Out with the Old Act, In with the New

Incredible as it might seem, New Zealand is the only place in the entire world that prohibits PI's from taking or using photographs and this has been the case since 1974 (36 years).

The old Act is so ridiculous that even when investigating a "missing" loved one, a PI cannot use a photograh of the person without their written consent - Yip, that's right, we need to ask the missing person if we can use their photo to find them!!

After a round of submissions to the Select Committe in which our Managing Director, Ron McQuilter appeared to present the case for the entire members of the New Zealand Institiute of Professional Investigators ("NZIPI") at last, the government of the day, despite strong oppositon has seen fit to remove the nonsense and when the new Act comes into force in April next, PI's will have the same power as every other citizen, not more, just the very same.

What this means though is that we can now use best evidence to combat fraud and theft, working within the Privacy Act Principles and the many other laws that govern our conduct. It might seem a simple fix but trust me PI's are applauding the government.

Thanks also goes to Glenda Hughes for her assistance in preparing the submissions, the NZSA, the then Registrar of Investigators, the Insurance sector and many others who all presented with a united voice.