Privacy

Your privacy is important to Environment Canterbury (referred to in this Privacy Statement as “we”, “our” or “us”).  

This Privacy Statement governs our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (as defined in the Privacy Act 2020 (Privacy Act)) and has been prepared in accordance with our obligations and your rights set out in the Privacy Act. We may change this Privacy Statement from time to time.

Why do we collect your personal information?  

We only collect your personal information when it is necessary for a specific purpose connected with the services we provide. The purpose for collecting and using your information varies according to the services you are using.

As per section 4 of the Privacy Act, we collect your personal information with your consent, for example in the performance of a contract with you or to comply with laws and regulations. 

What type of personal information do we collect?  

Your personal information is any information about you. Your name, contact details, finance, purchase records, anything that you can look at and say, ‘this is about me’.  

When we say ‘personal information’ we mean identifiable information about you, relating to your:   

• identity including your name, marital status, title, date of birth and gender  
• contact details including your address, email address and telephone numbers  
• transaction details including details about payments to and from you and other details of services you have requested  
• technical information including internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access our websites  
• profile information including requests made by you, your feedback and survey responses  
• usage information including information about how you use our website, facilities and services.  
• written and photographic records related to alleged breaches of the legislation we administer, our directions and bylaws, either witnessed by the public or our officers. 

We may also collect any other information provided by you in connection with, or specifically related to your communications with us or your use of our services or facilities.  

If you apply for a job with us, we may collect things such as a CV, Visa status, data from psychometric testing. If you are hired, we may conduct a credit check, police screening or Ministry of Justice check.

We collect your bank account, tax code, emergency contact details, drivers licence details.

When do we collect your personal information?  

We may collect your personal information when you, or someone acting on your behalf, provides information to us directly. For example, when you:  

• apply for employment with us  
• communicate and correspond with us, whether in person, by letter, phone, text, email, instant messages or other means of electronic communication  
• complete and submit forms for our services. For example: applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations or for the use of any of our services or facilities, including signing up for and using our online services and apps, such as our online payment services  
• prepare and submit a written submission, request or other feedback in relation to applications for consents, licences, approvals, permits, funding or other authorisations, or in relation to consultation on any form of draft or proposed plan, policy, bylaw or other document  
• use any of our services or facilities  
• subscribe to our newsletter or update services  
• follow or post comments in response to our social media or other facilities such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, etc.  

We may also:  

• keep a record of any information that you acquire from us  
• monitor and record phone calls made to or by us for quality control or staff training purposes. If a call you make to us, or that we may make to you, is to be monitored and recorded, you will be informed of this at the time of the call 
• collect personal information about you from other organisations, entities or persons where you have authorised them to provide us with information or where the Privacy Act allows this. 

We may also collect personal information when it relates to an alleged offence or incident that we may investigate.

What information do we collect when you visit our websites?  

When you visit one of our websites, we may use technology solutions such as “cookies” to provide you with better access to tailored information and services and to better serve you when you return to them. You can choose to disable or delete your cookies. We may collect, hold, and use statistical information about your visits and in connection with your IP address to help us improve our website, for instance:  

• the search terms you used  
• the pages accessed and the links you clicked  
• the date and time you visited the site  
• the referring website (if any) through which you clicked through to our website  
• your operating system (eg Windows XP, Mac OS X)  
• the type of web browser you use (eg Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)  
• the make and model number of mobile device used to visit our site. 

The information provided is aggregated and IP addresses are masked so the information cannot be used to identify individuals. Our internet service providers may also make a record of your visit and log information for statistical purposes. This information is only analysed on a bulk basis for broad demographic content. Individual use is not analysed. We do not attempt to identify users or their browsing activities unless they choose to give us personal information while using our website.  

We use a number of third party data hosting services including EngagementHQ, SurveyMonkey/ Wufoo, Mailchimp, Hotjar, and Windcave for taking payments.

In addition to using cookies, we use Google Analytics, a service that provides aggregated reports on website activity. Google Analytics relies on the use of cookies. For details on what information is collected via these cookies, and how it is stored and used, see Google's privacy policy.  

It is important to note that once you follow a link and leave our social media or website you are subject to the privacy and security policies of the website you are visiting. We do not have control over the privacy policies of other websites or social media pages. It is also important to note that we do not use your information for commercial marketing. 

What information do we collect from CCTV?  

We use Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in particular areas to monitor such things as:

• behaviour in public facing areas of our buildings, to keep people safe;
• coastal conditions to help manage the safe navigation of vessels and promote safe recreational boating; and
• Access to our parks and reserves, to prevent and detect crime and to keep people safe.

Signage advising of CCTV equipment will in most instances give notice of areas covered by such equipment. CCTV footage will only be viewed by authorised people in accordance with the purpose noted above or to regularly check the system is operational. No attempt is made to identify individuals from CCTV footage except in relation to a reported or suspected incident requiring investigation.

What do we use your personal information for?  

We only collect your personal information for a specific purpose connected with the services we provide.

The personal information that we collect from you, or someone acting on your behalf, may be used for any of the following purposes:  

• to provide you with services or facilities, including:  
  
  • those you have requested; and  
    
  • assisting our contractors and other government partners to provide such services or facilities to you
    
• to positively confirm your identity. This is to avoid inappropriate release or use of your information
  
• to respond to correspondence or to provide you with information that you have requested
  
• to process your application for any consent, licence, registration, approval, permit or other authorisation for which you have applied
• to process your application to use or to register for any of our services or facilities, including our online services
  
• to process payments received by or made by council or provide refunds
  
• to respond to your requests, enquiries or feedback, or for customer care related activities
  
• to provide you with information about our events, news, services or facilities, or the events, news, services or facilities of our contractors and other government partners that we consider may be of interest to you
  
• to comply with, and enforce, relevant laws and regulations
  
• to carry out activities connected with the running of our business or operations such as personnel training or testing and maintenance of computer and other systems
  
• for any specific purpose which we notify you of at the time your personal information is collected
  
• to carry out surveys to improve our business processes and operations, based upon your feedback
  
• for general administrative and business purposes.

Who do we share your personal information with?

We may share your personal information with:

• any person engaged by the council to provide products, services or functions to you on our behalf, where your personal information is necessary for the provision of those products or services
  
• a third party if we are required to do so under any laws or regulations, including to comply with our obligations under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, Building Act 2004 and Resource Management Act 1991
  
• a third party in the course of legal proceedings or other investigations. This may include sharing CCTV footage with the New Zealand Police or other public sector agencies such as NZ Customs, Maritime NZ etc where criminal activity is reported or suspected. These parties may also access live feeds from certain CCTV cameras from time to time, for law enforcement, investigation and emergency response purposes
  
• any person you authorise us to disclose your personal information to
  
• any person, if that information is held in a public register, e.g. information held on property files or the rating information database
  
• a third party contracted by the council to provide data hosting services and who may be based in other countries such as Australia or the USA. Appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure adequate protection of information. We will let you know when your information has been shared, or if it will be shared. You have a right under the Privacy Act to ask what your information will be used for and who it will go to.

What information do we make public?

We are required by law to make certain information that we hold available to the public. For example:  

• the Resource Management Act 1991 requires us to make certain documents publicly available, including copies of resource consent applications, consent documents and submissions on our proposed plans
  
• the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 requires us to make publicly available our “complete rating information database”, which includes personal information of property owners
  
• the local electoral roll must be available for inspection in certain circumstances, under the Local Electoral Act 2001
  
• all submissions made to us during a special consultative procedure or other consultative procedure (for example submissions on proposed plan changes, consent applications and the long-term plan) are usually made available to the public under the Local Government Act 2002.
  

We also make available information such as oblique flood imagery and aerial imagery, and imagery to help manage the safe navigation of vessels and promote safe recreational boating.

How do we protect your personal information?

Looking after your information is our priority. We are committed to protecting your personal information and take reasonable steps to ensure it is:

• protected against loss, damage, misuse, and unauthorised access. We restrict access to personal information to those individuals who need access to this information in order to assist us in performing our duties and obligations
  
• accurate, up to date, complete, relevant, and not misleading.
  

We take unauthorised attempts to upload information or change information seriously. Doing this is strictly prohibited and may be punishable.

How long will we keep your personal information?  

The length of time we keep your personal information depends on what it is and whether we have an ongoing need to retain it (for example, to provide you with a service you’ve requested).

We may retain all personal information that we collect (on both our active systems and our archive systems), for as long as administratively necessary, in accordance with the council’s information retention policies and disposal schedule.

To determine the appropriate retention period of your information, we consider the nature, sensitivity, appropriate legal obligations, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised disclosure, the purposes for which we process your information and whether these purposes can be achieved though alternative means.

We are required to keep records of our business under the Public Records Act 2005, which requires us to retain “protected records” indefinitely. In some circumstances, your personal information may be included within a protected record, including submissions you make in relation to bylaws, annual plans, and district or regional planning instruments.

What if you do not want to provide the personal information requested?  

If you do not provide us with all of the personal information about you that we request, we may not be able to adequately respond to your correspondence, process any applications you have submitted, provide the services or facilities you have requested, process payments or otherwise deal with any requests or enquiries you have submitted.

In some circumstances, failure to provide information when requested may be unlawful, and/or result in legal consequences. These circumstances and the potential consequences will be explained to you when your personal information is collected.

What are your rights?

You have the right to ask why the information is being collected and what is its use.

You also have the right to know what information we hold about you, to request a copy, and to request that we correct your information if inaccurate.

Your rights of access to and correction of any personal information we hold about you are subject to the procedures set out in the Privacy Act.

• Accessing your information or obtaining a copy of your information: You may request confirmation of whether or not we hold any personal information about you and you may request access to your personal information that we hold. If you request to access your information, we take steps to confirm your identity. This might involve asking you some security questions and checking your identity documents. Once we have verified your identity we will provide you with such confirmation and access unless one of the grounds for refusal to do so under the Privacy Act applies.
  
• Updating and correcting your information: If you think the information we hold about you is inaccurate, you may request changes to your personal information. If we agree that your personal information is to be corrected, we will provide you with an amended record of your personal information if requested. If we do not agree that the information needs to be corrected, we'll make note of your request on the disputed information as a "statement of correction".
  

We will endeavour to respond to your request as quickly as possible and no later than 20 working days after you make your request. Email us or use the postal address provided below.

Who can you contact for further information?  

You can contact us at any time to ask about our Privacy Statement and privacy practices, to let us know that you're concerned about anything, or make a complaint about the way we've handled your personal information.  

If you have any queries about personal information Environment Canterbury Regional Council has collected, please contact us via email: ecinfo@ecan.govt.nz or via postal address: PO Box 345 Christchurch.

If you're not satisfied with the way we've handled your complaint, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.  

Complaints can be made online at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner website or sent by post to:  

Office of the Privacy Commissioner  
PO Box 10094  
Wellington  
6143