Royal New Zealand Coastguard

The Royal New Zealand Coastguard (informally Coastguard New Zealand) is the primary civilian marine search and rescue organisation for New Zealand. Unlike a number of other countries, the organisation is a non-governmental, civilian charitable organization. Uniformed agencies of the New Zealand government, including the police, Maritime New Zealand and customs, manage New Zealand's maritime law enforcement and border control. Coastguard New Zealand has a strong focus on boating education as opposed to taking enforcement action.

A large number of volunteers make up the organisation, alongside a small number of paid staff. In 2016, there was 2235 volunteers and 23 paid staff, made up of 13 Coastguard staff and 10 Coastguard Boating Education staff. The organisation is made up of a large number of different roles, both on-shore and as SAR crew.