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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Privacy Act 2020

Complaints, investigations, and proceedings - Complaints

77: Exploring possibility of settlement and assurance without investigating complaint

You could also call this:

“Trying to resolve complaints before starting an investigation”

When someone makes a complaint, the Commissioner can try to fix the problem without starting a full investigation. They can do this by trying their best to help everyone agree on a solution. If the complaint is about something an agency did, the Commissioner can also try to get the agency to promise they won’t do it again.

If the Commissioner can’t get everyone to agree or get a promise from the agency, they have two choices. They can decide not to investigate the complaint if they think it’s not necessary or if there’s a good reason not to. Or, they can decide to start a full investigation. The reasons for not investigating are listed in section 74.

After the Commissioner decides what to do, they need to tell the person who made the complaint as soon as they can.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23451.

Topics:
Rights and equality > Privacy
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“Sending your privacy complaint to another country if it's about something that happened there”

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78: Referral of complaint to Director without conducting investigation, or

“When the Commissioner can send a complaint to the Director without investigating”

Part 5 Complaints, investigations, and proceedings
Complaints

77Exploring possibility of settlement and assurance without investigating complaint

  1. At any time after receiving a complaint and without commencing an investigation, the Commissioner may decide to use best endeavours to—

  2. secure a settlement of the complaint; and
    1. if appropriate, secure a satisfactory assurance from the agency whose action is the subject of the complaint that there will not be a repetition of the action that gave rise to the complaint, or of any similar kind of action.

      1. If the Commissioner is unable to secure a settlement or a satisfactory assurance, the Commissioner may—

      2. decide not to investigate the complaint if the Commissioner—
        1. is satisfied of any of the matters set out in section 74; or
          1. considers that any further action is unnecessary or inappropriate; or
          2. decide to investigate the complaint under subpart 2.

            1. As soon as practicable after making a decision under subsection (2), the Commissioner must notify the complainant of the decision.

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