Privacy Act 2020

Complaints, investigations, and proceedings - Proceedings before Human Rights Review Tribunal - Proceedings in relation to complaints or investigations

97: Director may commence proceedings in Tribunal

You could also call this:

“Director can take privacy complaints to the Tribunal”

When the Commissioner refers a complaint or matter to the Director under certain sections of the law, the Director needs to make a decision. You need to decide if you want to start a case in the Tribunal about the complaint or issue. You must tell the person who made the complaint and the agency involved in the complaint about your decision in writing.

Before you start any case in the Tribunal, you need to give the agency a chance to share their side of the story. In these cases, you (the Director) are the one bringing the case to court, and the agency is the one defending themselves.

Someone who feels they’ve been treated unfairly can only join the case if the Tribunal says it’s okay. You can also start a case for a group of people who have all been affected in the same way. In this situation, you can ask for solutions on behalf of everyone in the group.

If you think an agency has done something that affects a whole group of people and it’s against privacy laws, you can take action. You can ask for the same solutions mentioned in section 102 of the law to help all the people affected.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23472.

Topics:
Rights and equality > Privacy

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Part 5 Complaints, investigations, and proceedings
Proceedings before Human Rights Review Tribunal: Proceedings in relation to complaints or investigations

97Director may commence proceedings in Tribunal

  1. This section applies if a complaint or matter is referred by the Commissioner to the Director under section 78, 84, 91(5)(b) or (6), or 94(4)(a) or (5).

  2. The Director must—

  3. decide whether to commence proceedings in the Tribunal in respect of the complaint or matter; and
    1. give written notice to the following persons of that decision:
      1. the complainant; and
        1. the agency whose action was the subject of the complaint or matter.
        2. Before commencing any proceedings in the Tribunal, the Director must give the agency an opportunity to be heard.

        3. The parties to proceedings commenced under this section are—

        4. the Director, as the plaintiff; and
          1. the agency, as the defendant.
            1. An aggrieved individual may join, or be joined in, the proceedings only if the Tribunal so orders.

            2. The Director may bring proceedings on behalf of a class of aggrieved individuals, and may seek on behalf of the individuals who belong to the class any of the remedies described in section 102, if the Director considers that a respondent is acting or has acted in a way that affects or has affected that class and that is an interference with the privacy of an individual.

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