A8.45 Guidelines for withholding information (26/07/1999)

Official Information Act, ss 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, and 27

1. The reasons for withholding information include (but are not limited to):
   1. release would be likely to prejudice the maintenance of the law, including preventing, investigating and detecting offences, and the right to a fair trial (this includes information that would be likely to identify informants, or restricted information in the NZIS Operational Manual such as risk profiles) or
   2. it is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, subject to another countervailing public interest considerations or
   3. it is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege (the confidentiality of dealings between client and lawyer, including requests for legal advice, the advice itself, any reference to the legal advice) or
   4. release would be likely to prejudice New Zealand's security or defence or the international relations of the New Zealand Government or
   5. release would be likely to prejudice the entrusting of confidential information to the New Zealand Government by other governments or international organisations (it MAY be possible to release a summary of the information but withhold the identity of the source) or
   6. it is necessary to protect the information as release would disclose a trade secret or would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person supplying or who is the subject of the information; and there are no countervailing public interest considerations, or
   7. the document alleged to contain the information does not exist or cannot be found (this can only be used after a thorough, fully documented search has been made), or
   8. release would be likely to endanger the safety of any person (based on the past behaviour of the person likely to cause the danger) or
   9. release would constitute contempt of Court or of the House of Representatives (for example, where a Court has made an order prohibiting publication of a person's name or other details).
2. Certain official information is also excluded from disclosure such as information contained in any communication between the Office of the Ombudsmen and the NZIS, or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the NZIS relating to any investigation under the Ombudsmen Act, the Official Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Effective 26/07/1999