KEY POINTS:
The Law Commission has identified more than 100 public registers that include individuals' personal information as part of its review of privacy law.
The commission tabled its report on public registers in Parliament yesterday.
The report represents stage two of the Law Commission's four-stage privacy review, which is examining a range of aspects of privacy law, including how new technology affects privacy.
Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer said more than 100 public registers had been identified, including rates databases, dog registers, transport registers, the electoral rolls, births, deaths and marriages registers, land registers, company registers and health practitioners' registers.
Sir Geoffrey said public registers needed to be open to the public for a number of reasons.
"They include tracing fraudulent company directors, verifying official records for evidence of births, deaths and marriages, locating a qualified plumber," he said.
"But personal information on such registers needs to be protected so it cannot be used for more dubious purposes, such as tracing people for harassment purposes or identity crime.
"Bulk access to register information for commercial purposes is also an oft-voiced concern."
The commission's report concluded that the law regulating public registers needed greater clarity and consistency.
"We recommend that a dedicated team should review all public registers, over a year, against a template set out in the report," said Sir Geoffrey.
Recommendations for resulting legislative changes should then be introduced by way of a single omnibus bill.
However, the Law Commission's recommendation will not be considered by the Government until the privacy review is completed next year.
Further work includes a review the Privacy Act.
- NZPA
