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Social Workers Registration Act 2003

Competence and fitness - Competence assessments

46: Confidentiality of information

You could also call this:

"Keeping secrets: social workers must keep other people's information private"

Illustration for Social Workers Registration Act 2003

When you are being assessed to see if you are competent as a social worker, someone might look at your records. They must not tell anyone else what they find out about other people in those records, except in certain situations. You can't tell others about someone else in your records, unless you are making a report about the person being assessed, or if it's for a criminal investigation or court case about them.

If someone else is mentioned in your records, you can only tell them what you found out if the Board says you can, or if they ask you to. There's a law called the Privacy Act 2020 that still applies, even if you are being assessed.

If you say or admit something during your assessment, that information can only be used for the assessment, and not for anything else. It also can't be used against you in court, or against anyone else.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM190218.

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Part 3Competence and fitness
Competence assessments

46Confidentiality of information

  1. A person who, for the purposes of a competence assessment, examines any records made or kept by the person being assessed (the subject) must not disclose any information about an identifiable individual other than the subject (the other person) obtained from the records, except—

  2. for the purpose of making a report to the Board in relation to the subject; or
    1. for the purposes of a criminal investigation of, or criminal proceedings taken against, the subject; or
      1. by disclosing the information to the other person, if—
        1. the Board has directed that the information be disclosed to the other person; or
          1. the other person has asked for it.

          2. Subsection (1) does not affect the Privacy Act 2020.

          3. Subsection (4) applies to all information, statements, and admissions relating to the conduct of a person undertaking a competence assessment (whether that conduct occurred before or during the assessment) that—

          4. are supplied, disclosed, or made by the person during the assessment; and
            1. are not records made or kept by the person before the assessment is undertaken, and disclosed in the course of or for the purposes of the assessment.

              1. No information, statement, or admission to which this subsection applies—

              2. may be used or disclosed for any purpose other than the purposes of the competence assessment during which it was disclosed or made; or
                1. is admissible against the person who disclosed or made it, or any other person, in any proceedings in any court or before a person acting judicially.

                  Notes
                  • Section 46(2): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).