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Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003

Status and rights of care recipients - General status and specific rights - Specific rights of care recipients

58: Written communications or other items not to be intercepted if sent by or to certain office holders

You could also call this:

"Some mail and messages are private and must not be stopped or read by others, even if you're getting care."

Illustration for Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003

If you are getting care, some mail and messages are private. You should get mail sent by or to certain important people, like a member of Parliament or a Judge. These people include an Ombudsman, the Privacy Commissioner, and the Health and Disability Commissioner.

If someone sends you mail, it must not be stopped, even if it is from one of these important people. You have the right to get mail from people like a Human Rights Commissioner, the Director-General of Health, or your lawyer. Mail from a specialist assessor who is giving you a second opinion is also private.

If mail is addressed to one of these important people, like the Children's Commissioner or a district inspector, it must be sent. This rule applies to you if you are a child or young person getting care, and it applies to mail sent to your care manager or lawyer. You have the right to private mail from these people, according to section 57(4).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM225473.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Mental healthRights and equality > PrivacyCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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57: Right to receive and send written communications and other items, or

"You have the right to send and receive mail and gifts privately"

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59: Procedure where written communications or other items intercepted, or

"What happens when someone stops you getting a letter or package while in care"

Part 5Status and rights of care recipients
General status and specific rights: Specific rights of care recipients

58Written communications or other items not to be intercepted if sent by or to certain office holders

  1. Despite section 57(4), a written communication or item must not be withheld from a care recipient if it is sent by or on behalf of any of the persons described in subsection (3).

  2. Despite section 57(4), a written communication or other item must be dispatched if it is addressed to any of the persons described in subsection (3).

  3. The persons referred to in subsections (1) and (2) are:

  4. a member of Parliament:
    1. a Judge or officer of a court, or a member or officer of another judicial body:
      1. an Ombudsman:
        1. the Privacy Commissioner:
          1. the Health and Disability Commissioner:
            1. a Human Rights Commissioner:
              1. in the case of a care recipient who is a child or young person, the Children’s Commissioner:
                1. the Director-General of Health:
                  1. a district inspector:
                    1. the care manager:
                      1. a lawyer:
                        1. a specialist assessor from whom the care recipient has sought a second opinion about the care recipient's condition.

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                          Notes
                          • Section 58(3)(g): amended, on , by section 25 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).