Inquiries Act 2013

Duties, powers, immunities, and privileges - Immunities and privileges

27: Other immunities and privileges of participants

You could also call this:

"Protections for people taking part in an inquiry"

You have the same protections when you take part in an inquiry as you would in a civil court case. The rules from the Evidence Act 2006 apply to the inquiry. This means the inquiry is treated like a court case. You get these protections if you are a witness or taking part in the inquiry, but not if you are a lawyer. Lawyers have the same protections when they appear at an inquiry as they would in a court. This helps keep everyone safe and fair during the inquiry.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1566168.

This page was last updated on 24 December 2025 — View changes

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26: Immunity of inquiry, or

"Being part of an inquiry means you're protected by law from being blamed for things you do or say, unless you do something wrong on purpose."

28: Award of costs, or

"Paying for slowing down an inquiry: when you might have to pay costs"

Part 3Duties, powers, immunities, and privileges
Immunities and privileges

27Other immunities and privileges of participants

Witnesses and other persons participating in an inquiry (other than counsel) have the same immunities and privileges as if they were appearing in civil proceedings and the provisions of subpart 8 of Part 2 of the Evidence Act 2006 apply to the inquiry, to the extent that they are relevant, as if—
the inquiry were a civil proceeding; and
every reference to a Judge were a reference to an inquiry.

Counsel appearing before an inquiry have the same immunities and privileges as they would have if appearing before a court.