Privacy Statement

What kind of personal information we collect

The personal information we collect may include your name, date of birth, address or area you live in, email address, telephone numbers, age, gender, household arrangement, prior criminal convictions, and pictures or video footage of you. It may also include information on your use of our services or facilities and any other information provided by you or through your communications with us.

When we collect your information

• We may collect personal information about you when you, or someone authorised to act on your behalf, provides information to us directly. For example, when you:
  • apply for employment with us;
  • correspond with us, whether in person, by letter, phone, text, email, instant messages or other means of electronic communication, including in relation to any payment you make to us;
  • complete and submit forms we provide for applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations;
  • use of any of our services or facilities, including signing up for and using our online services and apps, such as our online payment services;
  • submit a written submission, objection, request or other feedback either unsolicited or in response to any consultation or feedback exercise undertaken by us, including in relation to applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations or proposals, or in relation to any form of draft or proposed plan, policy, bylaw or other document;
  • subscribe to any of our newsletter or update services; or
  • follow or post comments in response to our social media or other facilities such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
• We may keep a record of any information that you acquire from us.
• We may monitor and record phone calls made to or by us for quality control or staff training purposes. If a call you make to us, or that we may make to you, is to be monitored and recorded, you will be informed of this at the time of the call.
• We may collect personal information about you from other organisations or persons, such as:
  • Our related organisations including Council Controlled Organisations
  • Our suppliers which include organisations such as:
    • Government organisations such as Land Information New Zealand and the New Zealand Police;
    • QV;
    • Solicitors/conveyancers;
    • Our website hosting or internet service providers;
    • Consultation providers (e.g. for surveys)
    • Credit reporting agencies,

and other organisations and persons where you have expressly authorised them to provide us with information.

• When you visit one of our websites, we may use technology solutions such as “cookies” to provide you with better access to tailored information and services on the websites and to better serve you when you return to them. Our internet servers may also make a record of your visit and log information for statistical purposes. This information is only analysed on a bulk basis for broad demographic content. Individual use is not analysed.
• Public sessions of Council meetings and workshops are broadcast online and then made available on our website. Elected members will most likely be filmed as they speak and debate at the meeting. However, the filming may include shots of the public in the background and anyone speaking in a public session.

CCTV

• We have placed Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in some specific areas which may capture both sound and footage, and which may include automatic number plate recognition technology. These cameras may from time-to-time record footage of you or your vehicle as you pass through the CCTV camera area.
• The CCTV cameras are either installed at fixed sites in public areas within the Waipā district (“Community CCTV Network”) or inside or outside Council premises (“Internal CCTV Network”).
• Signage indicates where CCTV equipment is operating within the District, unless it is ineffectual to do so (such as on rural roads). The location of all Community CCTV Network cameras will be specified on Council’s website.
• No attempt is made to identify individuals from CCTV footage except in relation to a reported or suspected incident requiring investigation.

Drones

We may use drones in connection with our work and delivery of services. This may include conducting condition assessments of our assets, undertaking surveys of our property and capturing other property work under development. If we fly over private property for the purpose of survey works, we do so only with the relevant land owner’s consent. We do not use any footage of privately-owned properties without this consent.

If any drone footage identifies an individual, privacy enhancing technology is used to distort that individual’s identity.

Our use of drones is conducted in accordance with Civil Aviation Authority’s rules and guidance, and data is processed in accordance with the Council’s Privacy Policy.

Photo/video footage at civic events

We may also take photos or video footage at civic events in the District (e.g. citizenship ceremonies and other public or community events that we manage) for internal or external publications. Signage on display or other communication at an event will let you know if photography or filming will be taking place. If you do not want to be included in any photos or video footage, please talk to one of our staff members present at the event.

Why do we collect your information?

The personal information that we collect from you, or someone authorised to act on your behalf, may be used by us for any of the following purposes:

• To provide you with services or facilities - including those you have requested and those our contractors provide to you on our behalf.
• To positively confirm your identity. This is to avoid inappropriate release or use of your information.
• To respond to correspondence or to provide you with information or services that you have requested, including in relation to any submission you have made to us.
• To process your application for any consent, licence, approval, permit or other authorisation for which you have applied.
• To process your application to use or to register for any of our services or facilities, including our online services.
• To manage your membership or use of any of our services or facilities.
• To process payments received, or made, by us.
• To respond to your requests, enquiries or feedback, or for customer care related activities; including communicating to other persons you have authorised us to deal with on your behalf.
• To seek your feedback on our services or facilities you have used. This will help us better understand who is using our services and facilities and how these can be improved. You can contact us if you don’t want to be included in these types of surveys.
• To seek your feedback as part of any consultation or engagement exercise undertaken by us, including in relation to applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations or proposals, or in relation to any form of draft or proposed plan, policy, bylaw or other document.
• To provide you with information about our events, news, services or facilities, or the events, news, services or facilities of our Council Controlled Organisations, that we consider may be of interest to you.
• To comply with relevant laws and regulations, including the storage of information on public registers (e.g. Rating Information Database). You may have the right to request that your information is not disclosed on a public register – please contact us to enquire.
• To carry out activities connected with the running of our business or operations such as personnel training, testing and maintenance of computer and other systems or processes, or ensuring the information we hold about you is consistent across the organisation.
• For any specific purpose which we notify you of at the time your personal information is collected.
• For general administrative and business purposes.

