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Intelligence and Security Act 2017

Oversight of intelligence and security agencies - Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security - Procedure on completion of inquiry

191: Offence to publish information relating to inquiry

You could also call this:

"Don't share secret info about complaints or inquiries without permission"

Illustration for Intelligence and Security Act 2017

If you publish or share information about a complaint or inquiry without permission, you can get in trouble. You need permission from the relevant Minister to share this information. The information includes complaints, decisions, reports, and accounts about inquiries.

There are some exceptions, though. You can share advice given to a complainant under section 185(5), or a report made public by the Inspector-General under section 188(1) or 222(7). You can also share material that the Inspector-General has approved, or the fact that an inquiry has been conducted.

If you break this rule, you could go to prison for up to 2 years or get a fine of up to $10,000. The Attorney-General must agree before you can be prosecuted. This rule does not stop people talking about what happens in Parliament, or reporting on it.

Some words have special meanings in this section, like "communication" which is defined in the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014, and "proceedings in Parliament" which is defined in the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014. The "relevant Minister" is the Minister in charge of the intelligence and security agency involved in the complaint or inquiry.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6921212.

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Part 6Oversight of intelligence and security agencies
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security: Procedure on completion of inquiry

191Offence to publish information relating to inquiry

  1. A person commits an offence if the person, without the written consent of the relevant Minister, publishes or broadcasts, or causes to be published or broadcast, or otherwise distributes or discloses,—

  2. any complaint that is before the Inspector-General; or
    1. any decision of the Inspector-General relating to a complaint or an inquiry; or
      1. any report or account of any inquiry conducted by the Inspector-General; or
        1. any decision of the relevant Minister relating to a complaint or an inquiry.

          1. Subsection (1) does not apply to the publication, broadcast, distribution, or disclosure of—

          2. advice provided to a complainant by the Inspector-General under section 185(5); or
            1. a report made publicly available by the Inspector-General under section 188(1) or 222(7); or
              1. any material that the Inspector-General has approved for release (the approval being given in writing after the Inspector-General has consulted, in relation to security requirements, the Director-General of the intelligence and security agency to which the inquiry or complaint relates); or
                1. the fact only that an inquiry has been conducted by the Inspector-General.

                  1. A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction to—

                  2. a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years; or
                    1. a fine not exceeding $10,000.

                      1. A prosecution for an offence under this section may not be commenced without the leave of the Attorney-General.

                      2. Nothing in this section restricts—

                      3. the communication of proceedings in Parliament; or
                        1. the reporting of proceedings in Parliament.

                          1. In this section,—

                            communication has the meaning given to it by section 5(1) of the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014

                              proceedings in Parliament has the meaning given to it by section 10 of the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014

                                relevant Minister means the Minister responsible for the intelligence and security agency to which the complaint or inquiry relates.

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