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172: Minister may cancel or suspend liability for deportation
or “Minister can stop or pause your deportation from New Zealand”
You could also call this:

“Victims can share their views on whether someone should be deported”

When deciding whether to cancel or suspend someone’s deportation, the Minister must consider any written statements from victims of crimes committed by the person facing deportation. These crimes are the reason the person might be deported.

If you’re the person who might be deported, your lawyer can ask for a copy of what the victims have written. You can also ask to see these statements, but you can’t keep them.

The Minister might not show you or your lawyer some parts of the victims’ statements if they think it’s needed to keep the victims safe. The Minister won’t consider these hidden parts when making their decision.

In this law, a victim means someone who has been hurt by certain types of serious crimes, as explained in section 29 of the Victims’ Rights Act 2002.

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Next up: 173A: Person may defer lodging appeal against liability for deportation

or “You can delay appealing your deportation if you have a residence visa”
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Part 6 Deportation
Cancellation or suspension of deportation liability

173Right of victims to make submissions on suspension or cancellation of liability for deportation

  1. In determining whether to cancel or suspend a person’s liability for deportation, the Minister must have regard to any written submissions made by a victim of an offence or offences of which the person who is liable for deportation has been convicted and from which his or her liability for deportation arises.

  2. The Minister must, on a request for the purpose, make available to a lawyer or agent (if any) who is acting for the person who is liable for deportation a copy of all written submissions made by the victim.

  3. The Minister, or a lawyer or agent acting for the person, must, on a request for the purpose, show the person a copy of all written submissions made by the victim. However, the person may not keep a copy of any of those submissions.

  4. Despite subsections (2) and (3), the Minister may withhold from the person and every lawyer or agent (if any) acting for the person any part of the victim’s written submissions if, in the Minister’s opinion, the withholding of that part is necessary to protect the physical safety or security of the victim concerned.

  5. Despite subsection (1), the Minister must not have regard to any part of the victim’s submissions that is withheld under subsection (4).

  6. In this section, victim means a victim of an offence of a kind referred to in section 29 of the Victims’ Rights Act 2002.

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