Office of the Privacy Commissioner | AO 001/2016: Whether the addresses of fire incidents are ‘personal information’
In this Advisory Opinion, the Privacy Commissioner addresses a legal question posed by the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS) in respect of their proposed initiative to publish the addresses of fire incidents on its website, to reduce the administrative burden of insurers seeking this information.
NZFS asked whether addresses of fire incidents are personal information, and if they are does disclosing them breach the Privacy Act?
The Commissioner found that addresses of fire incidents will often constitute personal information and disclosing them in the manner described would be a breach of the Privacy Act. He suggested an alternative way of sharing this information with insurance companies without compromising individual privacy.
Read the full Advisory Opinion (opens to PDF)