Respecting your information
We are committed to respecting your information and keeping it safe.
We know your information is very important and we take our commitment seriously.
We have systems and safeguards in place to control how we collect, manage and use your information. This helps us use your information appropriately and keep it safe.
How we keep your information safe
Principles we follow
Principles for collecting and using information
The Ministry has a Privacy, Human Rights and Ethics framework. This is called the PHRaE.
The PHRaE gives us guidance on how to collect, use and distribute your information in a safe, respectful, and legally compliant way. It makes sure we:
- protect and value your privacy,
- recognise your human rights and treat you fairly, and
- helps us take an ethical approach in what we do with your information.
The Privacy, Human Rights and Ethics Framework (Ministry of Social Development)external
Principles for data and analytics
We are committed to the following principles when dealing with your information:
- the Algorithm Charter of Aotearoa New Zealand, and
- the Privacy Commissioner and Government Chief Data Steward (from Statistics NZ) principles for the safe and effective use of data and analytics.
Principles for the safe and effective use of data and analytics (Stats NZ) [PDF, 602KB]external
Being open and transparent
We have an openness and transparency programme. This makes sure that we are as open and transparent as possible about how we collect and use your information.
We've put information on our website, including this page, to explain how we collect, use and share your information.
Our research is ethical
We have a Research and Evaluation Ethics Committee. This Committee looks at all of our research and evaluation methods. It makes sure that all the research we do meets research ethics standards.
Your information is only seen by those who need to see it
We make sure staff in the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) don't see your information if they don't need to. We do this by using data protection techniques.
This means we can focus on using your information in the best way to get the best outcome for you.
Secure systems
Our systems are secure and only people that need to use your personal information will have access to it. This includes when we store your information electronically in cloud computing systems.
We have a security certification and accreditation process that:
- helps us keep information safe and secure in our systems
- picks up any security risks in our systems and the way we use information
- makes sure the risks are managed well.
We regularly make backups of the information we have in our systems.
If you find a security issue
If you identify a security issue with our systems, please tell us so that we can get it fixed.
Staff training
We train our staff so they know what is an appropriate and fair use of information. We do this when standards and expectations change.
If your privacy is breached
Your privacy could be breached because:
- we lose your information
- we accidentally tell someone about your information
- someone steals your information
- someone inappropriately accesses your information.
We take privacy breaches seriously. If your privacy is breached, we'll assess whether it might cause serious harm to you or others.
If we think there could be serious harm, we will:
- let you know so you can take steps to protect your privacy
- tell the Privacy Commissioner.
If there's a large group of people involved, we may not be able to contact each person directly. In this case, we'll make a public statement to tell people about the breach and what to do.