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Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

Miscellaneous provisions - Miscellaneous provisions

64: Disclosure of certain matters not to be required

You could also call this:

"You don't have to share certain information if it could harm New Zealand or its relationships with other countries."

Illustration for Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

You do not have to give certain information if the Prime Minister says it might hurt New Zealand's security or defence, or its relationships with other countries. The Prime Minister can also stop you giving information if it relates to the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, or the Ross Dependency, and this is protected by section 7 of the Official Information Act 1982. This means the Commissioner or their employees cannot make you give this information.

You also do not have to give information if the Attorney-General says it might stop crimes being prevented or investigated, or if it would reveal secret Cabinet discussions that could hurt the public interest. The Attorney-General can stop you giving information if it would hurt the public interest in these ways.

Normally, the law says you can keep something secret if revealing it would hurt the public interest, but this rule does not apply when the Commissioner is investigating something or there are proceedings before the Commissioner, except in the situations already mentioned.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM334139.

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Part 5Miscellaneous provisions
Miscellaneous provisions

64Disclosure of certain matters not to be required

  1. Where—

  2. the Prime Minister certifies that the giving of any information or the production of any document or thing might prejudice—
    1. the security or defence of New Zealand, or the international relations of the Government of New Zealand; or
      1. any interest protected by section 7 of the Official Information Act 1982 (which relates to the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency); or
      2. the Attorney-General certifies that the giving of any information or the production of any document or thing—
        1. might prejudice the prevention, investigation, or detection of offences; or
          1. might involve the disclosure of proceedings of Cabinet, or any committee of Cabinet, relating to matters of a secret or confidential nature, and such disclosure would be injurious to the public interest,—
            2. neither the Commissioner nor any employee of the Commissioner shall require the information to be given, or, as the case may be, the document or thing to be produced.

          2. Except as provided in subsection (1), the rule of law which authorises or requires the withholding of any document, or the refusal to answer any question, on the ground that the disclosure of the document or the answering of the question would be injurious to the public interest, shall not apply in respect of any investigation by or proceedings before the Commissioner.

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