Privacy statement

Generally, the types of personal information that we collect from or about you depends on the circumstances in which the information is collected. 

For example, the personal information we collect may include your name, date of birth, postal and physical address, email address, telephone numbers, gender, age, ethnicity, financial information, banking details, and information on your use of our Platforms, services and facilities. We may also collect other information provided by you in connection with your use of our services, facilities, or Platforms, or through your communications with us.

The most common way we collect personal information is directly from you (or from someone authorised by you to act on your behalf), when you correspond with us for any reason whether in person,  by letter, phone, text, email, or through any other means of electronic communication.  For example, we may collect personal information when you:

• register with, or use, any of our products, services or facilities, or interact with our Platforms
• complete and submit forms that we provide (for example, applications to receive rates correspondence by email, applications to pay rates by direct debit, applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations)
• contact us requesting or enquiring about information or services
• provide us with feedback
• prepare and submit a written submission
• subscribe to any of our newsletter or update services
• conduct transactions through this website (or any of our other Platforms)
• participate in a promotion or competition carried out by us or by a third party with official affiliation or support from us
• participate in market research or surveys carried out by us or by a third party on our behalf
• volunteer with one of our care groups (Estuary Care, Coast Care, and Land and Stream Care)
• submit a query, complaint, comment or similar to us via Facebook Messenger
• follow or post comments in response to our social media or other facilities such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
• apply for employment with us
• attend a meeting that is filmed or recorded (you will know which meetings are being filmed/recorded as there will be a sign warning of this before you enter into the meeting room)
• we may monitor and record phone calls
• provide us with services

We may collect personal information about you from other organisations, entities or persons, such as:

• Land Information New Zealand for our rating purposes
• Your city/district council for our rating purposes or for other purposes with your authorisation
• Quotable Value and Valor (and other registered valuers) for our rating purposes
• Solicitors/conveyancers
• the New Zealand Police
• credit reporting agencies
• other organisations, entities and persons where you have expressly authorised them to provide us with information.

We, and our internet service providers, may also collect information indirectly through your use of our Platforms and the services and functionality offered through them (for example through browser cookies).  See the paragraph below on Automatic Data Collection Technologies.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was provided to us and for any other purpose that we have told you about at the time of collection.    

 Some of the purposes for which we may collect your personal information are:

• to provide you with any necessary support in relation to your dealings with us
• to positively confirm your identity (this is to avoid inappropriate release or use of your information)
• to stay in touch with you regarding your enquiries, comments, complaints or requests for information or services
• processing your application for consent, licence, approval, permit, funding or other authorisation
• processing your application for registration for use of council services or to gain access to information on our Platforms made available only to registered users
• to correspond with you for purposes such as consultation, market research and surveys
• to provide you with products, services, or resources and to assist us to provide such products, services or resources to you
• to provide you with information about events, news, services or facilities that we consider may be of interest to you.
• to administer and improve the Platforms
• to conduct a promotion or competition that you have participated in
• processing transactions that you may conduct through any of our other Platforms
• accessing suitability for employment

In addition to any purposes notified to you at the time of collection, we would like to use your contact details to inform you of BOPRC activities and services that may directly affect you.  We will not use your contact details for general marketing purposes.  If you would like to stop receiving correspondence from us at any time please contact us or, alternatively, you can contact our Privacy Officer - please be aware that you may still receive correspondence from us if this is required for us to comply with legislation or to perform our statutory obligations. 

We may also use your personal information for the purpose of:

• complying with any relevant legislation or regulations
• quality improvement (such as compliance with our audit obligations or for continuous improvement of our products and services)
• statistical analysis, in which case your personal information will be aggregated and used in a way that will not identify you personally
• for other reasons that may be permitted by the Act (e.g. with your consent or where the law permits or requires it)

We respect the privacy of your personal information and will take all reasonable steps to keep it strictly confidential. 

Access to your information is confined to authorised users only, which may include our officers, employees, contractors, and agents.  We will not provide your personal information without your consent to any other third parties except:

• to third parties to provide you with products or services on our behalf or to assist with delivery of our products or services (for example, our contractors and other service providers), but only where necessary for the provision of those products or services
• to any of our Council Controlled Organisations in order to assist with the products and services that they provide to you
• to anyone authorised by you to receive it
• where the information is going to be used in a way that could not identify you (such as statistical reporting)
• to our lawyers, auditors and other professional advisors, but only to the extent necessary for the purpose for which we are engaging the relevant professional advisor
• as otherwise permitted or required under any applicable law or regulation or in the course of legal proceedings or other investigations.

An authorised recipient of your personal information shall only be entitled to use your personal information as is strictly required for the purpose(s) for which it was provided to them.

You may post information on public areas of our Platforms, or transmit information to other users of our Platforms.   If you use a discussion or posting forum feature on our Platforms, please be aware that any information you submit can be viewed and used by other Platforms users. Your contributions are posted or transmitted to others at your own risk.

If you do not provide us with all of the personal information that we request, we may not be able to adequately respond to your correspondence, process any applications you have submitted, provide the products, services or facilities you have requested, register you with an account as required to gain access to certain features of our Platforms, or process payments.

In some circumstances, failure to provide information when requested may result in legal consequences. These circumstances and the potential consequences will be explained at the point when your personal information is requested.

Any personal information that falls within the scope of this privacy statement is held and controlled by BOPRC.  

We store your personal data electronically/digitally and/or in paper form.

