Privacy Guidelines

The Privacy Act 2020 is primarily concerned with good information handling practices, and is made up of 13 information privacy principles. The following guidelines apply these principles.

Guidelines for collecting, using, storing, and disposing of personal information

The number in brackets after each guideline refers to the relevant privacy principle.

Purpose, source, and manner of collecting personal information

• When we collect personal information about an individual, we make known the purpose of collecting it, who will have access to it, and whether it is compulsory or optional information. We advise that individuals have the right to request access to, and correction of, their personal information.

• We only collect personal information:

  • for purposes connected with the function of the school, and only when it is necessary to have this information [1]

  • directly from the person concerned, or, if a student, their parent or guardian, unless it is publicly available from elsewhere, or the person's interests are not prejudiced when we collect the information from elsewhere [2]

  • in a transparent manner [1,3]

  • in a lawful and fair manner, and avoid intruding on people's privacy as much as possible, especially vulnerable children or young people [4].

Storage, access, correction, and accuracy of personal information

• We have reasonable safeguards in place to protect personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, or disclosure. We may require volunteers and third party contractors to sign confidentiality agreements [5].

• If an individual wants access to information we hold about them, we provide it. Individuals may request correction of this information or, when not corrected, that a record of the request is attached to the information [6,7].

• We take reasonable steps to make sure personal information is correct, up to date, relevant and not misleading [8].

Holding, disclosing, and disposing of personal information

• We only keep information for as long as it is needed, and for the purposes for which it was obtained. When a student moves to a new school and their records are requested, we forward the relevant information that we hold. We securely dispose of personal information that is no longer needed. [9]

• Information is only used for the purposes for which it was obtained except in certain circumstances (for example, for statistical purposes where the person's identity is not disclosed) [10].

• We safeguard students’ information and we do not release that information to third parties unless we are allowed, or required, to release information by law. This covers disclosure to persons other than those able to legitimately access material about their own children.

  As a general rule, information about any person is not given to a third party without the person's knowledge, unless:

  • the information is already publicly available

  • it is being passed on in connection with a purpose for which it was obtained, for example, to the student's new school.

  • the right to privacy is over-ridden by other legislation or law, including a court order

  • it is necessary for the protection of individual or public health and safety [11].

Disclosing personal information outside New Zealand

Ilam School only discloses personal information outside New Zealand if:

• a parent authorises the disclosure, and understands that we cannot guarantee the security of the information once it is sent outside New Zealand (for example, sending a report to an international student's parents), or

• we reasonably believe the country where the information is sent has comparable privacy safeguards [12].

Unique identifiers

Where necessary, and when it's useful for administrative purposes, we use the National Student Number (NSN) or other personal ID numbers. Except for the NSN, the school doesn't use the same ID number for a student that another agency also uses for them [13].

For most purposes, the best guide is to use good sense and to treat personal information with great respect. When in doubt, seek advice from the school's privacy officer (the Principal) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.