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Privacy Act 2020

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

103: Damages

You could also call this:

“How you can get compensation if someone interferes with your privacy”

In this part of the law, you can get money as compensation if someone has interfered with your privacy. This compensation is called ‘damages’. The Tribunal can award you damages for different reasons:

You can get money back if you lost money because of what happened. You can also get money for expenses you had to pay because of the privacy interference. If you missed out on something good, even if it wasn’t money, you might get compensated for that too. You can even get money if you felt humiliated, lost dignity, or if your feelings were hurt.

If more than one person was affected, each person can get damages. The Director will pay the damages to you, but there are some special rules for certain people.

If you’re young and not married or in a civil union, the Director might pay the money to Public Trust or someone else to look after it for you. If you have a mental disorder and your property isn’t being managed under a special law, the Director might pay the money to Public Trust. If your property is being managed under a special law, the Director will check if the damages should be part of that management.

If the money goes to Public Trust, there are different rules about how it’s handled depending on your situation. These rules come from other laws that protect people’s rights and property.

Remember, this is just a simple explanation of the law. If you need to know more, you should ask a grown-up or a lawyer for help.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23478.

Topics:
Rights and equality > Privacy
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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102: Remedies in respect of interference with privacy, or

“What the Tribunal can do if someone interferes with your privacy”

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104: Enforcement of access direction, or

“How the Tribunal can enforce an agency's compliance with an access direction”

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

103Damages

  1. In any proceedings, the Tribunal may award damages against the defendant for an interference with the privacy of an individual in respect of 1 or more of the following:

  2. pecuniary loss suffered as a result of the transaction or activity out of which the interference arose:
    1. expenses reasonably incurred by the aggrieved individual for the purpose of the transaction or activity out of which the interference arose:
      1. loss of any benefit, whether or not of a monetary kind, that the aggrieved individual might reasonably have been expected to obtain but for the interference:
        1. humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to the feelings of the aggrieved individual.

          1. If the proceedings are brought on behalf of more than 1 aggrieved individual, the Tribunal may award damages under subsection (1) to each aggrieved individual.

          2. Subsection (1) is subject to subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Act 2005.

          3. The Director must pay damages recovered under this section to the aggrieved individual on whose behalf the proceedings were brought.

          4. Subsection (4) is subject to subsections (6) to (8).

          5. If the aggrieved individual is a minor who is not married or not in a civil union, the Director may decide to pay the damages to Public Trust or to any person or trustee corporation acting as the manager of any property of the aggrieved individual.

          6. If the aggrieved individual is a mentally disordered person within the meaning of section 2 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 whose property is not being managed under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, the Director may decide to pay the damages to Public Trust.

          7. If the aggrieved individual is a person whose property is being managed under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, the Director must ascertain whether the terms of the property order cover management of money received as damages and,—

          8. if damages fall within the terms of the property order, the Director must pay the damages to the person or trustee corporation acting as the property manager; or
            1. if damages do not fall within the terms of the property order, the Director may decide to pay the damages to Public Trust.

              1. If money is paid to Public Trust under subsection (6), (7), or (8),—

              2. sections 103 to 110 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 apply in the case of a minor who is not married or not in a civil union; and
                1. sections 108D, 108F, and 108G of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 apply, with any necessary modifications, in the case of a person referred to in subsection (7) or (8)(b); and
                  1. section 108E of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 applies, with any necessary modifications, in the case of an individual referred to in subsection (8)(a).

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