Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement explains how Baywide Community Law Service collects, stores, uses and shares your personal information. We value openness and transparency. We handle all personal information with care and respect, and in compliance with the Privacy Act 2020.

If there has been a privacy breach that has caused serious harm, or poses a risk of serious harm, we are required by law to notify the Privacy Commissioner and affected parties. 

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the Managing Solicitor who is our Privacy Officer on 07 571 6812.

Purpose Of The Information We Collect

We only collect what we need in order to provide our lawful services to you. We will not use your personal information for any other purpose without your written authorisation. 

Personal information includes your name, address, contact details, income details, documents, personal statements, complaints, and personal records. 

It also includes information and documents created for the purposes of carrying out our job, for example: letters, emails, meeting notes, and file notes.

It is your choice as to whether you volunteer your personal information to us. You may refuse to do so, but we may not be able to help you in that case. 

Accuracy Of Personal Information

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant and not misleading. 

Source Of Personal Information

Most of the personal information we collect is provided directly by you, or on occasion collected from another source with your written consent. 

Use Of Your Personal Information

We only use and share your personal information for the purpose we collected it for, or as permitted or required by law. We use anonymised statistics for reporting which means that statistics do not identify individuals. Reporting on statistics helps us to collect future funding and supports submissions where we believe laws require changes. 

Please be aware that we may share personal information with another agency only if the law requires us to. For example, where there is a serious threat to health or safety of anyone, including yourself, we may be required to notify the Police.

Storage Of Your Personal Information

We use external providers (who we are confident meet New Zealand privacy requirements) to store and process our data.  We store most of the personal information we collect and generate electronically on a local and cloud based server, as well as Microsoft Office 365 for our emails. Paper records are stored at an approved secure off-site facility. 

We take all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect is protected against loss, misuse or unauthorised disclosure. We keep any personal information only as long as necessary to perform our lawful function, or as required by law. 

Access To Personal Information

You are entitled to confirmation that your personal information is held, and you have a right to request access to your personal information. There are exceptions to your right of access: for example, where disclosure would prevent detection of a criminal offence, or would involve a breach of someone else’s privacy. 

You can make a request to us in any form, as long as we are able to establish your identity. We will process your request as soon as reasonably possible, and within 20 working days. 

Correction Of Personal Information

You have a right to request correction of personal information. As above, you can make a request to us in any form, as long as we are able to establish your identity. We will process your request as soon as reasonably possible, and within 20 working days. 

Where a correction of personal information has been refused, you have a right to ask for your records to show that you asked for a correction.