Can I have access to my personal information?
Do I have to pay to see or get copies of my information?
Can I correct my personal information?
What if I want someone else to request the information for me?

Principle 6 entitles you to have access to personal information about yourself held by an agency. This requirement is subject to a limited number of reasons to refuse access, found in Part IV of the Privacy Act 1993. (See “Can my request be refused”).

Can I have access to my personal information?

Yes. You have the right to know when an agency has information about you, and a right to see it. You can make a request orally or in writing. The agency must decide whether to give it to you, as soon as reasonably practicable after your request. In any case they must decide this no later than 20 working days after the day that they got the request. It is a good idea to make the request in writing, saying that it is under the Privacy Act 1993 and stating which information you want to see. Give the agency your phone number in case someone wants to talk to you about your request. You might have to provide some identification, such as copy of your birth certificate.

Keep a copy of the letter you wrote so that you can remember what you have asked for, and the date that you asked for it. The agency has to tell you whether it is going to give you all the information you asked for, or only some of it. The agency can extend the 20-day time limit, if you have asked for a lot of information, or it is hard for the agency to make the decision within the time limit. It must tell you it is doing this, why and how long it is going to take. The extension must be reasonable. If you want the information urgently, you must tell the agency why it is urgent.

If the agency decides to give you the information you want, it may:

• give you a copy of the document; or
• let you look at the document; or
• give you something that says exactly what is in the document; or
• give you a summary of what is in the document; or
• tell you what is in the document

An agency can refuse to give you your personal information. If it does, it has to have a good reason and it has to tell you what that reason is. Sections 27-29 of the Privacy Act 1993 lists the reasons.

They are:

• giving the information is likely to be bad for New Zealand’s security; or
• giving the information is likely to be bad for law enforcement; or
• giving the information is likely to endanger someone’s safety, for example, if a child is being abused at home, and the child tells someone at school, the school may refuse to tell the abuser what the child said; or
• the information is about your mental / physical health, and giving it to you would be had for your health (this decision should be made after the agency has spoken to your doctor); or
• giving you information about yourself would mean unreasonably giving you information about someone else; or
• you are under 16 and giving you the information would be contrary to your interest; or
• the information cannot be readily obtained, that is, it does not exist or cannot be found: or
• the information is not held by the agency and the person dealing with your request has no grounds for believing that the information is held by another agency; or
• the information is protected by law

If you do not agree with the agency’s reason for not giving you the information you can complain to the Privacy Commission. It is up to the agency to prove that it has a lawful reason for not giving you the information. See page 16 of this information sheet for more information about how to do this. The agency should make information available to you in the way you prefer. There are one or two exceptions. If they do not give you the information in the form you ask, they must explain why.

Do I have to pay to see or get copies of my information?

“Public sector” agencies, such as government departments and local authorities do not usually charge for giving you the information. A “private sector” agency, such as, a sports club, can charge you a reasonable amount. If you thing it is too much, you can complain to the Privacy Commissioner.

Can I correct my personal information?

Yes. You can ask an agency to correct the information. You may be asked to prove your identity before you can ask an agency to do this. You can ask an agency to correct information. If it will not, you can ask it to attach your version of the facts to the information it is holding so that, anyone looking at it sees your version too. The agency must take reasonable steps to attach a statement of correction.

What if I want someone else to request the information for me?

You are by law entitled to get the information. If you want another person to have access to it, then this allowed as long as you give the other person some documentation showing that you agree to them accessing your information. An example of this is where you want your parents or lawyer to get the information on your behalf.

Example of the type of permission you need to sign:

I (your name and address) give (other person’s name), permission acting on my behalf to access my information that is he by you relating to the incident on………..

Signed (your name and date