Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698829457616.pdf (New Zealand)
Reprint as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Public Act Date of assent Commencement 1999 No 25 4 May 1999 see section 1(2) Contents Title Short Title and commencement Part 1 Preliminary provisions What this Act is about Interpretation Act binds the Crown Part 2 Year 2000 information disclosure statements Year 2000 information disclosure statements Original Year 2000 information disclosure statements Republished Year 2000 information disclosure statements Page 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 Note Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.
A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.

This Act is administered by the Ministry of Economic Development.
1 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Part 3 Protection from civil liability Protection from civil liability Year 2000 information disclosure statements not admissible in civil proceedings Exception for false statements Exception for liability under law relating to contracts or deeds Exception for liability to consumers under Fair Trading Act 1986 or Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 Exception for satisfaction of statutory obligations Exception for restraining injunctions or declaratory relief Exception for obligation to maintain confidentiality Exception for intellectual property rights Existence of exception not necessarily cause of action Imputed knowledge Explanatory statement Part 4 Miscellaneous Year 2000 information disclosure statement does not vary contract An Act to provide protection from civil liability for statements relating to Year 2000 date processing 1 (1) (2) 2 (1) Short Title and commencement This Act may be cited as the Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999.
This Act comes into force on 15 May 1999.

Part 1 Preliminary provisions What this Act is about This Act relates to Year 2000 information disclosure state- ments.

(2) A Year 2000 information disclosure statement is a statement about the problems associated with the electronic processing 2 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Part 1 s 3 (3) (4) 3 (1) of information relating to dates occurring in the period com- mencing on 15 May 1999 and ending with the close of 30 June 2001.
If a Year 2000 information disclosure statement is made in accordance with the Act, no person who makes or republishes the statement is under any civil liability for anything in the statement.

Also, a Year 2000 information disclosure statement cannot be given in evidence in civil proceedings involving the person who made or republished the statement.

However, the Act contains exceptions to the protection from civil liability and the prohibition against admitting statements in evidence.
The object of providing this protection is to reduce the risk of legal proceedings for persons wishing to give or share infor- mation about what is commonly called “Y2K compliance” or “the Millennium bug”, and, as a result, to encourage the giv- ing and sharing of that information.
Interpretation In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— acquire has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 consumer means a person who— (a) acquires from a supplier goods or services of a kind or- dinarily acquired for personal, domestic, or household use or consumption; and does not acquire the goods or services, or hold himself or herself out as acquiring the goods or services, for the purpose of a business, including for the purpose of— (i) (ii) resupplying them in trade; or consuming them in the course of a process of production or manufacture; or in the case of goods, repairing or treating in trade other goods or fixtures on land (iii) (b) goods has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Fair Trading Act 1986 services has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Fair Trad- ing Act 1986 3 Part 1 s 4 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 (e) (c) (d) Year 2000 date processing means the electronic processing, transmitting, or receiving of information relating to dates oc- curring in the period commencing on 15 May 1999 and ending with the close of 30 June 2001 Year 2000 date processing matter means— Year 2000 date processing; or (a) detecting problems relating to Year 2000 date process- (b) ing; or preventing problems relating to Year 2000 date process- ing; or remedying problems relating to Year 2000 date process- ing; or the consequences or implications, for the supply of goods or services, of problems relating to Year 2000 date
 processing; or arrangements (including contingency planning, risk management, and remedial action) for dealing with the consequences or implications referred to in paragraph (e); or the consequences or implications, for the activities or capacity of a person, of problems relating to Year 2000 date processing; or arrangements (including contingency planning, risk management, and remedial action) for dealing with the consequences or implications referred to in paragraph (g).
(h) (g) (f) (2) In this Act, references to consequences, implications, and problems include references to potential consequences, im- plications, or problems, as the case may require.

Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 ss 4, 8(1)(a) (Aust) Act binds the Crown This Act binds the Crown.
4 4 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Part 2 s 6 Part 2 Year 2000 information disclosure statements 5 6 (1) Year 2000 information disclosure statements For the purposes of this Act, a Year 2000 information dis- closure statement means— (a) an original Year 2000 information disclosure statement; or a republished Year 2000 information disclosure state- ment.
(b) Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 7 (Aust) Original Year 2000 information disclosure statements For the purposes of this Act, an original Year 2000 informa- tion disclosure statement is a statement that— (a) relates solely to 1 or more Year 2000 date processing matters; and includes words to the effect that the statement is a Year 2000 information disclosure statement for the purposes of this Act; and includes words to the effect that a person may be pro- tected by this Act from civil liability for the statement in certain circumstances; and is made on or after 15 May 1999, but before the close of 30 June 2001; and identifies the person who made the statement; and is made in 1 or more of the following forms: (i) (ii) writing: a data storage device from which the statement is capable of being reproduced in writing (for ex- ample, a computer floppy disk or Internet web- site): (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (iii) writing communicated electronically (for ex- ample, a fax or email); and (g) is not made in a contract.
(2) A statement complies with subsection (1)(b) and (c) if the statement includes the following words: 5 Part 2 s 7 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 (3) 7 “This statement is a Year 2000 information disclosure state- ment for the purposes of the Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999.
A person may be protected by that Act from civil liability for this statement in certain circumstances.” Subsection (2) does not prevent other words being used to comply with subsection (1)(b) and (c).
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 8 (Aust) Republished Year 2000 information disclosure statements For the purposes of this Act, a republished Year 2000 infor- mation disclosure statement is a statement that— (a) is the republication of— (i) (ii) the complete original Year 2000 information dis- closure statement; or parts of the original Year 2000 information dis- closure statement, including the parts that con- tain the information required by section 6(1)(b), (c), and (e), together with a statement describ- ing where the original Year 2000 information dis- closure statement can be obtained; and (b) (c) is made on or after 15 May 1999, but before the close of 30 June 2001; and is made in 1 or more of the following forms: the forms specified in section 6(1)(f): (i) orally: (ii) speech communicated electronically (for ex- (iii) ample, a telephone call, radio broadcast, or television broadcast).
Compare: Year 2000 information Disclosure Act 1999 s 9 (Aust) Part 3 Protection from civil liability Protection from civil liability 8 (1) No person making or republishing a Year 2000 information disclosure statement is under any civil liability for anything in, relating to, or arising out of, the statement.

6 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Part 3 s 11 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if 1 or more of the exceptions in sections 10 to 16 apply.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 10(1) (Aust) 9 Year 2000 information disclosure statements not admissible in civil proceedings (1) A Year 2000 information disclosure statement is not admis- sible in evidence in civil proceedings involving the person who made or republished the statement.

Subsection (1) does not apply if 1 or more of the exceptions in sections 10 to 16 apply.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 10(2) (Aust) (2) 10 Exception for false statements Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if— (a) (b) the Year 2000 information disclosure statement is false or misleading in a material particular; and the person making or republishing the statement— (i) knew that the statement was false or misleading in a material particular; or (ii) was reckless as to whether the statement was false or misleading in a material particular.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(1)(a) (Aust) 11 (1) Exception for liability under law relating to contracts or deeds Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the civil liability or civil proceedings relate to the rights, obligations, or remedies of a person under the law relating to contracts or deeds whether under the general law or under any Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the civil liability or civil proceedings relate to— (a) the making or republishing of a Year 2000 information disclosure statement by a person to another person in the course of negotiations leading to the making of a contract, and both persons are parties to the civil pro- ceedings; or the making or republishing of a Year 2000 information disclosure statement by a person to another person for (b) 7 Part 3 s 12 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 the purpose of satisfying an obligation imposed by or under a contract, and both persons are parties to the civil proceedings.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(1)(b), (2)(a) (Aust) Exception for liability to consumers under Fair Trading Act 1986 or Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the civil liability or civil proceedings relate to the rights or remedies under the Fair Trading Act 1986 or the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 of a person who is a consumer.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(3) (Aust) Exception for satisfaction of statutory obligations Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the Year 2000 informa- tion disclosure statement was made for the purpose of satisfy- ing an obligation imposed by or under another Act.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(2)(b) (Aust) Exception for restraining injunctions or declaratory relief Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply to the extent that the civil proceedings are for a restraining injunction or for declaratory relief.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(4)(a) (Aust) Exception for obligation to maintain confidentiality Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the civil liability or civil proceedings relate to any obligation or duty (whether under any Act or the general law) of a person to maintain the confi- dentiality of information in the person’s possession or control.
Exception for intellectual property rights Sections 8(1) and 9(1) do not apply if the civil liability or civil proceedings relate to the infringement of a right, privilege, or entitlement conferred by an intellectual property right, includ- ing an intellectual property right conferred under— (a) (b) (c) the Patents Act 1953; or the Designs Act 1953; or the Trade Marks Act 1953; or Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Part 3 s 18 17 (1) (2) 18 (1) (2) the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987; or the Copyright Act 1994; or the Layout Designs Act 1994.
(d) (e) (f) Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 11(4)(c) (Aust) Existence of exception not necessarily cause of action This section applies for the avoidance of doubt.

