C.09.Res.01 Privacy Act grounds for refusing disclosure of personal information
The following are some of the instances in sections 49-53 of the Privacy Act 2020 where the manager may refuse all or part of the request for release of prisoner’s personal information.
Access to personal information cannot lawfully be refused for any reason other than those in the Privacy Act 2020.
| Reason | Privacy Act section |
|---|---|
| Would be likely to prejudice the security, defence or international relations of New Zealand. | s 51(a) |
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Would be likely to prejudice the maintenance of the law, including preventing, investigating, and detecting offences. Prejudice the right to a fair trial. | s 53(c) |
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Would be likely to pose a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of an individual, or Would be likely to pose a serious threat to public health or safety, or Would create a significant likelihood of serious harassment of an individual, or Would include disclosure of information about another person who is the victim of an offence or alleged offence and who would be caused significant distress, loss of dignity, or injury to feelings by the disclosure of the information. | s 49(1)(a) (i), (ii) and (iii) |
| Unwarranted disclosure of the affairs of another person, including deceased individuals. | s 53(b) |
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If disclosure, being ‘evaluative material’ would breach a promise to the supplier of the information that this, or their identity, would be kept confidential, or the information is evaluative material that was made available by the agency to another agency, and the other agency may refuse to disclose the information under paragraph (a). | s 50(1)(a) and (b) |
| Would be likely to prejudice the mental or physical health of the prisoner (for this reason the contents of Psychological Service reports are not released without the permission of the Principal Psychologist of the relevant Psychological Service Office). | s 49(1)(b) |
| Would be likely to prejudice the safe custody or the rehabilitation of that individual (e.g. information which is likely to distress an ‘at risk’ prisoner or anything that may impact negatively on rehabilitation or safe custody). | s 49(1)(d) |
| Breach of legal professional privilege (e.g. a departmental solicitor’s notes on an issue – the solicitor must be contacted to determine if the privilege exists). | s 53(d) |
| If disclosure would constitute contempt of court or of the House of Representatives. | s 53(f) |
| The request is frivolous or vexatious, or the information requested is trivial. (Decisions under this section should be made on the merits of each request. The section cannot apply by default simply because requests are numerous, time consuming or appear to have no practical purpose. Advice must be sought unless direct advice about this prisoner has already been given). | s 53(h) |
| The information does not exist, or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found. | s 53(a) |
| Corrections may transfer the request to another agency if it does not hold the information to which the request relates, but believes that the information is held by another agency or believes that the information is connected more closely with the functions of another agency. | s 43(1) and (2) |