A7.60 Guidelines for withholding information

See also Privacy Act 2020 ss 29, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53

1. The reasons for withholding information include (but are not limited to):
   1. disclosure 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 Operations Manual such as risk advice); or
   2. disclosure would be likely to pose a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of any individual, or to public health or public safety, or create a significant likelihood of serious harassment of an individual; or
   3. disclosure where the information is about another person who is the victim of an offence or an alleged offence, and would be caused significant distress, loss of dignity, or injury to feelings by the disclosure of the information; or
   4. disclosure where the information (being information that relates to the physical or mental health of the requestor) would be likely to prejudice the health of the individual concerned (note: requires consultation (where practicable) by or on behalf of the agency with the health practitioner of the individual concerned); or
   5. the individual concerned is under the age of 16 and the disclosure of the information would be contrary to the interests of the individual concerned; or
   6. the disclosure of the information (being information in respect of the individual concerned who has been convicted of an offence or is or has been detained in custody) would be likely to prejudice the safe custody or the rehabilitation of the individual concerned; or
   7. disclosure would breach 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
   8. disclosure would be likely to prejudice New Zealand's security or defence or the international relations of the New Zealand Government; or
   9. disclosure 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
   10. 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 consideration; or
   11. the information is not readily retrievable or does not exist or cannot be found (this can only be used after a thorough, fully documented search has been made); or
   12. disclosure 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 personal information is also excluded from disclosure such as information contained in any communication between the Office of the Ombudsman and INZ, or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and INZ relating to any investigation under the Ombudsmen Act, the Official Information Act or the Privacy Act 2020.

Effective 28/01/2021