The complainant had requested access to his file held by the New Zealand Children and Young Persons Service. The file was released. However, certain information was withheld. The complainant asked me to investigate the decision of the Department of Social Welfare to withhold this information.

The information withheld related to references to the identity of a person who had made certain allegations about the requester's treatment of his son.

I noted that principle 6 of the Act provided the requester with the right of access to personal information held about him by the Department. The identity of the person who provides information about another person is considered to be personal information about that other person. However the right of access to personal information is subject to a number of reasons which justify a refusal to make that information available. These reasons are set out in section 27, 28 and 29 of the Act.

Section 27(1)(c) appeared to be relevant to the Department's concern. This section provides an agency with a reason to refuse to disclose information under principle 6 if the disclosure of the information would be likely

"to prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation and detection of offences and the right to a fair trial."

In administering the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act, the Department relies heavily on receipt of information from sources which understand that their identity will remain confidential. Receipt of such information will often be crucial to identification of children who are in need of care and protection and it is part of the statutory function of the Department to identify such children.

I accepted that if the Department released the identifying information about the informant in this case, in future this informant and/or other potential informants would be reluctant to supply information. I considered that if the flow of the information were to cease or be diminished then the Department would quite clearly be prejudiced in its maintenance of the law relating to children and young persons.

For these reasons I consider that section 27(1)(c) provided the Department with good reason to withhold the identifying information about the informant.

Refusal of access to information - Information Privacy Principles 6 - section 27(1)(c) Privacy Act 1993

Access to personal information - Department of Social Welfare - Refusal - Informant identity - Release of informant identity would be likely to "prejudice the maintenance of the law" - Privacy Act 1993, s 27(1)(c) - Information privacy principle 6