(1) In this Act, private investigator means a person who carries on any business, either by himself or in partnership with any other person, whereby—
he seeks or obtains for any person or supplies to any person any information described in subsection (2).
(2) For the purposes of this section, information means any information relating to—
but does not include information that is contained in a public record.
(3) For the purposes of this section but without limiting the meaning of the term carries on any business, a person shall be deemed to carry on a business if he holds himself out to the public as being ready to carry on that business.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), no person is a private investigator within the meaning of this Act by reason of the fact that—
(5) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, declare that a person is not a private investigator by reason only of the fact that he carries on any occupation or business described in the Order.
Subsection (4) was substituted, as from 1 April 1979, by section 2 Private Investigators and Security Guards Amendment Act 1978 (1978 No 83).