Help

How will this work? You fill out the form and this tool will create an email to the organisation you specify, with your request for your personal information. The email will include a standard note from us about what the organisation needs to do to respond to you and by when. You will get to check your request before it is sent. When you submit your request, you will first receive an email, asking you to verify the email address you provided for receiving a reply. Once you click on the link to verify your email address, your request will be automatically sent. You will receive confirmation of this and it will include a copy of your request for your records. The only information we keep is the name of the organisation to which you submit your request. We use this information for statistical analysis and reporting to help improve the performance of the tool, and to refine it by adding common agencies to which requests are made. We do not keep any other information you provide, and we will not see the reply you receive. The tool is set up for the organisation to reply to you directly. If your request deals with highly personal or very sensitive information, we suggest you call or write to the organisation directly, rather than using this tool to email it. Before an organisation provides you with any personal information, they will first want to confirm your identity with you. Check our website for more about access to personal information.

Do I have to use this form? You don't have to use this form to ask for your personal information. You can contact the organisation, business or government agency directly, by calling or writing to them. Some agencies also have their own online request form that you may prefer to use. This tool will email your request to the organisation you specify. If your request deals with highly personal or very sensitive information, we suggest you call or write to the organisation directly, rather than having your request emailed.

When will I get a response? The organisation has to respond to you not later than 20 working days after they receive your request (this does not include weekends, public holidays and the period between 25 December and 15 January). Before an organisation provides you with any personal information, they will first want to confirm your identity with you. They might also need to clarify your request. You have the right to ask for your personal information but an organisation might have good reasons for refusing your request. If an organisation tells you they are going to provide you the information but don’t include it with their response to you, they must provide it to you without undue delay. If they tell you they are not going to provide you the information, they must explain why they are refusing your request and must let you know you can ask us to review their decision by making a complaint to us.

Will I be charged? If your request is to a public sector agency, there should not be a charge. If your request is to a private sector business or organisation, they might impose a charge but it has to be reasonable. What is reasonable depends on, for example, what type of information you are requesting, how much information, how long it will take them to prepare the information to provide you, and how it is delivered to you. Private sector health agencies (such as a medical centre) usually cannot charge an individual but some exceptions apply. If there is to be a charge, the organisation should advise you beforehand. If you are not happy with what you will be charged, you can make a complaint to us.

What email address should I give? This is the email address the organisation can use to reply to you. (If they have other contact details for you, they might use those also.) Make sure you are happy to be contacted at this email address about your request, especially if you share it with others or if it’s a work email address. If you don’t have a personal email address or don’t want to use it, please call or write to the organisation instead. This tool is only designed for a request to be emailed.

Who can I request information from? You can ask for your personal information from any organisation, business or government agency in New Zealand. There are some exceptions. For example, courts and tribunals are not covered in respect of their judicial functions. There is more information on our website about this. We can’t list all the organisations in New Zealand for you but we have tried to list some of the more common ones for your convenience, including the public sector agencies. If you don't find a match when you start typing the name of the organisation in the field, just complete the name manually.

What email address do I send this to? If the organisation is not on our list, you have to enter their email address yourself. That will be the address this tool will send your request to. If you don’t already know it, you can look it up on their website (usually under “Contact Us”) or call them to ask for an email address you can use. If the organisation is on our list, the tool will automatically enter their email address for you.

Why provide a reference number? If you have a reference number with the organisation, providing it will help them identify you. This can be, for example, your customer, case or file number with them. An organisation has to be sure who you are before they provide you with any personal information. You’d want them to take a high level of care! They might ask you for additional identification when they first reply to you. If they usually contact you in some other way, they might also try to get hold of you that way just to be sure about who you are.