(1) A
"private investigator" is a person who, for reward—
(a) obtains and gives
private information about another person, without the other person’s express
consent; or
(b) carries out surveillance for obtaining private information
about another person, without the other person’s express consent; or
(c)
investigates the disappearance of a missing person.
(2) Despite subsection
(1) , a person is not a private investigator merely because—
(a) the
person—
(i) is the employee of a person who does not, for reward, obtain and
give information; and
(ii) as an employee, obtains and gives information
about another person; or
(b) the person—
(i) is an employee of a person
who, for reward, obtains and gives information; and
(ii) as an employee,
obtains and gives information about another person to the employer other than
for the purpose of the employer giving the information to someone else for
reward; or
(c) the person, for reward, gives information about another person
from existing records in the person’s possession or in the possession of the
person’s employer.
Example of paragraph (a)—
a retail department
store’s employee who obtains information about the credit standing of a
person who has applied for the store’s credit card
(3) Each of the
following persons is not a private investigator in carrying out the functions
of the person’s occupation or employment—
"independent investigator" means a person, other than a public service
employee, who is engaged to investigate and report on a grievance lodged by a
public service employee under the Public Sector Act 2022.
"private information" , about a person, means information, including
information recorded in a document, about—
(a) for an individual—the
individual’s personal character, actions, business or occupation; or
(b)
for a person other than an individual—the person’s business or occupation.