Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill
17 October 2006
Attorney-General
LEGAL ADVICE
CONSISTENCY WITH THE NEW ZEALAND BILL OF RIGHTS ACT 1990:
STUDENT LOAN SCHEME AMENDMENT BILL
- We have considered whether the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (‘the Bill’),
(PCO 7099/5) is consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (‘the Bill of
Rights Act’). We understand that this Bill will be considered by the Cabinet
Legislation Committee at its meeting on 26 October 2006.
- We understand that the Bill is likely to be subject to further amendments before it
is submitted to Cabinet, and we will provide you with further advice should this prove
necessary.
- The Bill amends the Student Loan Scheme Act 1992 (‘the Act’), which provides for
the assessment and collection of loan payments under the student loan scheme. The Bill, inter
alia, extends the amnesty on student loan penalties, and redefines ‘borrowers
overseas’.
- The Bill also provides the Commissioner with access to the information recording
system used by the New Zealand Customs Service to store arrival or departure
information.
Section 21: Unreasonable Search and Seizure
- Clause 36 of the Bill provides the Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department
with direct access to any information recording system used by the New Zealand Customs
Service to store arrival or departure information. The purpose of these provisions is to
assist the Commissioner to verify:
- borrowers’ entitlements to a full interest write-off
- whether borrowers are New Zealand based or overseas based
- whether borrowers are resident or non-resident.
- We have considered whether these provisions are consistent with section 21 of the
Bill of Rights Act, which provides the right to be secure against unreasonable search
and seizure. In our opinion, the search powers accorded to the Commissioner are
reasonable in terms of section 21. The Bill provides the following protections on the
use of the search power:
- the Commissioner may only search information relating to pre-selected borrowers;
- the Commissioner must not search for information other than arrival and departure
information, and must not search for information about a person who is not a borrower;
- the Commissioner must take reasonable steps to ensure only persons with
appropriate powers access the database, and that a record of access to the database is
kept.
CONCLUSION
- We have concluded that the provisions in the Bill appear to be consistent with the
rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights Act.
|
Melanie Webb
Manager, Ministerial Advice
Office of Legal Counsel |
Margaret Dugdale
Policy Manager, Bill of Rights/Human Rights
Public Law Group |
In addition to the general disclaimer for all documents on this website, please note
the following: This advice was prepared to assist the Attorney-General to determine
whether a report should be made to Parliament under s 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights
Act 1990 in relation to the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill. It should not be used or
acted upon for any other purpose. The advice does no more than assess whether the Bill
complies with the minimum guarantees contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The
release of this advice should not be taken to indicate that the Attorney-General agrees
with all aspects of it, nor does its release constitute a general waiver of legal
professional privilege in respect of this or any other matter. Whilst care has been taken
to ensure that this document is an accurate reproduction of the advice provided to the
Attorney-General, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Crown Law Office accepts any
liability for any errors or omissions.
