Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki system - Monitoring of Oranga Tamariki system - Reports and reviews

32: Duty to protect individuals’ privacy in relation to reports

You could also call this:

"Keep personal info private in reports, unless people agree to share it"

Illustration for Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022

When a report is prepared under certain sections, such as section 22, 23, 24, 25(4), 26(2), or 28, it must not have any personal information about a child or young person, or their family, unless they agree to it. You need to know that personal information is private, so it should not be shared without permission. The person preparing the report must get consent from the individual before including their personal information.

If an agency responds to a report, they must not include personal information about the people mentioned earlier, unless they have consent or it is in the public interest. You should be aware that the public interest means something that is important for everyone to know. The chief executive of the agency must consider whether sharing personal information is more important than keeping it private.

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as when the individual agrees to share their personal information or when it is in the public interest, as decided by the Monitor or the chief executive of the agency. You can find more information about this in section 30A. The Monitor or the chief executive must weigh the importance of sharing personal information against the individual's right to privacy.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS591482.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parentingRights and equality > Privacy
Previous

31: Publication of final reports, responses, and progress reports, or

"The Monitor must publish reports online, hiding private information, within a set time frame."

Next

33: Authorisation of staff, or

"Who can enter Oranga Tamariki places and why"

Part 2Oversight of Oranga Tamariki system
Monitoring of Oranga Tamariki system: Reports and reviews

32Duty to protect individuals’ privacy in relation to reports

  1. This section applies to a report prepared by the Monitor under section 22, 23, 24, 25(4), 26(2), or 28.

  2. The report must not contain any personal information about a child or young person or any member of their family or whānau unless the Monitor has obtained informed consent (in accordance with its code of ethics) from the relevant individual (or individuals) to include their personal information in the report with full knowledge of who will receive the report.

  3. The chief executive of an agency that prepares a response to a report referred to in subsection (1) or a progress report under section 30A must not include any personal information that relates to an individual referred to in subsection (2).

  4. Unless either or both of the circumstances in subsection (5) apply, a report listed in subsection (1) and a response or a progress report referred to in subsection (3) may not include any personal information about—

  5. an individual caregiver:
    1. any other individual delivering services or support to children and young people through the Oranga Tamariki system.

      1. The circumstances are—

      2. the individual concerned consents to their personal information being in the report or response:
        1. the Monitor or the chief executive of the agency (as applicable) considers that the public interest in including the personal information in the report, response, or progress report outweighs the individual’s privacy interests.

          Notes
          • Section 32(3): amended, on , by section 11 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 32(4): amended, on , by section 11 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 32(5)(b): amended, on , by section 11 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).