Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 No 71
Current version for 4 January 2013 to date (accessed 19 May 2013 at 08:59)
72 Protection from liability
(1) Civil proceedings do not lie against a person in respect of loss,
damage or injury of any kind suffered by another person by reason only of any
of the following acts done in good faith:(a) the making of a complaint or application under this
Act,
(b) the making of a statement to, or the giving of a document or
information to, the Privacy Commissioner, whether or not pursuant to a
requirement under section 59 or 63.
(2) If an organisation provides an individual with access to health
information under this Act, and the access was required by HPP 7 (Access to
health information) or Part 4, or an employee, officer or agent of the
organisation believed in good faith that the access was required by HPP 7 or a
provision of Part 4:(a) no action for defamation or breach of confidence lies against the
organisation, any employee, officer or agent of the organisation or the Crown
by reason of the provision of access, and
(b) no action for defamation or breach of confidence in respect of any
publication involved in, or resulting from, the giving of access lies against
the person who provided the health information to the organisation by reason
of the person having supplied the health information to the organisation,
and
(c) the organisation, or any employee, officer or agent of the
organisation, or any other person concerned in giving access to the health
information is not guilty of an offence merely because of the giving of
access.
(3) The provision of access to health information in the circumstances
referred to in subsection (2) must not be taken to constitute, for the
purposes of the law relating to defamation or breach of confidence, an
authorisation or approval of the publication of the health information by the
person to whom access to the information is
provided.