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Privacy Act 2020

Sharing, accessing, and matching personal information - Information sharing

142: Agreement may apply to classes of agencies

You could also call this:

"A single agreement can cover many agencies at once, not just individual ones."

Illustration for Privacy Act 2020

When you look at the rules for sharing personal information, you see that an agreement can apply to a group of agencies. This group is called a class of agencies, but it does not include government departments or specified organisations. You are considered a member of this group if you are not a department, a specified organisation, or a part of one.

An agreement can say which groups of agencies it applies to. The main agency in charge can decide to let another agency join the agreement if it is part of the specified group. They can then add the new agency's name to a list called the Schedule of Parties.

If an agency does not want to be part of the agreement anymore, the main agency must remove its name from the list. The main agency does not need to ask the other agencies for permission to add or remove an agency from the list. After making any changes, the main agency must give the other agencies a copy of the updated list.

When a new agency joins the agreement, it can choose to share personal information with the other agencies. Any agency that is part of the agreement is considered a party to it, unless the context says otherwise. You can find more information by looking at the Privacy Act 2020 and other related laws, such as the s 96G from 1993.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23574.

Topics:
Government and voting > Government departmentsRights and equality > Privacy
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141: Parties to information sharing agreement, or

"Who can share information with each other under the law"

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143: Lead agency, or

"The agency in charge of keeping your personal information safe when it's shared is called the lead agency."

Part 7Sharing, accessing, and matching personal information
Information sharing

142Agreement may apply to classes of agencies

  1. For the purposes of this section,—

    class of agencies excludes—

    1. a class of departments:
      1. a class of specified organisations

        member of a class of agencies excludes—

        1. a department:
          1. a specified organisation:
            1. a part of a department:
              1. a part of a specified organisation.

              2. An information sharing agreement may specify 1 or more classes of agencies to which the agreement may apply.

              3. At any time after an agreement has been entered into, the lead agency may—

              4. agree to an agency that is a member of a class of agencies specified in the agreement becoming a party to the agreement; and
                1. name that agency as a party in a schedule to the agreement (the Schedule of Parties).

                  1. If at any time an agency named in the Schedule of Parties no longer wishes to be a party to the agreement, the lead agency must, on the request of that agency, remove the agency’s name from the Schedule of Parties.

                  2. A lead agency need not obtain the consent of any other party to the agreement before—

                  3. naming an agency in the Schedule of Parties; or
                    1. removing the name of an agency from the Schedule of Parties.

                      1. A lead agency must, after doing either of the things referred to in subsection (5), provide the other parties to the information sharing agreement (including the agency whose name has been added to, or removed from, the Schedule of Parties) with a copy of the Schedule of Parties or amended Schedule of Parties, as the case may be.

                      2. An agency that becomes a party to the agreement under subsection (3) may, but need not, share or participate in the sharing of any personal information with 1 or more other agencies in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

                      3. Unless the context otherwise requires, every reference in this Part to a party to an information sharing agreement includes an agency named as a party in a Schedule of Parties.

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