Commerce (Promoting Competition and Other Matters) Amendment Bill

The Ombudsman's submission discusses:

• A proposal to extend the protections the Commerce Commission gives to certain official information after an investigation is completed. If passed, the law would state the Official Information Act does not apply to that information for ten years or more, up from the current 20 working days.
• An additional protection for information received by the Commerce Commission confidentially, which means the OIA generally does not apply to that information for ten years or more.
• Requirements on the Commerce Commission to publish certain information, and how this appears to align with the OIA.
• Protections for the Commerce Commission’s informants or complainants from retaliation, parallel to the Protected Disclosures regime.