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Privacy Act 2020

Biometrics papers, past consultation, and history

This table provides information about the history of our work around regulating biometric information and developing a Biometric Processing Privacy Code.

December 2024 - March 2025	Public consultation on draft Biometrics Code and guidance Before issuing the final code, the Privacy Commissioner consulted on a draft version as required by section 33 of the Privacy Act. We received 146 submissions from members of the public, businesses, organisations, and government agencies. In line with our notification to submitters, we have published submissions received. Biometric Processing Privacy Code: What's changed? (August 2025) (opens to PDF, 180KB) Report: Summary of submissions on Biometric Processing Privacy Code consultation (opens to PDF, 365KB) Submissions received from members of the public - Part 1 (opens to PDF, 6.9MB) Submissions received from members of the public - Part 2 (opens to PDF, 5.1MB) Submissions received from businesses and organisations - Part 1 (opens to PDF, 9.92MB) Submissions received from businesses and organisations - Part 2 (opens to PDF, 5.4MB) Submissions received from government agencies (opens to PDF, 4.3MB) The draft Code was assessed for consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights and other human rights obligations by external legal counsel (Ben Keith, barrister). Read this assessment.
December 2024	Decision to proceed with code and public consultation The Privacy Commissioner announced his intention to issue a Biometric Processing Privacy Code of Practice. The code will create more specific rules for agencies using biometrics. Read the media release.
August 2024	Report-back on exposure draft of biometrics code We received 250 submissions; 180 from the public and 70 from agencies (businesses, government agencies and organisations). Almost every submission from members of the public told us that people were concerned about the use of biometrics in New Zealand. There was broad support for the proposed rules in the draft code. Agencies that sent in feedback were from diverse sectors. Agencies were generally supportive of the code proposals and for the proposed modifications to the three IPPs that we’d outlined. At times opinion was divided, but overall, the feedback gave us clear direction on what may need to be changed or reworked, which is what we’ll do now. Read detail about who commented and what the themes of the feedback were.
April/May 2024	Public consultation on exposure draft of biometrics code We developed an exposure draft of a biometrics code of practice based on what we had learned in targeted engagement the previous year. A biometrics code of practice would create specific rules for agencies using biometric technologies to collect and process biometric information. The exposure draft included three new rules: a proportionality requirement, additional notification and transparency requirements, and fair processing limits that restrict some uses of biometric classification. We conducted a broad public consultation on the biometrics code exposure draft, seeking views from members of the public, Māori, businesses, government agencies, and advocacy organisations. Read the exposure draft (Word). Read the consultation document (Word). Read the one-page summary (PDF). View our infographic (PDF).
November 2023	Announcement The Privacy Commissioner announces he will release an exposure draft of a biometrics code for public consultation in early 2024. Read the explainer document (PDF).
July/August 2023	Targeted engagement We released a discussion document outlining proposals for a potential code of practice for biometrics. We sought views from key stakeholders: Māori, private sector users or providers of biometrics, public sector users of biometrics, privacy specialists, and advocates with expertise in human rights, employment, and consumer rights. We held workshops and meetings with stakeholders and received 54 submissions on our discussion document. Read the summary document (PDF) Read the summary document (Word) Read the full discussion document (Word) Read the summary of submissions.
December 2022	Announcement The Privacy Commissioner announces he will explore the option of a code to regulate biometrics.
August 2022	Public consultation We revisited our position paper on biometrics and conducted a period of broad public engagement with a consultation paper to asking whether further regulation of biometrics was needed in New Zealand. We also talked to stakeholders, including Māori experts and organisations using biometric information, to ensure we were hearing from the right people. We received 100 submissions from individuals, businesses, government departments, and advocacy groups. Read the consultation paper. Read a one-page summary. Read the summary of submissions.
October 2021	Biometrics position paper We launched a position paper on how the Privacy Act regulates biometrics. Read a one-page summary of key issues regarding biometric technologies and privacy. Read the biometrics position paper (PDF).