In my experience many brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, children, grandchildren want to find out more about the adoption story of a family member who was placed for adoption. However, they feel frustrated as they have been stopped from learning more, as they have no explicit rights under NZ Law. I believe that the key is to seek the support of the family member (either the birth parent or adopted person) - and help them to make an enquiry or you may be able to act as their agent.
If that family member is deceased, or not available, you may be able to convince a Judge that you have special grounds to open the Court records so that you can link up with "missing" family member. (This is referred to as a Section 23 application. A sample application form is set out below)
If health information is needed by their family doctor, a Section 11 (Adult Adoption Information Act 1985) application may be the answer. The details about this application are below. The doctor receiving this information is not permitted to release the name of the person whose information is provided.
A separate section on this web site has been established for Family Historians