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Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (Consistent) (Section 21) [2006] NZBORARp 46 (17 October 2006)

Last Updated: 12 January 2019

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


  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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’.
  4. 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


  1. 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:
  1. 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:

CONCLUSION


  1. 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.


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