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Privacy Act 2020 guidelines : Contents

Using the right Act

Under the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 2020, individuals have the right to request information. But the type of information, and who can get access to it can be different under each Act.

The relationship between official information and personal information

Personal information includes any information about an identifiable individual. See also:

Official information is any information held by a public sector agency. All information held by the Ministry of Social Development is official information.

When people make a request for personal information, we must consider whether the Official Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act 2020 applies. It depends on who has requested the information and what information they have requested.

Which Act do I use?

The Privacy Act 2020 gives individuals the right to access personal information that the Ministry holds about them.

The Official Information Act 1982 gives anyone the right to ask the Ministry for any other information it holds. This includes information about the Ministry itself or its processes, information about companies, or information about people other than the requester.

Under both these Acts, the Ministry must make available the information requested, unless there's a good reason to withhold it. There are grounds available under both Acts for withholding information.

Complaints

A person requesting information under these Acts can complain if they are not satisfied with the Ministry's response:

  • the Ombudsman investigates complaints related to requests for information made under the Official Information Act 1982
  • the Privacy Commissioner investigates complaints related to requests for information made under the Privacy Act 2020

More information

For examples of requests made under the Privacy Act 2020 and Official Information Act 1982, see:

For more information, see:

Legislation

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