Information and your rights
The Ministry of Justice may hold information about you in relation to criminal and traffic convictions that has been processed through the justice system. This information is held in the Ministry's courts and collections (fines) systems.
Under the Privacy Act 1993, you are entitled to obtain information about yourself and, if you consider that the information is not correct, you may apply to have the information corrected.
You may, if you wish, authorise the release of the information to a third party, eg. another person or agency, an employer, job agency, solicitor, etc.
You may not apply for information about another person, even a close family member, without their written permission.
Application requirements
The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide your information over the telephone. You must apply in writing on the correct form. Due to provisions of the Privacy Act 1993, the Ministry requires a signed authority from you before we can access your information.
Note that you cannot obtain the information from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. If you write to the Privacy Commissioner's Office, your letter will be referred to the Ministry of Justice. This will delay the processing of your application.
You need to complete the application form to enable the person accessing the records to be able to identify you correctly. Many people write a letter but do not give their date of birth or their full name. This makes it almost impossible to identify the correct person and causes a delay while we obtain full identification information from you.
Forms unaccompanied by suitable identification will not be processed, ultimately delaying your request for information.
A copy of your application is kept for three months and is then destroyed. Your information is kept in a secure area which has restricted access.
Third parties
You may authorise the release of your personal information to a third party, e.g. another person or agency, an employer, job agency, solicitor, etc. If you are eligible for a 'clean slate' record, you will have your convictions concealed.
Note that a third party commits an offence if, without lawful authority under the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act, that party requires or requests that you:
- disregard the effect of the clean slate scheme when answering a question about your criminal record; or
- disregard the effect of the clean slate scheme and disclose, or give consent to the disclosure of your criminal record.
Foreign countries
The Ministry of Justice is frequently asked to provide a 'Police Certificate' or a 'Police Clearance' for persons who wish to apply for residence in a foreign country. In New Zealand, there is no such document. However, you can apply for a copy of your conviction records (which you can then show to another party if you wish).
Note that New Zealand legislation cannot bind a foreign government and the Clean Slate Act will have no impact on the border and immigration disclosure requirements of overseas jurisdictions.
Where a foreign State requires disclosure of all criminal convictions, whether entitled to be concealed or not, all convictions will need to be provided.
