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We're keen to work with New Zealanders to get their privacy queries and complaints sorted quickly and fairly. Before you complain to us, you need to complain directly to the business or organisation that you feel has breached your privacy.
If you haven’t been able to work out your privacy issue with them, then you can complain to us. We aim to ensure that you're treated fairly, whatever your background or circumstances. We work in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1993.
We review all the complaints we receive. If we can resolve them quickly, we will. If your case requires a complicated or comprehensive investigation, then owing to high volumes, the wait time for an investigator is up to six months.
If you're an organisation and have a privacy breach that is likely to cause anyone serious harm, you are legally required to notify us and any affected persons as soon as you can.
As a guide, our expectation is that a breach notification should be made to our Office no later than 72 hours after agencies are aware of a notifiable privacy breach. Work out whether you need to notify us.
Thousands of times each day New Zealanders provide their personal information in exchange for goods and services. They could be face-to-face with a small business or online with a large government department. All of these exchanges involve privacy.
A society that values privacy and personal information is one where its people can have greater trust in government and businesses because they know their information will be looked after.
Read about our mahi, our goals, and achievements in our 2024 Annual Report.
We can help you and your workmates learn about privacy, or sharpen your skills with our free e-learning tools. There are 10 free courses to choose from, and they are all run as online learning modules. Learn at your own pace and receive a certificate of completion.
Topics range from Privacy 101 to specialist topics like health and education. You can learn more about reporting privacy breaches, approved information sharing agreements (AISA) and more.
