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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”

You could also call this:

“When the Privacy Commissioner can investigate issues”

This part of the law explains when the Commissioner can investigate things. The Commissioner can investigate in two situations:

  1. When someone makes a complaint under section 72(1). This means if you make an official complaint, the Commissioner can look into it.

  2. When the Commissioner decides to investigate something on their own. They can do this for any issue that someone could have made a complaint about under this law.

These rules help make sure the Commissioner can look into problems, whether someone tells them about it or they notice it themselves.

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Next up: 80: Commencing investigation

or “How the Privacy Commissioner starts and communicates about an investigation”

Part 5 Complaints, investigations, and proceedings
Investigations by Commissioner

79Application of this subpart

  1. This subpart applies to investigations conducted by the Commissioner—

  2. into complaints received under section 72(1); or
    1. on the Commissioner’s own initiative, into any matter in respect of which a complaint may be made under this Act.