Our approved information-sharing agreement (AISA) with New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Customs Service and the Serious Fraud Office sets out key activities that we need to report on each year in our annual report.
Under sections 154(1)(b), 155 and156 of the Privacy Act 2020, the Privacy Commissioner has specified the following reporting in respect of the AISA for: supply of information for the purpose of prevention, detection, investigation or providing evidence of serious crime.
A copy of the AISA is available to view at:
Information sharing with New Zealand Police, New Zealand Customs Service and Serious Fraud Office
| Agency | Serious Fraud | New Zealand Customs Service | New Zealand Police | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Number of requests for information made by the agency | 39 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 632 | 360 |
| Number of responses with information provided by IR to the agency | 39 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 573 | 349 |
| Number of occasions IR proactively provided information to the agency | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 9 |
Benefits
This is the number of times that information provided by IR has been used in a case, with a resolution of:
| Agency | Serious Fraud Office | New Zealand Customs Service | New Zealand Police | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| No offence | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 84 |
| Prosecution | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 139 | 99 |
| Warning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Still under investigation | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 326 | 164 |
| No response received (still in progress) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of requests cancelled or did not meet criteria | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 59 | 11 |
| Total | 1 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 632 | 360 |
Notes:
Of the New Zealand Customs Service cases still under investigation, 2 cases are likely to result in prosecution.
Warning, diversion and youth case action do not apply as the AISA focuses on serious offending and these possible resolutions are for lower-level offending that falls below the serious crime threshold.
The number of requests and responses has returned to similar levels to 2021 and 2022 However, the nature of the requests has also changed over that period as collectively agencies have evolved their approach focusing on more targeted and complex requests.
Costs
The estimated cost of the agreement for the year ended 30 June 2025 is approximately $30,000.[1]
Amendments
The information-sharing agreement between IR and New Zealand Police was extended to include the Serious Fraud Office and the New Zealand Customs Service. A new AISA was negotiated between parties and signed in July 2020 and enacted in October 2020.
[1]Excludes estimated costs for Intelligence, Legal Services and Team Lead roles.