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, loss, damage, or unauthorised disclosure.  However, to the extent permitted by law, we will not be responsible for, and exclude all liability arising in relation to, any misuse, loss, damage, or unauthorised access of your personal information.

If we provide you with any passwords or other security devices it is important that you keep these secret and confidential and do not allow them to be used by any other person. You should notify us immediately if the security of these passwords or devices is breached to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of your personal information.

If we become aware of any breach involving your personal information, we will comply with the requirements of the Act relating to the reporting of privacy breaches.

We will keep your personal information only for as long as is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected, taking into consideration any continued support you may require, our administrative requirements, and our contractual and legal obligations.

The Public Records Act 2005 requires us to retain “protected records” indefinitely. In some circumstances, your personal information may be included within a protected record, including submissions you make in relation to bylaws, annual plans, and regional planning instruments.

When you interact with out Platforms we may use automatic data collection technologies to store some information in your computer. This information will be in the form of a "cookie" or similar file and can help us to collect statistical information about your equipment and your visit to our Platform.

A "cookie" is a small data element that a website transfers to your computer for record keeping and experience customisation purposes.  Cookies give us details such as your IP address, operating system, browser, search terms, pages accessed and links clinked, dates and times of visits, immediate previous site visited, and domain (whether you are accessing from New Zealand or elsewhere). We may use the information generated by cookies to personalise and improve your experience.

Cookies may store your search, posting and other viewing and usage history, and your login details (if you choose) enabling you to use certain services without having to log on each time. If you disable cookies, it may limit your access to some of our content and features. You can choose to refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser and deleting them from your hard drive. You do not need to have cookies turned on, but your experience may be affected if you do turn them off.

We do not use cookies to extract any personal information.

Analytics Services Provided by Others

We may allow others to provide analytics services on our behalf across the Internet and in applications (e.g. Google Analytics).  Analytics services are services which assist us to collect and interpret information. These entities may use cookies, web beacons (a technique that helps to determine whether a user has accessed some content), device identifiers and other technologies to collect information about your use of our Platforms.

The information collected may include your IP address, web browser, mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages or in apps, links clicked and conversion information.  This information is aggregated and all users are anonymous and not personally identifiable.

This statistical information will be viewable by website administrators and certain other BOPRC employees and contractors.  It may also be shared with other government agencies.

This information may be used by us or by third parties on our behalf to analyse and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, and better understand online activity.

As part of our commitment to providing the best possible service to our customers, we may monitor and record phone calls to the BOPRC 0800 number (0800 884 880) and the main phone line at each BOPRC location for the following purposes:

• for quality control and staff training so as to help us improve our service and to ensure that the information we provide is consistent and accurate;
• to ensure that we have an accurate record of your call; and
• for other purposes related to the purpose of your call.

We will let you know at the time of the call if a call is to be monitored and recorded.  Recordings will be securely stored.  Any personal information you provide as part of the call will be managed in accordance with this privacy statement. 

In instances where a link is provided from the BOPRC website to third party websites or digital services, this privacy statement does not apply when you access those third party websites or services.  We recommend you read the privacy statement of the third party site or service.

BOPRC does not accept any responsibility or liability for the content, availability, or reliability of any linked websites. 

If you are using one of BOPRC’s mobile applications, you acknowledge and accept that we can:

• choose to send you ’Push Notifications’. This is a message that pops up on a mobile device at any time. ’Push Notification’ preferences can be configured in the application's settings (you have the option to disable the notification when you open the app for the first time, and you can also go to your mobile phone setting to disable the notification).
• access your device’s location function and collect, use, and disclose this information as set out in this privacy statement (you can disable the ‘share location’ setting if you don't want our Platforms to access your location).

You have the right to:

• obtain confirmation from us as to whether or not we hold personal information about you;
• access that information if we hold it in a way that can be readily retrieved; and
• if applicable request a change to or correction of that information

We will provide you with access to your personal information unless we are required or authorised to refuse such access by law.    Please note that we will not be able to provide information if we do not know, or don’t have reasonable grounds to believe, that it is personal information about you, or if disclosing the information would involve the disclosure of the affairs of another individual.  In some cases, there may be a reasonable charge associated with retrieving and providing a copy of your personal information to you. If so, we will advise you of this prior to sending your information.

If you request a change or correction of your personal information and we refuse as required or permitted by law, you are entitled to request that a statement be attached to the information recording the correction that was sought but not made.

If you want to check personal information that we hold about you or have any other access or correction requests, please contact us at privacy@boprc.govt.nz.  Please quote your name and address and, if possible, provide brief details of what information you want a copy of (this helps us to more readily locate your information).

We reserve the right to amend this privacy statement from time to time by posting an updated privacy statement here on this website.  We will collect, use, hold and disclose your personal information in accordance with our most recently updated version of the privacy statement.   We recommend that you regularly review this privacy statement when you visit this website.

If you do not agree with any aspect of the updated privacy policy, you must promptly notify us using the contact details set out below. 

Nothing in this privacy statement affects your rights under the Act.  Further information about the Act and how it protects the personal information of individuals in New Zealand is available from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner website.

If you have any questions or complaints about the handling of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer in the first instance using the contact details set out below and we will do our best to assist. 

If you are still not satisfied, you can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.  Further details on how to do this are available from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner website.

If you have any queries about this privacy statement or your personal information that we may hold, please contact our Privacy Officer at:

Email address: privacy@boprc.govt.nz

Postal address: PO Box 364, Whakatāne 3158, New Zealand