If I take a shortcut through private property to get to a nearby street, have I committed an offence?

You have no right to walk across private property without the occupier's permission. However, until the occupier (or someone on their behalf) warns you to stay off the property, it is not an offence.

Walking on someone else's property without their permission is a legal wrong at common law, or a "tort" (which means it is recognised by the courts, but is not contained in legislation). Torts can only be enforced by the property occupier person making a claim to a court, which can be expensive and time-consuming, and can only be compensated (to any significant degree) insofar as the tort has caused damage. So if all you had done is walk across private property without the occupier's knowledge, there is little risk of the occupier choosing to enforce the legal wrong against you.

However, in certain circumstances, trespass can also be an offence against the Trespass Act 1980, meaning it is a minor criminal offence so the police can enforce it. If, for example, the occupier had warned you to stay off the property, or had asked you to leave the property while you were on it, but you did not leave or you returned, then you may have committed an offence against the Trespass Act. Offences in these circumstances are punishable on “summary conviction” (another way of saying they are minor criminal offences) and can be penalised with minor fines or short term sentences. You can read the text of the Trespass Act 1980 here: www.legislation.govt.nz.

Click here to read about trespass law in the Community Law Manual: www.communitylaw.org.nz

Answered 7 Feb 2013. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.