At the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, we deal with a lot of complaints. I mean a LOT. The complaints are about everything you can imagine, from collection, to security, to retention, to disclosure of personal information.

Is it acceptable for a lawyer acting for a client to send a very private communication to a work email address of the other party?

In trying to resolve a privacy dispute or complaint, the Privacy Commissioner has the power to make people attend a compulsory conference. This is a little known feature of the Privacy Act and it has been perhaps underutilised in the 21 years that the Act has been around.

A man applied for a pawnbroker’s licence. On his application he gave his work address. The rejection letter from the Ministry of Justice referred to historical criminal convictions which he hadn’t disclosed to his employer.