Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010

75 New heading and sections 112A to 112F inserted

• The following heading and sections are inserted after section 112:

  “Contact information for enforcement purposes

  “112A Interpretation

  • In this section and in sections 112B to 112F,—

    “contact information means information that is—

    • “(a) held or supplied by a specified agency; and

    • “(b) about a judgment debtor named in a Tribunal order; and

    • “(c) of a type that the Secretary for Justice has, by notice in the Gazette, identified as being information that is likely to assist in locating judgment debtors for the purpose of enforcing Tribunal orders

    “judgment debtor means a person who is required under a Tribunal order to pay money to the judgment creditor named in the order

    “specified agency means any of the following:

    • “(a) the Department:

    • “(b) the Ministry of Social Development:

    • “(c) the Ministry of Justice

    “specified database means a database operated by a specified agency and prescribed by regulation as a specified database for the purposes of section 112C(2).

  “112B Application for contact information

  • “(1) The judgment creditor named in a Tribunal order may apply to the chief executive for contact information about a judgment debtor named in the order to be made available to the court in which enforcement proceedings against the judgment debtor have been, or may be, commenced.

    “(2) The application must—

    • “(a) be on a form approved for the purpose by the chief executive; and

    • “(b) be accompanied by any prescribed fee; and

    • “(c) have a copy of the relevant Tribunal order attached.

    “(3) The applicant must supply the following information in the application:

    • “(a) the full name of the judgment debtor:

    • “(b) the number of the Tribunal order:

    • “(c) the judgment debtor’s last known address, to the best of the applicant’s knowledge:

    • “(d) the date on which the applicant believes the judgment debtor last lived at the last known address:

    • “(e) any other information known to the applicant that is likely to assist in a search by a specified agency for contact information about the judgment debtor, such as date of birth and any other names by which the judgment debtor is known:

    • “(f) the steps taken by the applicant to find any contact information about the judgment debtor.

    “(4) If a judgment creditor is entitled under an enactment to recover any costs relating to the enforcement of an order, then the prescribed fee paid by an applicant under this section is to be treated as a cost that is recoverable, unless the judgment debtor proves that the information was publicly available at the time the applicant applied for the information.

  “112C Application referred to specified agency

  • “(1) The chief executive must refer an application under section 112B to a specified agency if—

    • “(a) the application is properly completed, any prescribed fee is paid, and a copy of the relevant order is attached; and

    • “(b) the chief executive is satisfied that the applicant has, before making the application, made reasonable efforts to find contact information about the judgment debtor; and

    • “(c) the chief executive believes on reasonable grounds that a search by a specified agency may find contact information about the judgment debtor that may assist in the enforcement of the Tribunal order.

    “(2) A specified agency that receives an application forwarded by the chief executive must search its specified databases in order to find contact information that relates to the judgment debtor identified in the application.

    “(3) After searching its specified databases, the specified agency must,—

    • “(a) if it finds contact information about the judgment debtor, forward it to the chief executive; or

    • “(b) if it does not find contact information about the judgment debtor, or if it believes that the judgment debtor is dead, advise the chief executive of that fact.

  “112D Response to applicant

  • “(1) If the chief executive receives contact information from a specified agency in response to an application, the chief executive must—

    • “(a) forward the contact information to the Secretary for Justice; and

    • “(b) advise the applicant that information has been forwarded to the Secretary for Justice.

    “(2) If the chief executive receives advice that the specified agency has not found contact information about the judgment debtor, the chief executive must—

    • “(a) advise the applicant accordingly; or

    • “(b) if the chief executive believes on reasonable grounds that another specified agency may hold contact information about the judgment debtor, forward the application to that specified agency, in which case section 112C(2) and (3) and this section apply again.

    “(3) If the chief executive receives advice that the specified agency believes the judgment debtor is dead, the chief executive must advise the applicant accordingly.

    “(4) If the chief executive does not advise the applicant under any of subsections (1) to (3) within 30 days of receipt of the application, the chief executive must write to the applicant explaining the reason for the delay.

  “112E Specified information sent to District Court

  • When the Secretary for Justice receives contact information from the chief executive, he or she must—

    • “(a) determine in which District Court enforcement proceedings should be commenced; and

    • “(b) send the contact information to the Registrar of that District Court; and

    • “(c) advise the applicant—

      • “(i) that the information has been sent to the Registrar of that District Court; and

      • “(ii) that enforcement proceedings may be commenced in that District Court or, if they have already been commenced in that or any other District Court, that enforcement proceedings may now continue in, or be transferred to, that District Court.

  “112F Non-disclosure of contact information

  • “(1) If contact information has been sent to the Registrar of a District Court in connection with enforcement proceedings relating to a Tribunal order, neither the Registrar nor the Court staff may disclose the contact information unless the disclosure is necessary for the purpose of enforcing the order or for determining any proceedings associated with enforcement of the order.

    “(2) No person may search, inspect, or copy any court file that contains contact information, unless a Judge directs otherwise.

    “(3) A Judge may make a direction under subsection (2) only if satisfied that the contact information contained on the file is—

    • “(a) already known to the person seeking to search, inspect, or copy the record; or

    • “(b) no longer current.”