CCTV

We collect information from the Community CCTV Network to:

• Monitor and manage traffic at specific intersections and to investigate incidents that occur in those locations.
• Improve road user safety by monitoring traffic flow patterns and investigating traffic incidents.
• Increase public safety by discouraging public disorder and anti-social behaviour.
• Detect and capture evidence of offending to allow for a quick response from the Police, emergency services or Council and assist with investigations and prosecutions of offending in the Waipā District. This may include by use of cameras with automatic number plate recognition.
• Actively deter offending in the Waipā District, including that which relates to Council assets or facilities.
• Assist in the training of NZ Police Officers and persons authorised by the NZ Police Prevention Manager.
• Undertake authorised research by Police (for example, into the nature of particular offences, foot or vehicular traffic use and patterns, or the evaluation of the operation of camera equipment).

We collect information from the Internal CCTV Network to:

• Increase public and staff safety by discouraging public disorder and anti-social behaviour in or around Council assets or facilities.
• Actively deter offending in or around Council assets or facilities.
• Detect and capture evidence of offending and assist with investigations and prosecutions of offending in or around assets or facilities.
• Monitor and respond to any activities and/or events which could affect the delivery of the service Council is providing at that location.
• Investigate customer complaints.
• Improve best practice customer service. CCTV is not used to undertake surveillance on individuals or groups. However, CCTV images could potentially be used in criminal and/or employee misconduct investigations.

CCTV is not used to undertake surveillance on individuals or groups. However, CCTV images could potentially be used in criminal and/or employee misconduct investigations.

Sharing your information

We may disclose personal information about you to:

• Any person or organisation we use to provide products or services to you on our behalf, where your personal information is necessary for the provision of those products or services.
• Our agents, service providers (including website hosting providers) and any other third parties to the extent this is necessary to make our services and facilities available to you, or in connection with any of the purposes set out in this statement. We will only provide such third parties the relevant information required for the provision of the services, and the third parties are prohibited from using such personal information for any other purpose.
• Council controlled organisations in order to assist with any functions and services that they may provide.
• A third party if we are required to do so under any legislation, or in the course of legal proceedings or other investigations. This may include:
  • sharing information with the New Zealand Police or other public-sector agencies where criminal activity is reported or is the subject of an investigation or court proceedings;
  • governmental organisations, such as Inland Revenue Department or Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; or
  • a debt collector agency to recover overdue materials or charges.
• Any person to whom you authorise us to disclose your personal information.
• Any person, may view livestream footage of Council and Committee meetings.
• Elected members and the public when you make a submission, feedback or an objection in response any consultation or other engagement exercise undertaken by us. Submissions/feedback/objections may be made available in full (including the submitter’s name and demographic information) on our website and at our main office.
• Elected members and the public when you make a petition to Council.

CCTV

• Community CCTV Network footage will only be viewed by authorised Council staff and representatives from the New Zealand Police in accordance with the purposes noted above, or when checking that the system is operational, unless otherwise authorised by law.
• Internal CCTV Network cameras will have television monitors operating in the front office areas of Council facilities covered by the cameras (where installed), may be visible to staff and the public. For safety and security purposes there may also be a television monitor displaying live images located in another part of the premises from where the security cameras are located. This will enable staff to safely monitor, assess and respond to incidents in real time.

What information do we make public?

We are required by law to make certain information that we hold available to the public. For example:

• The Building Act 2004 requires us to maintain a property file about each property in the District and make this available to the public. This file may include personal information, for example in building consent applications.
• The Resource Management Act 1991 requires us to make copies of resource consent applications publicly available.
• The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 requires us to make publicly available our “complete rating information database”, which includes personal information of property owners.
• The local electoral roll must be available for inspection in certain circumstances, under the Local Electoral Act 2001.
• All submissions made to us during a special consultative procedure or other consultative or engagement procedure (for example submissions on proposed bylaws and the long-term plan) are usually made available to the public under the Local Government Act 2002. Submissions may be made available in full (including the submitter’s name and demographic information) on our website and at our main office.

What if you do not provide us with the personal information requested?

If you do not provide us with all of the personal information about you that we request from you, we may not be able to adequately respond to your correspondence, process any applications you have submitted, provide the services or facilities you have requested, process payments or otherwise deal with any requests or enquiries you have made.

In some circumstances, failure to provide information when requested may be unlawful, and/or result in legal consequences. These circumstances and the potential consequences will be explained to you when your personal information is collected.

Keeping your information secure and accurate

We take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is:

• protected against loss, damage, misuse and unauthorised access. We restrict access to personal information to those individuals who need access to this information in order to assist us in performing our duties and obligations. Third party access to our systems and data is restricted to approved contractors only, and is reviewed through our internal and external audit programmes.
• accurate, up to date, complete, relevant, and not misleading.

How long we hold personal information?

We may retain all personal information that we collect (on both our active systems and our archive systems), for as long as administratively necessary, in accordance with the Council’s Records Management Policy and relevant legislation.

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 or long-term plans, and district planning instruments.

All CCTV images will be deleted or overwritten no later than after 30 days, unless they are required for evidential purposes. Some recordings and images may be retained for the purposes of resolving incidents or to assist in any legal proceedings.

Accessing and correcting your personal information

You may request confirmation of whether or not we hold any personal information about you and you may request access to your personal information that we hold by emailing us at info@waipadc.govt.nz or otherwise contacting us, at the addresses provided below.

Once we have verified your identity we will provide you with such confirmation and access unless one of the grounds for refusal to do so under the Privacy Act applies. You may request that the personal information we hold about you be corrected by emailing us at info@waipadc.govt.nz . If we agree that your personal information is to be corrected we will provide you with an amended record of your personal information, if requested.

Your rights of access to and correction of any personal information we hold about you are subject to the procedures set out in the Privacy Act.