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Official Information Act 1982

Miscellaneous provisions

48: Protection against certain actions

You could also call this:

"You're protected from being sued if you share official information or if something happens after you get it."

If you get official information because of this Act, you cannot take the government or anyone else to court about it. You cannot sue them for making the information available or for what happens after it is made available. You also cannot take the person who wrote the information or anyone else to court for sharing the information with a public service agency or Minister of the Crown. When you get official information because you asked for it, it does not mean the person who gave it to you is saying it is okay to share it with others, especially if it could be considered defamation, breach of confidence, or copyright infringement.

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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=DLM65912.

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Part 7Miscellaneous provisions

48Protection against certain actions

  1. Where any official information is made available in good faith pursuant to this Act,—

  2. no proceedings, civil or criminal, shall lie against the Crown or any other person in respect of the making available of that information, or for any consequences that follow from the making available of that information; and
    1. no proceedings, civil or criminal, in respect of any publication involved in, or resulting from, the making available of that information shall lie against the author of the information or any other person by reason of that author or other person having supplied the information to a public service agency or Minister of the Crown or organisation.

      1. The making available of, or the giving of access to, any official information in consequence of a request made under this Act shall not be taken, for the purposes of the law relating to defamation or breach of confidence or infringement of copyright, to constitute an authorisation or approval of the publication of the document or of its contents by the person to whom the information is made available or the access is given.

      Notes
      • Section 48: replaced, on , by section 21 of the Official Information Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 8).
      • Section 48(1)(b): amended, on , by section 135 of the Public Service Act 2020 (2020 No 40).