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

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

7. 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.

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. In this section,—

    employee means an employee or a former employee of the Commissioner

    officeholder means the Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner.