and from the UK where councils often consult communities before installing cameras.

Stricter Speed Tolerances#

Alongside the camera expansion, enforcement tolerances have been tightened. NZTA doesn't publicly disclose the exact tolerance threshold, but it's understood to be much lower than the 10 km/h tolerance that was in place before 2024. The safest approach is to drive at or below the posted speed limit.

For more on how tolerances work, see our speed camera tolerance guide.

The Phased Rollout and Construction Process#

The 2026 rollout follows a phased approach:

Site selection and design: NZTA identifies high-risk corridors based on crash data and speed surveys, then designs the camera installation including camera placement, mounting structures, and communication links.
Civil works and construction: Road-side cabinets, camera poles, and associated infrastructure are installed. This phase involves traffic management and may cause minor disruption. Construction typically takes several weeks per site.
Camera installation and calibration: Camera hardware is installed and calibrated. Each camera must meet the certification standards set out in the Land Transport (Approved Vehicle Surveillance Equipment) Notice 2015.
Testing and sign-off: The system undergoes testing to verify accuracy before enforcement begins. Signage is erected at both the entry and exit points.
Activation: Once tested and signed off, the cameras go live and begin enforcement.

Construction has started or is starting at the Pokeno-Mangatawhiri, Te Marua-Brown Owl, Te Hauke-Pakipaki, and Lake Tekapo-Twizel corridors in March 2026. Auckland sites at Kahikatea Flat Road, Pine Valley Road, and Whitford Road are under construction with activation expected in late March and April 2026.

NZTA is also planning trials of mobile average speed units in mid-2026. These would use vehicle-mounted equipment to create temporary average speed enforcement zones covering corridors of about 10 kilometres. Looking further ahead, 2027 plans include potential expansion to motorway corridors and school zones. The school zone expansion would coincide with new variable speed limits of 30 km/h outside schools during school hours taking effect from 1 July 2026.

Fines and Penalties#

Exceeding the speed limit at any camera site, including the new average speed cameras, results in an infringement notice. Fines range from $30 for minor infringements to $630 for more serious offences. Camera-detected fines don't carry demerit points.

See our full breakdown of speed camera fines in New Zealand for the complete fee schedule.

View New Cameras#

For the latest updates on new camera installations and recently activated sites, visit our new cameras page. The page is updated as new cameras come online and existing sites change status.

What Drivers Should Expect#

The expansion of average speed cameras across New Zealand is a shift toward sustained speed compliance rather than point-based enforcement. And the Matakana Road results show these cameras are highly effective at changing driver behaviour: when drivers know their average speed is being measured across an entire corridor, the vast majority choose to comply.

Drivers should expect to encounter more of these camera corridors on state highways in the coming years. The most straightforward approach is to just drive at or below the posted speed limit consistently, rather than trying to manage your speed around specific camera locations. That, after all, is the stated objective of the programme.

This content has been fact-checked against official sources but may contain inaccuracies. This is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Data updated daily from Waka Kotahi NZTA.

Sources#

Bradley Windybank

Software engineer and data analyst with an interest in speed camera enforcement, crash statistics, and road safety policy since 2024.

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