Privacy Act 1993

Before its repeal, this Act was administered by: Ministry of Justice
  • repealed
  • Privacy Act 1993: repealed, on 1 December 2020, by section 216(1) of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).

Part 6 Codes of practice and exemptions from information privacy principles

Codes of practice

46 Codes of practice

(1)

The Commissioner may from time to time issue a code of practice.

(2)

A code of practice may—

(a)

modify the application of any 1 or more of the information privacy principles by—

(i)

prescribing standards that are more stringent or less stringent than the standards that are prescribed by any such principle:

(ii)

exempting any action from any such principle, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as are prescribed in the code:

(aa)

apply any 1 or more of the information privacy principles (but not all of those principles) without modification:

(b)

prescribe how any 1 or more of the information privacy principles are to be applied, or are to be complied with.

(3)

A code of practice may apply in relation to any 1 or more of the following:

(a)

any specified information or class or classes of information:

(b)

any specified agency or class or classes of agencies:

(c)

any specified activity or class or classes of activities:

(d)

any specified industry, profession, or calling or class or classes of industries, professions, or callings.

(4)

A code of practice may also—

(a)

impose, in relation to any agency that is not a public sector agency, controls in relation to the comparison (whether manually or by means of any electronic or other device) of personal information with other personal information for the purpose of producing or verifying information about an identifiable individual:

(b)

in relation to charging under section 35,—

(i)

set guidelines to be followed by agencies in determining charges:

(ii)

prescribe circumstances in which no charge may be imposed:

(c)

prescribe procedures for dealing with complaints alleging a breach of the code, but no such provisions may limit or restrict any provision of Part 8 or Part 9:

(d)

provide for the review of the code by the Commissioner:

(e)

provide for the expiry of the code.

(5)

A code of practice may not limit or restrict the circumstances in which an individual is entitled,—

(a)

under subclause (1)(a) of principle 6, to obtain confirmation of whether or not a public sector agency holds personal information; or

(b)

under subclause (1)(b) of principle 6, to have access to personal information held by a public sector agency; or

(c)

under principle 7,—

(i)

to request the correction of personal information held by a public sector agency; or

(ii)

to request that there be attached to any such information a statement of any correction sought but not made.

(6)

Notwithstanding the definition of the term individual in section 2(1),—

(a)

for the purposes of the issuing under this section of any code of practice relating to health information (whether or not any such code also relates to any other information), principle 11 shall be read as if it applies in respect of health information about any individual, whether living or deceased; and

(b)

any code of practice so issued shall have effect under section 53 as if principle 11 so applied, and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly.

(7)

For the purposes of subsection (6), the term health information has the same meaning as it has in section 22B of the Health Act 1956.

Section 46(2)(aa): inserted, on 1 July 1994, by section 2 of the Privacy Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 70).