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Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against personal privacy - Intimate visual recordings

216N: Protection from liability

You could also call this:

“ People doing certain jobs can handle sensitive photos or videos without getting in trouble with the law. ”

This law protects certain people from being charged with crimes related to intimate visual recordings. You are protected if you are the person in the recording. You can have and share the recording without breaking the law.

The law also protects other people like police officers, customs officers, and some government workers. They can make, have, or share intimate visual recordings if it’s part of their job. Their job might involve stopping crimes, working on court cases, or keeping people safe.

These people won’t get in trouble for having or sharing the recordings, as long as they’re doing their job properly. They can’t keep the recordings longer than they need to. When they’re done, they must either give the recording to the person in it (if that person asks for it) or destroy it.

If you’re not the person in the recording or one of the protected people doing their job, you could still get in trouble for making, having, or sharing intimate visual recordings.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329881.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Crime and justice > Police and safety
Rights and equality > Privacy
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Part 9A Crimes against personal privacy
Intimate visual recordings

216NProtection from liability

  1. This section applies to the following persons:

  2. any constable; and
    1. any Customs officer; and
      1. any employee of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service; and
        1. any employee of the Government Communications Security Bureau; and
          1. any employee of the Department of Corrections and any other employee exercising powers or functions under the Corrections Act 2004; and
            1. any lawyer or agent—
              1. giving legal advice in relation to an intimate visual recording; or
                1. giving legal advice, or making representations, in relation to any civil or criminal proceedings; and
                2. any other person or member of a class of persons prescribed in regulations made under this Act; and
                  1. the person who is the subject of an intimate visual recording.

                    1. No person referred to in subsection (1)(g) commits an offence against section 216I or section 216J by possessing or publishing the intimate visual recording.

                    2. No other person to whom this section applies commits an offence against section 216H or section 216I or section 216J(1)(a) or (b) or (c) by making, possessing, or publishing any intimate visual recording for the purpose of, or in the course of, carrying out the functions set out in subsection (5).

                    3. Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of anything done in bad faith or without reasonable cause.

                    4. The functions referred to in subsection (3) are functions relating to—

                    5. the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or punishment of offences:
                      1. the conduct of proceedings in any court or tribunal:
                        1. security or safety.

                          1. Subsections (1) to (3) apply despite the fact that, but for this section, the act would have otherwise constituted an offence.

                          2. Where a person to whom subsection (1)(a) to (f) applies has in his or her possession an intimate visual recording, the recording must not be kept longer than is required for the purpose of carrying out the functions referred to in subsection (5), and must then either be—

                          3. made available to the person who is the subject of the recording, if that person requests; or
                            1. immediately destroyed if the person who is the subject of the recording makes no request under paragraph (a).

                              Notes
                              • Section 216N: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 75).
                              • Section 216N(1)(a): amended, on , pursuant to section 116(a)(ii) of the Policing Act 2008 (2008 No 72).
                              • Section 216N(1)(c): amended, on , by section 335 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                              • Section 216N(1)(ca): inserted, on , by section 335 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).