The application of an exception in 1 or more of sections 10 to 16— (a) (b) is not, of itself, a cause of action; and does not necessarily mean that there is a cause of action in the particular circumstances to which the exception applies.
Imputed knowledge To establish in civil proceedings for the purposes of section 10 the matter in paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) of that section, it is suffi- cient to show the circumstances in subsection (2) or subsection (3), as the case may require.
In the case of a company, the circumstances are— (a) that a director, employee, or agent of the company en- gaged in conduct in relation to the Year 2000 informa- tion disclosure statement; and that the director, employee, or agent was, in engaging in that conduct, acting within the scope of his or her actual or apparent authority; and that the director, employee or agent— (i) knew that the Year 2000 information disclosure statement was false or misleading in a material particular; or (b) (c) (ii) was reckless as to whether the Year 2000 infor- mation disclosure statement was false or mis- leading in a material particular.
(3) In the case of a body that is not a company, the circumstances are— (a) that a member, officer, employee, or agent of the body engaged in conduct in relation to the Year 2000 infor- mation disclosure statement; and 9 Part 3 s 19 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 (b) (c) that the member, officer, employee, or agent was, in engaging in that conduct, acting within the scope of his or her actual or apparent authority; and that the member, officer, employee, or agent— (i) knew that the Year 2000 information disclosure statement was false or misleading in a material particular; or (ii) was reckless as to whether the Year 2000 infor- mation disclosure statement was false or mis- leading in a material particular.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 14 (Aust) Explanatory statement 19 (1) A defendant in civil proceedings may rely on section 8(1) only (2) if the conditions in subsection (2) are satisfied.
The conditions are that— (a) (b) (c) the defendant gives the plaintiff in the civil proceedings a statement (explanatory statement) to the effect that the defendant believes that the exception in section 10 does not apply; and the explanatory statement sets out the grounds for the belief; and the explanatory statement is made in 1 or more of the following forms: (i) (ii) writing: a data storage device from which the explanatory statement is capable of being reproduced in writ- ing (for example, a computer floppy disk or Inter- net website): (iii) writing communicated electronically (for ex- ample, a fax or email).
(3) An explanatory statement is not admissible in civil proceed- ings except for the purpose of determining whether the ex- planatory statement complies with subsection (2).

(4) A plaintiff may waive compliance with subsections (1) and (2).
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 13 (Aust) 10 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Part 4 s 20 Part 4 Miscellaneous 20 Year 2000 information disclosure statement does not vary contract A Year 2000 information disclosure statement does not vary a contract.
Compare: Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 s 15 (Aust) 11 Notes Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Contents 1 2 3 4 General Status of reprints How reprints are prepared Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first) General This is a reprint of the Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999.
The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the Act as at 5 May 1999, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.

Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that have yet to come into force or that contain relevant transitional or savings provisions are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.
Status of reprints Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment.

This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.
This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

of How reprints are prepared A number editorial in the preparation of enacting words provisions are that are repealed or conventions reprints.

not included followed are the For example, and in Acts, revoked are omitted.
5 Notes 1 2 3 12 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Notes see For a detailed list of http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.
the editorial conventions, 4 Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice.

Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.
A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000.

Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing.

To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.
In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint: • omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section” and “of this Act”) typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point) layout of provisions, including: • • indentation position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section) format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks) format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999” is now expressed as “1 January 1999”) 13 • • • • Notes Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act 1999 Reprinted as at 5 May 1999 • • • • • • • position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act) punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions) Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly case and appearance of letters and words, including: • followed by small capital format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter) small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters • schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page) format of amendments, and schedules of are rearranged into alphabetical order, chronological).
two-column schedules of consequential they rather than repeals (eg, List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first) Wellington, New Zealand: Published under the authority of the New Zealand Government—2010 5 12 14