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Land Transport Act 1998

Administrative provisions - Powers and additional functions of Authority and Director

200: Restrictions on access to photographic images of driver licence holders

You could also call this:

“Rules about who can see and use driver licence photos”

You can’t look at or use photos of people who have driver licences unless you work for the Agency that deals with these licences. This rule has a few exceptions.

People who work for the Department of Internal Affairs can use these photos to check someone’s identity.

If someone has died, their close family members can see their photo. They need to show a death certificate or legal papers, and prove they are related to the person.

Some government workers can use these photos to check someone’s identity when they’re doing their job to enforce the law. These workers might be from places like the police, customs, or immigration.

‘Next of kin’ means close family, including a husband, wife, or partner.

The ‘specified agencies’ that can use these photos are the Department of Corrections, the part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment that deals with immigration, the Ministry of Justice, the New Zealand Customs Service, and the New Zealand Police.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM435611.

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Part 14 Administrative provisions
Powers and additional functions of Authority and Director

200Restrictions on access to photographic images of driver licence holders

  1. No person other than a person acting in the course of the person’s official duties as an employee of the Agency may access or use any photographic image stored under section 28(5).

  2. Subsection (1) is subject to—

  3. subsections (2), (3), and (4):
    1. section 141 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017:
      1. subpart 2 of Part 7 of the Privacy Act 2020.

        1. A person who is acting in the course of the person’s official duties as an employee of the Department of Internal Affairs may access or use any photographic image stored under section 28(5) to verify the identity of a particular individual.

        2. A person who is the next of kin of a deceased individual to whom a photographic image stored under section 28(5) relates may access the photographic image—

        3. on production to the Agency of—
          1. a death certificate (within the meaning of section 4 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021) relating to the death of the individual; or
            1. the grant of probate of the will of the individual or of letters of administration to the individual’s estate; and
            2. only if the person who is seeking access to the photographic image satisfies the Agency that the person is the individual’s next of kin.

              1. A person who is acting in the course of the person’s official duties as an employee of a specified agency may access or use any photographic image stored under section 28(5) to verify the identity of a particular individual for the purpose of law enforcement.

              2. For the purposes of this section,—

                next of kin includes a spouse, a civil union partner, and a de facto partner

                  specified agency means any of the following:

                  1. the Department of Corrections:
                    1. the part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment that administers the Immigration Act 2009:
                      1. the Ministry of Justice:
                        1. the New Zealand Customs Service:
                          1. the New Zealand Police.

                          Notes
                          • Section 200: replaced, on , by section 41 of the Enhancing Identity Verification and Border Processes Legislation Act 2017 (2017 No 42).
                          • Section 200(1): replaced, on , by section 282 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                          • Section 200(1A): inserted, on , by section 282 of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (2017 No 10).
                          • Section 200(1A)(c): replaced, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).
                          • Section 200(3)(a)(i): amended, on , by section 147 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 (2021 No 57).