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Privacy Act 2020

Complaints, investigations, and proceedings - Investigations by Commissioner

90: Disclosed information privileged

You could also call this:

"Information shared with the Commissioner is protected and can't be used against you in court."

Illustration for Privacy Act 2020

When you give information to the Commissioner during an investigation, it is protected like it would be in a court. This means what you say or provide cannot be used against you in court. The Commissioner and some other people cannot be forced to tell what they know in court.

If the Commissioner or these people learn something while doing their job, they do not have to talk about it in court. This includes the Commissioner, people who work for the Commissioner, and the Director. They are protected from having to give evidence in court about what they know.

However, there are some exceptions, such as if someone breaks the law, like committing an offence against section 78, 78AA(1), 78A(1), 105, 105A, or 105B of the Crimes Act 1961. The Commissioner's reports are also considered official reports for the purposes of clause 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Defamation Act 1992. This means they have special protection.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23463.

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Part 5Complaints, investigations, and proceedings
Investigations by Commissioner

90Disclosed information privileged

  1. Any information, document, or thing provided by a person in the course of an investigation by the Commissioner, or during any hearing before the Commissioner, is privileged in the same manner as if the investigation or hearing were proceedings in a court.

  2. The following persons may not be required to give evidence in any court, or in any proceedings of a judicial nature, in respect of anything coming to their knowledge in performing or exercising their functions, duties, or powers under this Act:

  3. the Commissioner, or any person who has held the appointment of Commissioner:
    1. a person who is employed or engaged, or who has been employed or engaged, by the Commissioner:
      1. the Director.

        1. Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of proceedings for—

        2. an offence against section 78, 78AA(1), 78A(1), 105, 105A, or 105B of the Crimes Act 1961; or
          1. the offence of conspiring to commit an offence against any of the provisions listed in paragraph (a); or
            1. the offence of attempting to commit an offence against any of the provisions listed in paragraph (a).

              1. For the purposes of clause 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Defamation Act 1992, any report of the Commissioner under this Act is taken to be an official report.

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