MEDIA RELEASE
13 April 2011

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff today welcomed the announcement of an EU working party recognising that New Zealand's privacy law meets international best practice.

'The working party's opinion shows that our law ensures an adequate level of data protection consistent with European requirements,' said Ms Shroff.

'This is a key step towards obtaining a formal legal finding from the European Commission that New Zealand is a safe destination for European companies to send personal data for processing. The finding will be significant for cross-border trade and will open doors for New Zealand business,' said Ms Shroff.

ENDS

Notes for editors

The EU Working Party (‘Article 29 Data Protection Working Party') has posted opinion 11/2011 on the level of protection of personal data in New Zealand on-line. The opinion was adopted on 4 April 2011 and released publicly on 12 April 2011.

While the Working Party opinion is a key step in obtaining a formal legal finding from the European Commission, it does not itself constitute a formal legal determination. There are several administrative steps to be completed before the European Council may finally issue a determination, which may take more than six months.

For more information contact: Cathy Henry 021 509 735