Privacy

Privacy Policy

Purpose

1. The purpose of this privacy policy is to let users of www.gazette.govt.nz(external link) (the “Site”) know when we collect personal information and what we do with it, and about the publication of personal information on the Site. We do not use, share or transfer personal information in connection with the Site except as set out in this policy.

Collection, storage and use

2. No need to disclose personal information
The Site can be viewed without the need to disclose any personal information to us.

3. Your disclosure of personal information
However, you may choose to disclose personal information when contributing material for publication on the Site or communicating with us, for example, by email. Information provided other than for publication in the New Zealand Gazette will be viewable by Site administrators, certain Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) staff and contractors (including third parties who provide administration and/or improvement services in relation to the Site (Third Party Contractors)). Please do not transmit personal information of a sensitive nature.

4. Publication of personal information in notices
Information submitted for publication in the New Zealand Gazette will be publicly available and once published cannot generally be amended or removed as it is a notice to the world and forms part of New Zealand’s public record. The content of notices is provided to us by the agency responsible for each notice. If you have a concern about personal information published in a notice you should contact the relevant agency as we are reliant on each agency ensuring it has sufficient authority to collect and publish personal information in the New Zealand Gazette.

5. Holding of information
Personal information that you provide will be held by DIA, and may be shared with, and held by, Third Party Contractors to the extent necessary for those parties to provide administration and/or improvement services in relation to the Site.  Email addresses provided when emailing feedback directly to DIA are not made available to the public.  Unless required by law, we will not disclose the names or email addresses of individuals who provide feedback to us without their consent.

6. Use of personal information
We will only use personal information provided to us for the purpose of publishing the New Zealand Gazette, administering, evaluating and improving the Site, or improving our services and communicating with you.

7. Feedback
Feedback is important and is used to evaluate and improve the Site.  If you provide feedback on the Site directly to DIA via the supplied email address or web form, that feedback will be sent to appropriate DIA staff.  We may pass on relevant comments to other people within DIA who administer, have contributed content to, or are otherwise interested in, the Site. This could include your email address and other identifying information.

Statistical information and cookies

8. Statistical information collected
We may collect statistical information about your visit to help us improve the Site. This information is aggregated and non-personally identifying. It includes:

  • your IP address;
  • the search terms you used;
  • the pages you accessed on our Site and the links you clicked on;
  • the date and time you visited the Site;
  • the referring site (if any) through which you clicked through to this Site;
  • your operating system (e.g., Windows 11, Mac OS 13);
  • the type of web browser you use (e.g. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge); and
  • other incidental matters such as screen resolution and the language setting of your browser.

9. Use of statistical information
The statistical information referred to above will be viewable by Site administrators and certain other DIA staff. It may also be shared with other government agencies.

10. Cookies
This Site generates persistent session cookies for the purpose of monitoring Site usage. The cookies do not collect personal information. You can disable them or clear them out of the web browser you are using to view this Site without affecting your ability to use the Site.

Records and disclosure statement

11. Public Records, Official Information and Parliament
Your emails and contributions to the Site may constitute public records and be retained to the extent required by the Public Records Act 2005(external link). DIA may also be required to disclose those materials under the Official Information Act 1982(external link) or to a Parliamentary Select Committee or Parliament in response to a Parliamentary Question.

Rights of access and correction

12. Your rights
Under the Privacy Act 2020(external link), you have the right to access and to request correction of any of your personal information provided to DIA in connection with your use of this Site.  If you would like to see the personal information relating to you that DIA has stored, or to change such personal information, or if you have any concerns regarding your privacy, please contact us at the address set out below. DIA may require proof of your identity before being able to provide you with any personal information. If the personal information has been published in a notice you should contact the agency responsible for the notice as that agency provided the information for publication.

The Privacy Office
Department of Internal Affairs
PO Box 805
Wellington 6140

Email: privacy@dia.govt.nz

13. Privacy Commissioner
If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10-094
Wellington 6143
Phone: 0800 803 909
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz