The teacher, first registered in 1982, has been censured and must now disclose what happened to any potential employer in the teaching profession after the misconduct charge against him was proven, the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal decided.
End of 20 years at the school
He had been at the school for 20 years, until 2024, and let his practising certificate lapse when it was due for renewal later that year.
The teacher had become a department head and alongside the principal, had access to Enrol – the New Zealand school student enrolment register, managed by the Ministry of Education.
The system holds personal information about enrolled students, with access limited to authorised users.
Searching for personal reasons is forbidden.
The tribunal said in its recent decision the teacher’s actions were discovered after he accessed Enrol while he was on medical leave.
He then told his wife where the protected student was enrolled in a school and the location.
The pair then spoke with their son in prison, by phone, which was recorded then transcribed.
The conversation revealed the teacher’s wife telling the son where the student had moved, but she couldn’t remember the name of the school when asked.
When asked by the son how she found out, she said revealing that information could get “Dad” in trouble, to which he said: “Then we’ll have to kill you.”
The transcript showed it was said in jest and that they all laughed, before the wife said how her husband’s role enabled him to access the information.
She said he “shouldn’t be using it” but it was “comforting to know” the student was enrolled elsewhere, and that his family was trying to establish a new life.
The recording was reviewed by police in March 2023, and the school where the teacher worked was notified.
His employment ended months later. The principal filed a mandatory report and after further investigation by the Teaching Council’s Complaints Assessment Committee a notice of charge was laid.
The teacher claimed he was motivated to ensure the protected child was enrolled at a school and was therefore being monitored.
He was unaware his actions were unlawful but acknowledged that he acted in breach of privacy laws.
An affidavit filed by the school’s board of trustees chair said that the matter was considered by the Privacy Commissioner, who found a “significant privacy breach”.
The tribunal found the teacher acted in breach of his professional and legal obligations.
Deputy chair Catherine Garvey said it was clear from the transcript that the respondent and his wife were aware that he ought not to have accessed information from Enrol.
Neither did the tribunal accept that the respondent’s access to the student’s information was for a valid purpose.
Garvey said if he had kept the information to himself, the tribunal would likely have viewed the matter less seriously, but he disclosed the information in circumstances where there was a potential to cause further harm to the student.
She noted the respondent has been co-operative with the proceedings, had expressed remorse and had no disciplinary history over the course of “decades of teaching experience”.
He intended to return to teaching but at the time the decision was released he did not hold a current practising certificate.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.