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Your rights

We’re sorry to hear you think your privacy has been breached.

The first step you need to take is to contact the agency (business or organisation) you feel has breached your privacy and let them know what your concerns are and what might resolve the situation for you. You need to try and resolve your problem (making reasonable efforts) directly with them first before you contact us.  

Use our online tool to lodge a privacy issue with another agency.
Use AboutMe to request your own information from a business or organisation.
Read more about getting your information corrected. 

Most businesses and organisations will want to help you resolve your problem quickly, before you raise it with our Office. 

Are you a whistleblower? 

People who report serious wrongdoing in the workplace (sometimes called 'whistleblowing') can be protected in New Zealand by the Protected Disclosures Act 2022. 

Read more about how to raise concerns about privacy issues at your workplace or another agency in a safe, protected way.

What we can’t do

Our job is to determine if there’s been a breach of the Privacy Act. Then we help both parties come to a decision about how this might be resolved. We can’t issue fines, make anyone accept a settlement offer, force organisations to pay you money, or force anyone to accept our findings.

Giving someone authority to act on your behalf

If you want someone to act on your behalf (like an advocate, a family member, or lawyer) then you will need to complete a form that tells us that in writing. 

Fill in our form that gives someone else the right to act on your behalf (representative authority). Fillable PDF format. Word document format.

One person complaining on behalf of many

The Privacy Act says that one person can make a complaint on behalf of many (as a class) when lots of people are affected by the same privacy breach. When this happens, the Privacy Commissioner can begin an investigation themselves.

Other places you can get help

We can only investigate the parts of your complaint that are about privacy. Read our list of other complaint options to find the right people to help you.