Privacy policy

Privacy and security

The purpose of this privacy statement is to let users of www.building.govt.nz know when we collect personal information and what we do with it. We do not use, share or disclose personal information collected or received through this website except as set out in this statement.

This privacy statement applies to personal information collected through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) website www.building.govt.nz

Collection, storage and use

No need to disclose personal information

You can use www.building.govt.nz without disclosing any personal information.

Voluntary disclosure of personal information

You may choose to voluntarily provide personal information through this website (for example, in comments, questions or feedback. This information will be viewable by site administrators, MBIE staff (as appropriate) and sometimes third-party contractors who administrate or work on the site. 

Collection of personal information

MBIE may ask or require you to provide some personal information when you complete an online form (for example, when subscribing to site updates or news). 

Holding of information

When you provide personal information, it will be held by MBIE. It may be stored or accessed on behalf of MBIE by authorised third parties (such as third-party contractors) to the extent that is necessary, for example for them to administrate or work on the site. We will store and keep it secure in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and agents will be subject to MBIE’s information security and privacy requirements.

Electronic alerts and newsletters 

When you subscribe to one of our update alerts or newsletters, the details you provide may be stored in a secure third-party database (for example, Mailchimp). Your name and email address will be used to send you future electronic newsletters, and will not be disclosed without your consent.

You can update your contact details at any time by returning to the subscribe page on our website and re-entering your email address. You will be given an option to update your contact details (called your profile). 

You can unsubscribe by using the unsubscribe link on any newsletter you receive from us. When you unsubscribe, your details will be deleted from the database.

Determinations

Determinations are published on the website and include the address of the subject property to which the determination applies, as well as the names of the parties (personal names are by title, initial, and surname).

Determinations are explained in full.

Contact us has contact details for our Determinations and Assurances team.

Editable templates

For convenience and clarity, we have made it possible for you to fill out some of the website forms online and print them. The information you enter is not collected or saved by us.

Disclosure of information

MBIE will generally not share personal information that is provided or collected through this website, unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which you gave us the information (for example, to investigate a complaint) or where you consent. MBIE will not otherwise disclose personal information provided or collected through this website unless required or otherwise permitted by law.

Use of personal information

We will generally only use personal information provided to us through this website for the purpose you provided it (for example, to administer, evaluate and improve the site, to improve our services and to action or respond to the information provided). We may also use personal information provided to us through this website for other reasons permitted under the Privacy Act (for example, with your consent, for a directly related purpose, or where the law permits or requires it).

Security

MBIE websites have security measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse and alteration of information under our control. In order to maintain the cyber security of MBIE systems and information, MBIE systems are subject to ongoing monitoring (including activity logging), analysis and auditing.

We may use information about your use of our websites and other IT systems to prevent unauthorised access or attacks on these systems or to resolve such events. We may use this information even if you are not involved in such activity.

MBIE may utilise services from one or more 3rd party suppliers to monitor or maintain the cyber security of its systems and information. These 3rd party suppliers will have access to monitoring and logging information as well as information processed on MBIE websites and other IT systems.

Records and retention of personal information

MBIE will only retain personal information as long as it is required for the purposes for which the information may lawfully be used.

Public Records 

Where any information provided (which may include personal information) to or through this site constitutes public records, it will be retained to the extent required by the Public Records Act 2005. MBIE may also be required to disclose information under the Official Information Act 1982 or to a Parliamentary Select Committee or Parliament in response to a Parliamentary Question.

Rights of access and correction

You have the right to:

• find out from us whether we hold personal information about you
• access that information and, if applicable
• request corrections to that information

If MBIE has a good reason for refusing a request for correction, you are entitled to request that a statement be attached to the information of the correction that was sought but not made.

If you want to check personal information that we hold, contact our Privacy Officer by writing to:

Privacy Officer
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
PO Box 5488
Wellington 6011

For more information on the privacy laws in New Zealand and contact details for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, please visit the Privacy Commissioner's website.

Statistical information

In relation to site use and statistics, this site does not collect any information that identifies individual users.

We may collect statistical information about your visit to help us improve this site. This information is grouped and does not identify individuals. It includes:

• your IP address (unique numerical label assigned to each computer or device)
• the search terms you used
• the pages you accessed on our site and the links you clicked on
• the date and time you visited the site
• the referring site (if any) through which you clicked through to this site
• the device you used to access the site
• your operating system (for example, Windows XP, Mac OSX)
• the type of web browser you use (for example, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)
• incidental matters such as screen resolution, the release of your installed Flash version and the language setting of your browser.

The statistical information referred to above will be viewable by site administrators and certain other MBIE staff. It may also be shared with other government agencies.

Cookies

MBIE does not use cookies on this website to gather any personally identifiable information. We use cookies to gather data about trends in site usage using a tool called Google Analytics.

Browser or ‘web’ cookies are small text files sent by a website and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies generally track site usage and can help improve your experience of a website (for example, by remembering preferences you have set).

You can read Google’s privacy statement, and access a Google Analytics opt-out tool, at the Google Privacy Center

You can manually disable cookies at any time - check your browser's 'Help' to find out how (you will still be able to use this website if you disable cookies).

Transparency statement

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) transparency statement describes the kind of information MBIE gathers to ensure it can effectively:

• protect people, information, and places
• ensure regulatory compliance, and
• detect and prevent criminal offending.

MBIE’s transparency statement | Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment