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Children’s Commissioner Act 2022

Inquiries and other matters - Miscellaneous

36: Proceedings privileged

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"People working for the Commissioner are protected from being sued for doing their job, with some exceptions."

Illustration for Children’s Commissioner Act 2022

If you work for the Commissioner, you are protected from being sued for things you do as part of your job, unless you act in bad faith. You cannot be forced to give evidence in court about things you learned while doing your job. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as if you are accused of committing a crime under the Crimes Act 1961, like section 78, 78AA(1), 78A(1), 105, 105A, or 105B.

If the Commissioner writes a report under section 20(j), you can be called to give evidence about that report. Some other laws, like sections 122 to 126 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, also apply to you. This section is an exception to section 121 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

When the Commissioner is investigating something, anything you say or any information you give is protected, like it would be in a court case. Reports made by the Commissioner are considered official reports, as stated in clause 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Defamation Act 1992. In this law, an employee means someone who works for the Commissioner, and an officeholder means the Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS733233.

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"Rules made by the Governor-General to help the Children's Commissioner law work"

Part 3Inquiries and other matters
Miscellaneous

36Proceedings privileged

  1. No civil or criminal proceedings may be brought against an employee or officeholder for anything done or omitted in the performance or intended performance or exercise of any functions, duties, or powers under this Act, unless it is shown that the person acted in bad faith.

  2. No employee or officeholder may be called to give evidence in court, or in any proceedings of a judicial nature, in respect of anything that comes to their knowledge in the performance or exercise of their functions or powers under this Act.

  3. Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) applies in respect of proceedings for—

  4. an offence against section 78, 78AA(1), 78A(1), 105, 105A, or 105B of the Crimes Act 1961; or
    1. the offence of conspiring to commit or attempting to commit an offence against any of the provisions specified in paragraph (a).

      1. Nothing in subsection (2) applies to a report made by the Commissioner under section 20(j).

      2. Sections 122 to 126 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 apply as if the conduct for which a person may be indemnified or insured under those sections were conduct that is covered by the protection from liability in this section.

      3. This section contains an exception to section 121 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

      4. Anything said or any information supplied by an individual or agency in the course of an inquiry by the Commissioner under this Act is privileged in the same manner as if the inquiry were a proceeding in a court.

      5. For the purposes of clause 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Defamation Act 1992, any report made by the Commissioner under this Act is to be taken to be an official report.

      6. In this section,—

        employee means an employee or a former employee of the Commissioner

          officeholder means the Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner.

          Compare
          Notes
          • Section 36(4): amended, on , by section 24 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 36(7): amended, on , by section 24 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 36(8): amended, on , by section 24 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 36(9) employee: amended, on , by section 24 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).
          • Section 36(9) officeholder: replaced, on , by section 24 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 34).