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Customs and Excise Act 2018

Administrative provisions - Disclosure of information - Disclosure to government agencies

315: Direct access to information for other purposes

You could also call this:

"Government agencies can access certain information to help them do their jobs, like keeping New Zealand safe."

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

The government wants to help other agencies do their jobs. You might wonder what kind of jobs these agencies do. They work on things like stopping crimes, keeping the country safe, and checking people who travel in and out of New Zealand.

The chief executive of Customs can let another agency access some databases. This happens when two ministers agree to it in writing. The ministers must make sure it is reasonable and safe for people's private information.

When the ministers agree, they must say what database the agency can access. They must also say what kind of information the agency can see and why they need it. The agency must keep records of when they access the database and follow rules to keep people's information safe.

The ministers also need to talk to the Privacy Commissioner before making an agreement. You can see how this law has changed over time by looking at the 1996 No 27 s 280M law. The agreement must include how the agency will use the information and what they will do with it afterwards.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7039750.

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314: Direct access to information for purposes of benefit and benefit debt recovery, or

"Government helpers can check your info to make sure you get the right benefit"

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316: Disclosure of information other than under information matching agreement or direct access agreement, or

"When Customs shares information with other government agencies to help them do their job"

Part 5Administrative provisions
Disclosure of information: Disclosure to government agencies

315Direct access to information for other purposes

  1. The purpose of this section is to facilitate a government agency’s access to information stored in a database for the purpose of assisting the agency to carry out its functions related to, or involving, any of the following:

  2. the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or punishment of offences:
    1. the prevention, detection, or investigation of any potential, suspected, or actual—
      1. terrorist act; or
        1. facilitation of a terrorist act:
        2. the protection of national security:
          1. the processing of international passengers:
            1. the protection of border security:
              1. the protection of public revenue:
                1. the protection of public health and safety.

                  1. The chief executive of Customs may, for the purpose of this section, allow the chief executive of a government agency (an accessing agency) to access 1 or more databases in accordance with a written agreement entered into by—

                  2. the Minister of Customs; and
                    1. the Minister responsible for the accessing agency.

                      1. Before entering into a written agreement under this section, or varying any such agreement, the Ministers must—

                      2. be satisfied that—
                        1. direct access to the information is reasonable and practical having regard to the amount of information to be accessed; and
                          1. there are adequate safeguards to protect the privacy of individuals, including that the proposed compliance and audit requirements for the direct access to and use, disclosure, and retention of the information are sufficient; and
                            1. the agreement will include appropriate procedures for direct access to and use, disclosure, and retention of the information; and
                            2. consult the Privacy Commissioner and have regard to any comments received from the Privacy Commissioner on the proposed agreement.

                              1. A written agreement must specify—

                              2. the database or databases that may be accessed; and
                                1. the particular type or class of information that may be accessed; and
                                  1. the particular purpose or purposes for which the information is accessed; and
                                    1. the particular function being, or to be, carried out by the government agency for which the information is required; and
                                      1. the mechanism by which the information is to be accessed; and
                                        1. how the information accessed is to be used by the government agency to achieve the particular purpose or purposes; and
                                          1. the positions or designations of the persons in the government agency who may access the database or databases; and
                                            1. the records to be kept in relation to each occasion a database is accessed; and
                                              1. the safeguards that are to be applied for protecting personal information, or commercially sensitive information, that is disclosed; and
                                                1. the requirements relating to storage and disposal of information obtained by the agency from the database or databases; and
                                                  1. the circumstances (if any) in which the information may be disclosed by the government agency to another agency, and how that disclosure may be made; and
                                                    1. the requirements for reviewing the agreement.

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