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Evidence Act 2006

Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality - Privilege and confidentiality - Privilege

58: Privilege for communications with ministers of religion

You could also call this:

"Keeping conversations with church leaders secret"

Illustration for Evidence Act 2006

You have a privilege to keep secret any conversation you have with a minister of religion. This conversation must be private and the minister must be talking to you as a minister of religion. You must be talking to the minister to get religious or spiritual advice, help, or comfort.

You can consider someone a minister of religion if they have a special role in a church or religious group. This role must involve keeping secrets that people tell them. The minister's role must also involve giving religious or spiritual advice, help, or comfort to people who talk to them.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393665.

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Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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"Keeping settlement talks private"

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59: Privilege in criminal proceedings for information obtained by medical practitioners and clinical psychologists, or

"Keeping private what you tell a doctor or clinical psychologist when you're in trouble with the law"

Part 2Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality
Privilege and confidentiality: Privilege

58Privilege for communications with ministers of religion

  1. A person has a privilege in respect of any communication between that person and a minister of religion if the communication was—

  2. made in confidence to or by the minister in the minister’s capacity as a minister of religion; and
    1. made for the purpose of the person obtaining or receiving from the minister religious or spiritual advice, benefit, or comfort.

      1. A person is a minister of religion for the purposes of this section if the person has a status within a church or other religious or spiritual community that requires or calls for that person—

      2. to receive confidential communications of the kind described in subsection (1); and
        1. to respond with religious or spiritual advice, benefit, or comfort.