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An anonymous opinion from inside the Defence Dept holds that electronic bits on a wire do not constitute goods, and as a result if you ship electronically, you are not subject to the regulations. If you ship a CD or floppy or other physical media containing software, you violate the regulations.

Watch out for those anonymous opinions; I received exactly the opposite opinion when I spoke to the Defence Signals Directorate about the issue (back in 1994) -- after specifically asking about a few hypothetical cases. Of course, either opinion may be correct, which is the real problem!

If the DSD is anything like our GCSB then what they'll have told you is what they'd like to be the case, not what's really the case. They will tell you what it pleases them to tell you, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the facts. The easiest way to check the real situation is to look at your customs act, the NZ Customs Act of 1995 (which in the relevant area is almost identical to the 1966 one) covers forms of export in excruciating detail. Doesn't mention anything about computer networks in there. In practice it'd have to be decided in the courts, but I don't think the DSD will take action because there's a very good chance they'd get a ruling against them, which is also why the NSA is so reluctant to enforce the ITAR in court. Peter.