Ask a lawyer a privacy question and you’ll often hear,
“it depends”, because New Zealand’s Privacy Act is
based on principles; it has nuance.
However, most New
Zealand agencies need something more to rely on, which is
why we write guidance. It’s a road map for doing privacy
well.
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says,
“This year we had a real push on information sharing
guidance; for example, making sure people working in
agencies that protect children know and are confident about
what they can share and how to ensure the wellbeing and
safety of children.
“Privacy is often given as a
reason for not sharing information.
“It’s
important for people working in child protection to be
confident that there is no legislative barrier to
information sharing where there is a wellbeing or safety
concern for a child.
“Clear guidance helps people
understand that a child’s wellbeing and safety comes
first,” says Mr Webster.
The Office of the Privacy
Commissioner also helped clarify new privacy rules about
indirect collection (IPP3A) by developing detailed guidance,
webinars for specific sectors, and video
information.
“Doing privacy well is crucial for
ensuring New Zealanders’ personal information is handled
with care.
“By writing plain language guidance my
Office can help support the implementation of legislative
and regulatory privacy initiatives,” says the Privacy
Commissioner. “We want New Zealand businesses to succeed
while doing privacy well.”
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Guidance developed in the
2025/6 includes:
- Information sharing for the
wellbeing and safety of children and young
people - Privacy guidance for the education
sector - Using biometrics legally
- IPP3A:
collection of information from another source - Health
Information Privacy Code Rule 3A - Privacy statement,
notice or policy? What’s the difference?
Our
2025/6 Annual Report is now published online –
https://www.privacy.org.nz/about-us/corporate-reports/annual-reports/new-page/
