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205: Protection against certain actions
or “Protection for those who give you your personal information when you ask for it”
You could also call this:

“Privacy Commissioner and staff must keep work information confidential”

The Privacy Commissioner and anyone who works or has worked for them must keep secret all the things they learn while doing their job under the Privacy Act. This means they can’t tell other people about the information they find out.

However, the Commissioner can share some information if they think it’s necessary to make the Privacy Act work properly. But there are some things the Commissioner still can’t share, even if they think it’s important.

The Commissioner isn’t allowed to share information that might:

  • Harm New Zealand’s security, defence, or relationships with other countries
  • Affect things that are protected by section 7 of the Official Information Act 1982
  • Make it harder to prevent, investigate, or find out about crimes
  • Reveal what the Cabinet (the group of top government ministers) has talked about in private

Also, the Commissioner can’t share any information, answers, documents, or things that they only got because someone had to give it to them under section 88(1) of the Privacy Act.

Remember, the Commissioner can only share this kind of sensitive information if they need to tell the Director about a complaint or issue.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

Next up: 207: Commissioner may share information with overseas privacy enforcement authority

or “Privacy Commissioner can share job-related information with overseas privacy authorities”
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Part 9 Miscellaneous provisions
General

206Commissioner and staff to maintain secrecy

  1. The following persons must maintain secrecy in respect of all matters that come to their knowledge in the exercise of their functions under this Act:

  2. 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. Despite subsection (1), the Commissioner may disclose any matters that in the Commissioner's opinion ought to be disclosed for the purposes of giving effect to this Act.

      2. Except where necessary for the purposes of referring a complaint or matter to the Director, the power conferred by subsection (2) does not extend to—

      3. any matter that might prejudice—
        1. the security, defence, or international relations of New Zealand (including New Zealand's relations with the Government of any other country or with any international organisation); or
          1. any interest protected by section 7 of the Official Information Act 1982; or
            1. the prevention, investigation, or detection of offences; or
            2. any matter that might involve the disclosure of the deliberations of Cabinet; or
              1. any information, answer, document, or thing obtained by the Commissioner by reason only of compliance with a requirement made under section 88(1).

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