How do I make a complaint about the response to my court records request?

Making a complaint about a court, or challenging a court decision, can be difficult and complicated - legal advice can help 

It might be worth getting legal advice if you are thinking of making a complaint about a court decision.  

If you are not already represented by a lawyer, you can get general legal advice from your nearest community law centreopen_in_new.

Learn more about getting legal advice. 

If you are unhappy with the response to your court records request, you can make a complaint

Each court has different processes and may make different decisions about records requests. 

They may decide not to give you your records, or they may decide to only give you part of your records. 

You can ask the court what your options are to have the decisions about your records reviewed. Find the contact details of courtsopen_in_new. Or you can contact your local community law centreopen_in_new for free general legal advice. 

You can make a complaint about the decisions of registrars 

Registrars manage court records. When you contact a court, you will speak to a registrar who may make decisions about your court records request or pass the decisions to a judicial officer.

A judicial officer (also a judge or registrar) is a person with the responsibilities and power to make decisions about how laws are applied.

You can ask for the registrar’s decision to be reviewed, by submitting an interlocutory applicationopen_in_new within five business days.

Unfortunately, there are costs to pay if you decide to submit an interlocutory application, including the cost of a lawyer to advise you and to file your application.  

If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may be eligible for legal aid (which you usually have to pay back). Find out about legal aidopen_in_new.

Learn more about getting legal advice. 

You can make a complaint about how a judicial officer acted 

You can make a complaint about how a judicial officer acted (for example, their conduct), but not about their decisions, to the Office of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner. Learn how to make a complaint about the conduct of a judicial officeropen_in_new. 

You can appeal a judicial officer’s decision in a higher court. For example, if a judicial officer turns down your request to access District Court records, you could file an appeal at the High Court.

People wanting to appeal usually pay a lawyer to do this for them as it can be an expensive, lengthy, and complicated process. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may be eligible for legal aidopen_in_new.  
You can ask the court what your options are to have the decisions about your records reviewed. Find the contact details of courtsopen_in_new. Or you can contact your local community law centreopen_in_new for free general legal advice. 

The Privacy Act and Official Information Act (OIA) does not apply to court records 

Court records held by courts are an exception to the Privacy Act and the OIA. This means that you cannot make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner or the Ombudsman about decisions made by the Courts. However, the Privacy Act and the OIA does apply to court records held by other organisations, for example, court records held by Oranga Tamariki. 

Learn more about what your rights are to get your records under the Privacy Act and the OIA.