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Citizenship Act 1977

Schedule 4: Disclosure of information to agencies

You could also call this:

"When the government can share your personal info with other agencies"

Illustration for Citizenship Act 1977

The government can share your information with some agencies. This is allowed under section 26A of the Citizenship Act 1977. You can find out which agencies and why they get your information in the table below.

The Department of Internal Affairs gets your information to check if you can have a New Zealand passport. The Registrar-General, appointed under section 124(1) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021, gets your information to check if you are a New Zealand citizen.

The Department of Inland Revenue, Department of Labour, Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of Education also get your information for different reasons, such as checking your tax file number, citizenship status, or eligibility for benefits.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM444045.

Topics:
Government and voting > Government departmentsRights and equality > Privacy
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Schedule 3: Enactments consequentially amended, or

"Laws changed because of the Citizenship Act 1977"

4Disclosure of information to agencies Empowered by s 26A

The following table is small in size and has 2 columns. Column 1 is headed Specified agency. Column 2 is headed Purpose.
Agency Purpose
Department of Internal Affairs

To verify whether a person is eligible to hold a New Zealand passport

Registrar-General appointed under section 124(1) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

For the Registrar-General to be satisfied whether or not a person is a New Zealand citizen

Department of Inland Revenue

To verify the identity of a person to establish—

  • the tax file number of the person:
    1. the details of an applicant for child support

        		1.
        Department of Labour

        To verify—

      1. a person's citizenship status:
        1. a person's entitlement to reside in New Zealand

            		1.
            Ministry of Social Development

            To—

          1. verify a person's eligibility or continuing eligibility for benefits, war pensions, grants, loans, or allowances:
            1. verify a person's eligibility or continuing eligibility for a community services card

                		1.
                Ministry of Education

                To verify and update student information on the National Student Index

                Notes
                • Schedule 4: amended, on , by section 147 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 (2021 No 57).
                • Schedule 4: amended, on , by section 190 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).
                • Schedule 4: amended, on , by section 15 of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43).
                • Schedule 4: amended (with effect on 1 October 2001), on , pursuant to section 13(1) of the State Sector Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 41).
                • Schedule 4: amended, on , by section 3(1) of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 62).
                • Schedule 4: amended, on , by section 3(2) of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 62).