Legislation Act 2019

Parliamentary Counsel Office - Objective and functions of PCO

131: Confidentiality

You could also call this:

"Keeping conversations with the Parliamentary Counsel Office private"

When you talk to someone at the Parliamentary Counsel Office, what you say is private. This is because of something called legal professional privilege, which applies to conversations between you and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel or another lawyer at the office. This means that what you discuss with them is confidential.

If you are a client of the Parliamentary Counsel Office, you might be a Minister, a member of Parliament, or someone from a government department. You could also be a judge or someone who is promoting a local or private Bill. When you give the office instructions or talk to them about those instructions, this is also private.

The office might also prepare drafts of laws, and these are private too. Someone working at the office as a lawyer might be an employee or a contractor, and they are also covered by this confidentiality. You can find out more about who can be a lawyer by looking at section 137(2).

However, this confidentiality does not affect the rules of the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has its own rules and practices, and this section does not change them. You can look at previous laws to see how this has worked in the past.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7298454.


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130: Functions of PCO, or

"What the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) does to help make and manage laws in New Zealand."


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132: Powers of Chief Parliamentary Counsel, or

"The Chief Parliamentary Counsel's job powers"

Part 6Parliamentary Counsel Office
Objective and functions of PCO

131Confidentiality

  1. Confidential communications between a client of the PCO and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (or between a client of the PCO and another counsel in the PCO) are subject to legal professional privilege.

  2. However, nothing in this section limits or affects the rules and practice of the House of Representatives.

  3. In this section,—

    client includes a Minister of the Crown, a member of Parliament, a government department, an instrument of the Crown, a judicial officer, and a promoter of a local or private Bill

      confidential communications includes—

      1. drafting instructions received by the PCO and communications between any client of the PCO and any counsel in the PCO that relate to the subject matter of the instructions:
        1. drafts of legislation prepared by or on behalf of the PCO

          counsel includes a person who holds a legal qualification referred to in section 137(2) and is working for the PCO as a contractor or secondee in relation to the drafting of legislation.

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