Published: 30 January, 2019
Ministry of Justice
In August and September 2018, the Ministry of Justice sought feedback on a draft version of information sharing guidance for the family violence sector. The guidance document seeks to clarify the rules around information sharing that are introduced under the Family Violence Act 2018.
Today, we have released the report, Sharing information safely - Summary of Feedback: Guidance on sharing personal information under the Family Violence Act 2018. A copy of the report is attached to this email, and you can access it online at: www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/reducing-family-and-sexual-violence/a-new-family-violence-act/information-sharing-guidance
In general, feedback on the draft guidance was positive. Many accepted that information sharing that is done well, safely and appropriately, can benefit the people the sector works with.
Many of you suggested ways the draft guidance could be improved, including ensuring it is easy to use and relevant to the sector. It was clear that the guidance should focus more on victims, ensuring that they are involved in decisions related to the sharing of their information, where it is safe to do so. These views are reflected in the summary report.
Case studies
Throughout the submission process many people recommended that we further develop and improve the case studies used in the guidance. The case studies aim to provide real-world examples of how the information sharing process could work in practice.
If you were one of the generous individuals who offered to assist us in refining these examples, or would now like to volunteer, please let us know by replying to this email by 1 February 2019. We will be in touch to discuss the process for updating the case studies.
Next steps
We are updating the information sharing guidance, drawing on the comments made during the submission process. The updated guidance will focus on enabling safe, appropriate, and consistent practice across the sector.
The new information sharing provisions will come into force on 1 July 2019. The updated final version of the guidance will be released when the new provisions come into force.
Thank you again for taking the time to make a submission.
Ministry of Justice Information sharing guidance summary of feedback FOR RELEASE - (370 KB Adobe Acrobat PDF file) »