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The Privacy Act requires organisations to have at least one person who fulfils the role of privacy officer.
The person responsible for privacy matters depends on the size of your organisation, the work it does, and what personal information it handles.
In smaller organisations, the manager is normally responsible for all legal compliance, including privacy. Often an in-house complaints, human resources, or legal team will do privacy work as part of their duties. Large organisations, or organisations that handle a lot of personal information, may need one or more employees focusing exclusively on privacy matters.
Whoever takes on the duties of a privacy officer, it’s important for managers in the organisation to take their advice seriously.
As well as being required by law, having a privacy officer is useful for your organisation. Good privacy builds trust with clients and employees and enhances a business’ reputation. An internal privacy adviser who is familiar with the business and privacy law adds value to your organisation.
Privacy officers can prevent or fix privacy issues before they become serious problems. This can save you money, or lost business. If someone complains that your organisation has breached their privacy, your privacy officer can help resolve things quickly and effectively.
A privacy officer will:
They may also:
We offer free online training covering a variety of privacy topics:
Try our free online privacy training
We’ve also created a variety of resources to help you learn about your privacy obligations and stay compliant.
Privacy resources for agencies
The Privacy Officers’ Round Table (PORT) is an active network of privacy officers in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Members from the private and public sectors meet regularly.