Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 an individual is entitled to obtain any criminal record information that may be recorded against them held by the NZ Ministry of Justice. This may be obtained from the Privacy Assistant of the Ministry of Justice. If an individual considers that the information is not correct, they may apply to have the information corrected.
The type of extract available from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice is:
Lists only convictions and sentencing. This does not include Youth Court outcomes, but does include Youth Court convictions.
There are three types of application forms available.
Two of these (Priv/F1 and Priv/F2) can be obtained by downloading (in Adobe’s Acrobat PDF format) from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice website: http://www.justice.govt.nz/services/get-a-copy-of-your-criminal-record/application-forms/
or by writing to request an application from the Privacy Unit of the Ministry of Justice at the following address:
The Privacy Unit
Ministry of Justice
National Office
PO Box 2750
Wellington
New Zealand
An application form can also be requested by telephoning the Privacy Unit on 00 64 (4) 918 8800 or by fax on 00 64 (4) 918 8974 or by email privacy@justice.govt.nz The third application form (Priv/F3) can only be obtained by contacting the Privacy Unit.
The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide your information over the telephone. An application must be made in writing on the correct form. Due to provisions of the privacy Act 1993, the Ministry requires a signed authority from an individual before they can access their information.
The application must be accompanied by proof of the applicant’s identity. The New Zealand Ministry of Justice will accept only good quality photocopies of the following documents:
The New Zealand Ministry of Justice will accept completed applications and photocopies of identity documents by fax.
An individual may authorise the direct release of the information to a third party if they so wish by completing the Priv/F2 application form. The third party must sign this form.
The New Zealand Ministry of Justice processes Criminal Conviction requests free of charge.
The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 was enforced in New Zealand on 29 November 2004. This legislation is designed to allow individuals with less serious convictions who have been conviction free for at least seven years and who meet all other relevant criteria to put their past behind them. It will enable eligible individuals to conceal convictions in most circumstances. There are some exceptions when individuals’ convictions will continue to be disclosed.
The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 is an automatic scheme – therefore, it is not necessary to apply for a ‘clean slate’. If you meet all the criteria for concealing previous convictions you are eligible to have your convictions concealed by the Ministry. Your convictions will be entitled to be concealed as long as you continue to meet all the criteria. Those who do not meet all criteria will be ineligible for ‘clean slate’ purposes and will receive a criminal convictions report.
More information on the Act is available on the Ministry’s website.