Collecting your personal information
Why the Ombudsman collects personal information
The Ombudsman only collects personal information that they need to do their work.
The Ombudsman is also subject to secrecy obligations under the law. This means they are required to protect any information you provide while doing this work, and may only share it if it is necessary to do so.
When the Ombudsman collects personal information
When you interact with the Ombudsman’s office, you may be asked to provide personal information.
For example, you may be asked for personal information if you choose to:
- make a complaint, either online or over the phone
- subscribe to one of the Ombudsman’s newsletters
- apply for a job at the Ombudsman’s office.
The Ombudsman may collect some of your personal information from other people or agencies, including when investigating, or deciding whether to investigate, complaints. They may also collect information about you from publicly available sources.
Under the law, the Ombudsman can require a person or agency to provide them with information to carry out their role, such as for investigations.
Examples of personal information the Ombudsman collects
If you make a complaint
If you make a complaint to the Ombudsman, you may be asked for:
- your name
- contact details
- demographic information
- the content of your complaint
- other relevant personal information.
If the Ombudsman investigates your complaint, you may be asked for more personal information.
If you have information that is relevant to an investigation, you must provide it if the Ombudsman asks for it using their powers under the Ombudsmen Act.
Read about how the Ombudsman uses your personal information
When you use the Ombudsman’s online services
We collect some information when you browse this website, but it can’t be used to identify you personally.
Information about how you interact with this website is sent to Google Analytics. The Ombudsman’s office uses Google Analytics to monitor things like search terms and webpage usage to help improve user experience on the website.
Read data privacy and security information for Google Analytics
If you subscribe to a newsletter
If you choose to subscribe to one of our newsletters, you’ll be asked for your:
- email address
- first and last names.
The Ombudsman uses MailChimp to send newsletters and manage subscribers.
Read MailChimp’s privacy policy
If you apply for a job
If you apply for a job at the Ombudsman’s office through the website, you’ll be asked for:
- your name, contact details and other personal information to assist with processing your application, such as residency status;
- your CV
- a covering letter
Only those involved in the recruitment process will be able to access identifiable information. This information will be kept confidential unless disclosure would usually be required under either the Official Information or Privacy Acts or parliamentary scrutiny requires otherwise.