125Offence to commit act of reprisal

125 Offence to commit act of reprisal (1) A person commits an act of reprisal against another if the person causes, or threaten to cause, harm to another for a prohibited reason, that is because: (a) the other person or a third person: (i) has made or intends to make a complaint; or (ii) has cooperated or intends to cooperate with a person acting in an official capacity under this Act; and (b) the person wants to obtain retribution for the complaint or cooperation or, in the case of intended complaint or cooperation, to discourage it. Examples of cooperation Answering questions, producing documents or providing information in any other form. (2) A person must not commit an act of reprisal against another. (a) knows or believes a person has acted, or intends to act, as described in subsection (1)(a); and (b) intends to discourage, or obtain retribution for, that act or intended act.

Ombudsman Act 2009 58 (3) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against subsection (2) for the defendant to prove the prohibited reason was not a substantial reason for the conduct on which the charge is based. (4) A prosecution for an offence against subsection (2) must be started within 2 years after the offence is alleged to have been committed.