Hon Mark Mitchell
Minister of Police

New legislation for the Police vetting service to ensure greater clarity, consistency, and efficiency for Police and users of the service, has passed its first reading in Parliament today.

Each year Police provides over 650,000 vets to support New Zealand’s public safety and national security.

“The vetting service that Police provide is of significant value to users of the service and Kiwis across New Zealand – particularly those working with vulnerable people,” says Mr Mitchell.

“This Bill will amend the Policing Act to create a formalised framework, giving Police the legal guidance and protection they need to keep Kiwi’s safe.

“The changes will clarify the information considered, and the tests Police applies before releasing information. This will assist vetting users to better understand what to expect when engaging with the Police vetting service.

“The legislation will also enable Police to deliver future service improvements that could enhance public safety and increase the efficiency of the vetting service.

“Providing indemnity to Police when sharing information is also a feature of the Bill. This will enable vetting services to err on the side of sharing information, which is critical for keeping vulnerable Kiwis including children, safe. Transparency is key when it comes to public safety.”

This new legislation gives action to a recommendation contained in a 2016 joint review undertaken by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Note:

The policy objectives of this Bill are to:

• provide strong legal direction and a clear and consistent policy framework for Police and users of the Police vetting service; and
• enable services that could improve public safety and generate efficiencies through the provision of Police vets.

The Bill:

• establishes a statutory framework that enables the current Police vetting service to continue operating in substantially the same manner as at present, by—
• setting out the purposes of Police vetting; and
• setting out who can request a Police vet; and
• requiring a request for a Police vet to be made with the consent of the individual who is the subject of the request; and
• setting out the information that may be disclosed in a Police vet; and
• setting out the circumstances in which certain information may be disclosed in a Police vet; and
• requiring Police to update a Police vet in respect of a children’s worker if Police subsequently becomes aware that the children’s worker has been charged with or convicted of a specified offence; and
• extending the current Police vetting service by—
• enabling Police to provide updates of a Police vet to an agency if requested by the agency and if the individual who is the subject of the Police vet consents and Police is satisfied that the provision of updated Police vets is necessary; and
• enabling an individual who is a member of a specified class of individuals to make a vetting request in relation to themselves specifying the agencies they wish the Police vet is to be disclosed to (for example, an individual may wish to request that a Police vet about themselves be provided by Police to a number of prospective employers instead of having each of the prospective employers separately request a Police vet in respect of the individual).

The Bill enables Police to extend the Police vetting service in two ways by:

• enabling Police to make arrangements with an agency to provide updates on a Police vet in agreed circumstances, with the vetting subject’s consent; and
• enabling Police to specify a class of individuals who can request a Police vet on themselves to be provided to one or more approved agencies, as well enabling agreed updates.

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