Our website uses cookies so we can analyse our site usage and give you the best experience. Click "Accept" if you’re happy with this, or click "More" for information about cookies on our site, how to opt out, and how to disable cookies altogether.
We respect your Do Not Track preference.
| The information on this page is more than one year old and no longer current. Please visit our Privacy and COVID-19 page for the most up-to-date information. |
The State of National Emergency across New Zealand has been lifted and a National Transition Period is now in place for 90 days, as announced by Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare.
One consequence of the State of National Emergency being lifted is that the Civil Defence National Emergencies (Information Sharing) Code 2013 will soon expire. Clause 3(2) provides that the Code applies for a further 20 working days after the date on which a state of national emergency expires or is terminated. In this instance, the Code will expire on 11 June 2020.
Emergency Code
The Emergency Code enabled personal information to be collected, used and shared more freely under emergency conditions. There were a wide range of permitted purposes (clause 5). See our earlier blogs - here and here - on the effect of the Code.
The Code was permissive and allowed information to be shared as necessary for purposes related to the emergency. The intent was to ensure there was legal clarity and assurance that information could be shared as needed to respond to the emergency.
In effect, the Emergency Code functioned as an extension to the “serious threat to public health or safety” exception to privacy principle 11, and Health Information Privacy Code rule 11, as outlined below:
|
that the disclosure of the information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat (as defined in section 2(1)) to— |
||
|
(i) |
public health or public safety; or |
|
|
(ii) |
the life or health of the individual concerned or another individual… |
|
As these exceptions remain unchanged after the expiry of the Emergency Code, there continues to be a legal basis that supports the necessary flow of information for both individual and public health and safety.
COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020
The new legal framework passed by Parliament in preparation for the move to Alert Level 2 provides a range of new powers. The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 contains powers to support the sharing of personal information for the specific purpose of contact tracing.
A section 11 order under the Act could:
“require any person to provide, in specified circumstances or in any specified way, any information necessary for the purpose of contact tracing”
The overall effect is to ensure contact tracing can proceed without impediment.
Section 11 creates a power to require information and, in that regard, it provides a stronger authority than the Code. It supplements the power of contact tracers under section 92ZZF of the Health Act 1956 to require certain persons (such as employers and businesses) to provide names and addresses of the contacts of an individual.
For the Director-General of Health to issue an order under section 11 of the new Act, they must hold the opinion that the order is urgently needed to prevent or contain COVID-19 and that the order is the most appropriate way of addressing this. A section 11 order must be presented to Parliament as soon as practicable. It generally lasts for a month unless revoked or extended.
Back