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Everyone in New Zealand has privacy rights, regardless of their age or circumstances. If those rights are breached, then you can tell us about it.
It’s free to complain to the Privacy Commissioner but before you do, you need to complain directly to the business or organisation that you feel has breached your privacy. Read more about how complaining to us works.
Personal information is any information that tells us something about a specific identifiable person. The information doesn’t need to name them if they are identifiable in other ways, like through their home address.
The Privacy Act is concerned with personal information. All sorts of things can contain personal information, including notes, emails, recordings, photos and scans, whether they are in hard copy or digital.
You can’t ask for another person’s information under the Privacy Act unless you’re acting on their behalf and have written permission.
Almost all organisations and businesses must follow the Privacy Act. That includes hospitals, government departments, clubs, schools, churches, shops and more.
In most cases, the Privacy Act does not apply to the domestic affairs of individuals, unless the collection, use, or disclosure of the personal information involved is highly offensive.
Read the detail of the Privacy Act’s 13 principles and what they mean.