What the Privacy Act protects
The Privacy Act 1993 protects personal information relating to living persons. Personal information is defined under the Privacy Act as "information about an identifiable individual".
The Privacy Act does not deal with information relating to:
Key concepts
The key concepts that run through the Privacy Act are explained in the table below.
|
Concept |
Expansion |
|
Individual control |
An individual should have control over the flow of information held on him or her and have access to information that an agency holds on him or her. |
|
Purpose |
The purpose the information was collected for governs what purpose the information can be put to or disclosed for. |
|
Authorisation |
Whether or not an individual authorised the collection, holding and disclosure of his or her personal information is a critical issue under the Act. |
|
Reasonableness |
An agency will be judged by whether or not it acted reasonably in collecting the information, holding the information, disclosing the information or refusing access to the information. |
Who the Act applies to
The Privacy Act applies to every person, organisation and Government Department in New Zealand that holds personal information relating to individuals.
Note: All information obtained or held by Community Probation Service staff in their capacity as a Community Probation Service employee, is deemed under the Privacy Act to be "held by the Community Probation Service or Department of Corrections."
Recording requests and decisions
All requests and decisions in relation to the Privacy Act are to be recorded and filed. They may be needed as back-up if an individual lodges a complaint regarding a decision with the Privacy Commissioner.
Common terms
The following table shows the common terms used in this chapter.
|
Term |
Explanation |
|
Individual |
A person to whom the personal information relates. |
|
Personal information |
Information about an identified individual. |
|
Principles |
The Information Privacy principles contained in S.6 of the Privacy Act 1993. |
|
Privacy Act |
The Privacy Act 1993. |
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