Commonwealth Vault – Frequently asked Questions

Your family heirlooms, jewellery, vital documents, computer files, cash, foreign currency, artworks can be destroyed or stolen from your home all too easily. A Commonwealth Vault safe deposit box is the surest way to protect the things you can’t afford to lose.

The minimum rental period is one month but you can buy or rent a box on perpetually renewable terms for a virtually unlimited period of time.

You may store any property or documents in your box, apart from anything explosive, dangerous, offensive, inflammable, corrosive, perishable, or illegal.

We will provide you with a numbered safe deposit box, a removable metal box sleeve for that box, and two keys (one is a spare).

If you lose one or both of your safe deposit box keys, you must immediately notify us in writing. We will replace the locks on your box, supply you with new keys, and charge you a small fee.

In the event of your death, your safe deposit box will be ‘frozen’ until a legally appointed person such as an executor is nominated to retrieve the contents of your box. Commonwealth Vault will only release the contents of your box to either a person you nominate or a person legally appointed by your estate.

Commonwealth Vault itself is insured but contents of the safe deposit boxes are not covered by our insurance. Your existing household contents insurance should cover the contents of your safe deposit box but you should confirm this directly with your insurance provider. Commonwealth Vault can facilitate specialised insurance under Crombie Lockwood Ltd, underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.

You may nominate up to two additional authorised users to have access to your safe deposit box.

If the Police, the Court, the Government, or any relevant authority serves us with a warrant requiring us to open your box for inspection, we may ask you to do so. If you refuse, we may break open your box and bill you for the cost.

We may refuse you access if we suspect you are under duress, or accompanied by an unauthorised or suspicious person, or on any other reasonable grounds.

AML requirements

The AML Act, or the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, plays a crucial role in regulating financial activities in New Zealand. This law requires financial institutions and certain other entities to understand their customer relationships better. As a result, we need to confirm the identity and address of some customers. You can read the AML Act online here.
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009

At Commonwealth Vault, we prioritize keeping all our clients safe. To comply with the AML Act, we must have proof of our customers’ identities on file. If we don’t have your AML-compliant ID, we may ask for it during our verification process. For more details, check out our Customer Identification Guide (Doc 71).

We may need to ask for your ID more than once because for many reasons. To stay compliant with the AML Act and to ensure smooth account operations, we might need to reconfirm some customers’ IDs more than once.

Rest assured, your safety is our top priority. We never send SMS or email messages with links asking for account logins. For the safest option, bring the original documents to our office in person. If you still have concerns or need help, visit us in person or call us at +64 9 377 2777.

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