Compulsorily acquired information may not be shared with other regulators unless we have reached a co-operation agreement with that regulator, a process that is tightly regulated by statute and requires sign-off by the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.  This prohibition does not apply to information acquired voluntarily or compulsorily acquired information shared with the consent of the party it was obtained from.  We also cannot share information collected as part of the NZCC’s role as regulator of natural monopolies in New Zealand (in energy, telecommunications etc).    In our Competition and Consumer Investigation Guidelines, the NZCC has committed to further restrictions, notably that where we have obtained confidential information voluntarily, we will in the first instance seek a waiver from the person who supplied us the information before sharing or discussing the information with an overseas regulator.   We will also consider, when providing information in the course of a joint investigation, whether we are satisfied that the information will be used for a purpose for which it was provided; and whether the regulator has appropriate procedures in place to keep the information confidential.   Accordingly, our decision to share information or documents with an overseas regulator will be based on all the above laws and self-imposed guidelines in addition to any particular agreement reached with the provider of the confidential information. The NZCC most commonly shares information with another regulator by consent (waivers). Waivers are the simplest and most effective basis for sharing any information and are widely used by NZCC.