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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Public access and restrictions on reporting - Offences relating to breach of suppression provisions and orders

211: Offences and penalties

You could also call this:

"Breaking the rules about sharing secret information can get you in trouble and punished"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you publish someone's name, address, or other information when you are not supposed to, you can get in trouble. This is because you might be breaking a suppression order or a rule made under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, such as sections 199A, 199BA, 201, 203, or 204. You can also break the rules if you publish information that is not allowed under an order made under section 286 or 292.

If you do this on purpose or without caring about the rules, you can be punished. You might have to go to prison for up to six months or pay a fine.

If you publish the information without knowing it was not allowed, you might still get in trouble, but you can defend yourself if you can prove you did not know and you removed the information as soon as you found out.

It is different if you just host a website where someone else published the information - you will not get in trouble unless you were the one who put the information on the site.

If you break the rules without knowing, you can still be punished, but you will not have to go to prison - you might have to pay a fine instead. The amount of the fine depends on whether you are an individual or a company.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3865769.

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Part 5General provisions
Public access and restrictions on reporting: Offences relating to breach of suppression provisions and orders

211Offences and penalties

  1. Every person commits an offence who knowingly or recklessly publishes any name, address, occupation, or other information in breach of—

  2. a suppression order; or
    1. any of sections 199A, 199BA, 201, 203, and 204; or
      1. an order made under section 286 or 292.

        1. Every person commits an offence who publishes any name, address, occupation, or other information in breach of—

        2. a suppression order; or
          1. any of sections 199A, 199BA, 201, 203, and 204; or
            1. an order made under section 286 or 292.

              1. Subsection (2) does not apply to a person who hosts material on websites or other electronic retrieval systems that can be accessed by a user unless the specific information has been placed or entered on the site or system by that person.

              2. A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction,—

              3. in the case of an individual, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months:
                1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

                  1. A person who commits an offence against subsection (2) is liable on conviction,—

                  2. in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $25,000:
                    1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

                      1. In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (2), it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the defendant intended to commit an offence.

                      2. A defendant has a defence to a charge under subsection (2) if the defendant proves that they—

                      3. did not know or could not reasonably have known that the information published was suppressed; and
                        1. removed the suppressed material as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the breach.

                          Notes
                          • Section 211(1): replaced, on , by section 29 of the Contempt of Court Act 2019 (2019 No 44).
                          • Section 211(1)(b): amended, on , by section 48 of the Sexual Violence Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 60).
                          • Section 211(2): replaced, on , by section 29 of the Contempt of Court Act 2019 (2019 No 44).
                          • Section 211(2)(b): amended, on , by section 48 of the Sexual Violence Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 60).
                          • Section 211(7): inserted, on , by section 29 of the Contempt of Court Act 2019 (2019 No 44).