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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, like 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. You cannot be forced to tell a court what you know if you are the Commissioner, work for the Commissioner, or are the Director. However, this does not apply if you are accused of committing an offence against certain sections of the Crimes Act 1961, such as section 78AAA, or of conspiring or trying to commit one of these offences.

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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, 78AAA, 78AAB, 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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              Notes
              • Section 90(3)(a): amended, on , by section 17 of the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 71).