When parents split up, this can sometimes create a fraught situation for agencies involved in providing care and services to their children, and GPs are no exception. Which parent has the right to see their child’s medical records?

Jess Ducey argues that protecting people’s privacy means not just our secrets or personal data – but our self-determination and bodily-autonomy.

Identifying, reporting, and reviewing privacy breaches, and acting when individual or systemic issues are identified, is vital to ensuring that a strong privacy culture exists. 

Technology developments can be challenging to privacy laws. We all know our phones are powerhouses of data collection, and that our data is the key asset for big tech. But we don’t always know what data is being collected, nor how it is being used.

An Auckland Powershop customer did the right thing by checking her credit report after the company said she was in arrears, even though she was up to date with her payments. A news story reported on Stuff demonstrates the impact wrong repayment information can have on an individual, particularly when it shows up on their credit report. It also highlights the importance of regularly checking your credit report to ensure the information on it is correct.

Reviewed for relevance April 2025.

Investigating complaints is an important function of our office and a considerable part of our workload. When we receive a complaint, we make an initial assessment about what steps we will take next. In some circumstances, we will investigate. In other instances, our office may decline to investigate.

One of the most persistent problems of privacy and data protection in the digital age moving the responsibility from consumers needing to read terms and conditions for services they’re using to those services clearly explaining the choices and consequences that consumers have. We all know the problem, and it has been presented in several very striking ways.  We’ve seen researchers print out and measure the length of the privacy policies and terms and conditions of popular services.