Flag of the governor-general of New Zealand

The flag in its present form was adopted in 2008 and is a blue field with the shield of the New Zealand coat of arms royally crowned.

The official heraldic description is "A flag of a blue field thereon the Arms of New Zealand ensigned by the Royal Crown all proper".

[3] In October 1874 Sir James Fergusson announced "... that the seal or badge to be worn in the Union Jack used by the governor of New Zealand when embarked in any boat or other vessel shall be the Southern Cross as represented by four five-pointed red stars emblazoned on the white shield aforesaid, and the monogram NZ in red letters in the centre of the Southern Cross.

This was approved without hesitation, since the regulations only stipulated that the device on the flags of governors should be surrounded by a "green garland"—the type of leaves was not specified.

[1] The flag of the governor-general occupies the same position in New Zealand that a royal standard does in the United Kingdom.

[8] The flag is protected under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981, Section 12(1) states: Every person commits an offence against this Act who, without the authority of Her Majesty or (as the case may require) the Governor-General, displays or exhibits or otherwise uses any representation to which this subsection applies in such a manner as to be likely to cause any person to believe that he does so under the authority, sanction, approval, appointment, or patronage of Her Majesty or the Governor-General.