Correcting your personal information
The Privacy Act gives you the right to request corrections to personal information an organisation holds about you.
Information Privacy Principle 7 of the Privacy Act 2020 gives every person the right to request corrections to any personal information an organisation (public or private sector) holds about them.
Taking into account the nature of the information and the purpose for which it was collected and used, an agency has the discretion to grant or decline a correction request.
What can I get corrected?
The Privacy Act 2020 says that you can request correction of any personal information that an agency holds about you. It is important to note that, apart from a few exceptions, you can only ask for correction of information that concerns you.
Will the agency always correct the information?
Not necessarily. Where an agency that holds personal information is not willing to correct that information in accordance with your request the agency can refuse to make the correction.
Where an agency declines to make a correction, it must note on the information at issue that a request was sought and not made.
You can also provide an agency with a statement of correction, which must be attached in a way that it can be read alongside the information at issue. A statement of correction identifies the information you consider is incorrect and briefly states what you believe the accurate information to be.
Where an agency has shared your information with another agency, and it receives a statement of correction, the agency will forward your statement onto any other agency it has shared the information with.
An agency should always notify you about its decision on your request.
How do I make a request?
If you wish to request a correction to your personal information, then email privacyrequests@customs.govt.nz with details of your request. You should describe the information Customs currently holds, explain why you believe it to be incorrect, and state what you would like it to read when corrected.
If you have a privacy complaint
If you have a privacy-related concern about how we have managed your personal information you may contact, in writing, our Privacy Officer:
The Privacy Officer
New Zealand Customs Service
PO Box 2218
Wellington 6140
Email: privacyofficer@customs.govt.nz
If you prefer, or if you're not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner directly.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10094
Wellington 6143
Freephone: 0800 803 909
Phone: +64 4 474 7590
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz
Website: www.privacy.org.nz
For more information on privacy in general, please email our Privacy Team.