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Immigration Act 2009

Compliance and information - Disclosure of information to or by other agencies, bodies, or persons

294AAB: Information sharing

You could also call this:

“How government agencies share information for immigration purposes”

You and the Department may share information or documents with certain government agencies if it helps them do their job. These agencies are called ‘regulatory agencies’ and include groups like the police, Inland Revenue, and WorkSafe New Zealand.

The regulatory agencies can also share information with you or the Department if they think it will help with immigration work.

When you share information, you can set rules about how it’s used, stored, or what happens to the documents afterwards.

This information sharing must follow other laws, like the Privacy Act 2020. If there are any contracts or agreements that say you can’t share this information, this law overrules them.

The law lists specific agencies that are considered ‘regulatory agencies’. These include departments dealing with things like tenancy, tax, employment, company registration, and workplace safety. The government can also name other groups as regulatory agencies.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS934553.

Topics:
Immigration and citizenship > Visas
Immigration and citizenship > Border control
Government and voting > Government departments
Rights and equality > Privacy
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“Immigration officers and department must keep certain information confidential”

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Part 8 Compliance and information
Disclosure of information to or by other agencies, bodies, or persons

294AABInformation sharing

  1. An immigration officer and the Department may provide to a regulatory agency any information, or a copy of any document, described in section 294AAA that the officer or Department considers may assist the regulatory agency in the performance or exercise of the regulatory agency’s functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to any enactment listed in section 294AAA(b).

  2. A regulatory agency may provide an immigration officer or the Department with any information, or a copy of any document, that the regulatory agency—

  3. holds in relation to the performance or exercise of its functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to any enactment; and
    1. considers may assist the officer or the Department in the performance or exercise of the officer’s or the Department’s functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to this Act.

      1. An immigration officer who or the Department that provides information or a copy of a document under this section may impose conditions relating to the provision of the information, including conditions relating to—

      2. the storage and use of, or access to, anything provided:
        1. the copying, returning, or disposing of any documents provided.

          1. This section applies subject to any other enactment, including the Privacy Act 2020.

          2. This section overrides provisions in contracts, deeds, and other documents that are inconsistent with this section.

          3. In this section, regulatory agency means—

          4. the department responsible for compliance and enforcement under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986:
            1. the Inland Revenue Department:
              1. a Labour Inspector under the Employment Relations Act 2000:
                1. the New Zealand Police:
                  1. the Registrar of Companies:
                    1. WorkSafe New Zealand and any agency designated under section 191 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015:
                      1. any other department of State, person, or organisation defined in regulations as a regulatory agency for the purposes of this section.

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                        Notes
                        • Section 294AAB: inserted, on , by section 5 of the Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act 2023 (2023 No 36).