Privacy commissioner to consider matters referred to him by Stats NZ, public service commissioner
Two reports recently released by the Public Service Commissioner (PSC) and Stats NZ addressed the protection of personal information and showed that government agencies should be better at privacy, said Michael Webster, New Zealand’s privacy commissioner.
“Good privacy is an essential part of providing services and doing business in a digital economy,” Webster said in a media release. “Today’s findings should be a reminder to government organisations that good privacy practices aren’t an optional extra but are fundamental to the work they do.”
Agencies should prioritise the protection of personal information, as supported by the PSC’s inquiry into how government agencies protected personal information for the 2023 census and the COVID-19 vaccination program, the privacy commissioner’s media release said.
Making the protection of personal information a priority would also be in line with Stats NZ’s independent investigation and assurance review of allegations of misuse of the 2023 census information, the media release added.
“New Zealanders need to be confident that when they do activities, like filling in their Census form, or giving over information for medical services, that their information is collected, used, and shared as the law outlines it should be,” Webster said in the media release.
“The Privacy Act is very clear that agencies collecting personal information need to keep it safe and treat it with care,” Webster added in the media release. “This responsibility extends to the use of third-party service providers.”
Guidance recently issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner sought to assist agencies working with third-party providers in understanding their responsibilities, the media release noted.
Webster spoke positively of the progress in the work toward a new information-sharing standard, which would support the information stewardship framework at the core of the Privacy Act 2020.
“In our 2024 Privacy Survey the percentage of people who said they are ‘more concerned’ about privacy issues over the last few years has increased to 55%, a 14% increase from two years ago,” Webster said in the media release. “New Zealanders were clear in their response to these concerns.”
Webster shared that 80% of those surveyed sought more control and choice over the collection and use of their personal information, 63% considered the protection of their personal information a major concern, and about two-thirds had concerns about businesses or government organisations sharing their personal information without informing them.
The PSC’s inquiry referred the following questions to the privacy commissioner:
Stats NZ referred the matter of the collection and management of personal information and confidential census data to the privacy commissioner, the privacy commissioner’s media release said.
Webster said in the media release that he was carefully reviewing these referrals under the two reports. This work would consider the Privacy Act and the need to ensure the protection of individual privacy rights, Webster added.
