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233A: Obligation of Labour Inspector and department not to disclose information
or “Labour inspectors and the department must keep information they see private, except for special reasons.”

You could also call this:

“Labour inspectors and government agencies can share information to help each other do their jobs better.”

You and the government can share information to help each other do your jobs better. A Labour Inspector or the department can give information to other government agencies if they think it will help those agencies do their work. The same goes the other way - other agencies can share information with Labour Inspectors or the department if they think it will help them do their job.

When sharing information, you can set rules about how it’s used, stored, or accessed. You can also say how copies should be handled or when documents should be returned or thrown away.

This information sharing follows the Privacy Act 2020. If any contracts or agreements say you can’t share information like this, this law overrides those agreements.

The government agencies that can share information include immigration officers, the tax department, the social welfare department, the farming and food department, the police, the companies office, and workplace safety agencies. Other groups might also be allowed to share information if the government says so.

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Next up: 234: Circumstances in which officers, directors, or agents of company liable for minimum wages and holiday pay

or “When company bosses might have to pay workers' wages and holiday money”

Part 11 General provisions
Powers

233BInformation sharing

  1. A Labour Inspector and the department may provide to a regulatory agency any information, or a copy of any document, that the Labour Inspector or department—

  2. holds in relation to the performance or exercise of its functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to the Acts specified in section 223(1); and
    1. considers may assist the regulatory agency in the performance or exercise of the regulatory agency’s functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to any enactment.
      1. A regulatory agency may provide a Labour Inspector or the department with any information, or a copy of any document, that the regulatory agency—

      2. holds in relation to the performance or exercise of its functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to any enactment; and
        1. considers may assist the Labour Inspector or department in the performance or exercise of its functions, duties, or powers under or in relation to any of the Acts specified in section 223(1).
          1. A Labour Inspector, the department, or a regulatory agency who provides information or a copy of a document under this section may impose conditions relating to the provision of the information, including conditions relating to—

          2. the storage and use of, or access to, anything provided:
            1. the copying, returning, or disposing of any documents provided.
              1. This section applies subject to any other enactment, including the Privacy Act 2020.

              2. This section overrides provisions in contracts, deeds, and other documents that are inconsistent with this section.

              3. In this section, regulatory agency means—

              4. an immigration officer under the Immigration Act 2009:
                1. the Inland Revenue Department:
                  1. the Ministry of Social Development:
                    1. the Ministry for Primary Industries:
                      1. the New Zealand Police:
                        1. the Registrar of Companies:
                          1. WorkSafe New Zealand and any agency designated under section 28B of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992:
                            1. any other department of State, person, or organisation defined in regulations as a regulatory agency for the purposes of this section.
                              Notes
                              • Section 233B: inserted, on , by section 34 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).
                              • Section 233B(4): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).