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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Miscellaneous provisions - General provisions

210: Confidentiality of information

You could also call this:

“Keeping information private when the regulator receives it”

When the regulator gets information or access to a document while doing their job under this Act or regulations, they have to keep it confidential. This means they can’t share or publish it, or tell anyone else to do so, unless:

  • The information is already available to the public through other laws or sources
  • The information is in a summary or statistical form
  • They need to share it to do their job under health and safety laws
  • They’re sharing it with another regulatory agency as allowed by section 197
  • They’re sharing it with someone who has a good reason to know
  • The person the information is about, or the person who owns the confidential information, says it’s okay to share
  • The law says they have to or can share it

If the regulator wants to share information with someone they think has a good reason to know, they need to make sure there are proper ways to keep the information confidential. This is especially important for personal information, which is defined in the Privacy Act 2020.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5977211.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Rights and equality > Privacy
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Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions
General provisions

210Confidentiality of information

  1. This section applies if the regulator obtains information or gains access to a document in performing or exercising any function, duty, or power under this Act or regulations.

  2. The regulator must not publish or disclose, or direct any person to publish or disclose, any information or document to which this section applies unless—

  3. the information or document is available to the public under any enactment or is otherwise publicly available; or
    1. the information is in a statistical or summary form; or
      1. the publication or disclosure of the information or document is—
        1. for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance or exercise of any function, duty, or power conferred or imposed on the regulator or the person by the relevant health and safety legislation; or
          1. to a regulatory agency in accordance with section 197; or
            1. to a person who the person disclosing the information is satisfied has a proper interest in receiving the information or document; or
              1. with the consent of the person to whom the information or document relates or of the person to whom the information or document is confidential; or
                1. required or authorised by law.

                2. The person must not publish or disclose, or direct a person to publish or disclose, any information or document under subsection (2)(c)(iii) unless the person is satisfied that appropriate protections are or will be in place for the purpose of maintaining the confidentiality of the information or document (in particular, information that is personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 2020).

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                  Notes
                  • Section 210(3): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).