New Zealand - Privacy Act 1993

This download includes the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 only so there are no mapped questions. Use this download if you just want the provisions and you want to create your own question set.

The purpose of the Privacy Act 1993 is to promote and protect individual privacy, and in particular to establish principles on:

• collection, use, and disclosure of information relating to individuals; and
• access by individuals to information held about them.
• The Act covers both the public and private sectors.

The Privacy Act covers “personal information”, which is defined in section 2 of the Act as information about an identifiable individual. There are 12 information privacy principles (dealing with the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of personal information, and an individual's right to access his or her personal information and to request correction). Codes of practice that may modify or replace the information privacy principles (such as the Health Information Privacy Code 1994) are also issued from time to time.

Compliance:

• Ministers and departments are responsible for compliance with the law when they collect, use, or disclose information concerning individuals. A breach of the Act may result in legal action, including in some cases an award of damages.
• Each agency must ensure that privacy officers within the agency are assigned the responsibility to fulfil the compliance requirements set out in section 23 of the Privacy Act. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is available for training, advice, and guidance in relation to the operation of the Privacy Act.
• The Government Chief Privacy Officer is responsible for developing standards, issuing guidance and providing assurance to support the public service in building capability in privacy and security management.