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Privacy policy

Purpose

This policy is to set out the measures Horticulture NZ (HortNZ) takes to ensure privacy and confidentiality of information

Policy

Personal information

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual (a natural person) and includes, in relation to HORTNZ’s role:

  • information relating to Membership of HortNZ
  • home addresses
  • nature of business
  • email address
  • contact phone numbers
  • key contacts relating to a business including collection agent information

Why do we collect and use personal information?

We collect and use personal information for the purpose of providing services either requested or authorised, and for purposes specified at the point of collection.

We may also collect and use personal information to:

  • respond to any questions or correspondence from
  • eliminate the need to repeatedly provide us with the same information
  • send information about a service we are providing
  • verify identity
  • inform policy settings

From time-to-time the information we collect may also be used for training and research purposes to improve our services.

Access and correction

You have access to your personal information that we hold unless an exception in the Levy Order applies. You can access some information, such as in our membership database.

If your information is wrong, please ask us to correct it.

  • For your contact details in the membership database, you can update those by contacting info@hortnz.co.nz
  • If you are on a HORTNZ mailing list and wish to be removed, please contact the sender of the email.

How do we collect your personal information?

When you interact with HORTNZ we will collect information directly from you by any of the following:

  • face-to-face
  • telephone
  • email
  • writing to us
  • making an application for our services or completing forms on our websites.

If you are a grower connected to a collection agent, some of your personal information is accessible by HORTNZ from the collection agent organisation.  This accessibility enables HORTNZ to undertake its statutory functions and provide services to you.

Use and disclosure of personal information

HORTNZ may use and disclose your personal information for the purposes for which you provided it, or with your permission.

There are exceptions such as those under Principles 10 and 11 of the Privacy Act or under other laws.

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0031/latest/LMS23342.html

Common exceptions are:

  • following up your complaints or queries, or other directly related purposes
  • statistical or research purposes where you are not identified
  • avoiding prejudice to the maintenance of the law (including in relation to offences)
  • where we are required by a law, a Court, or a Tribunal.

Where HORTNZ has called for public submissions on a matter, such as where HORTNZ issues public consultation documents on rule changes, the consultation document will set out publication information for the submissions. If the document does not set out publication information, access to your submission will be governed by the Official Information Act.

HORTNZ may use your information to contact you to ask for feedback on the services it has provided to you. We welcome your feedback. It is your choice as to whether you wish to provide feedback.

Security of personal information

We will take all reasonable precautions to protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, or disclosure.

Some of the ways we protect your personal information include:

  • external and internal premises security
  • storing your information on access-controlled systems
  • restricting access to your personal information to staff who need it to perform their day-to-day functions
  • ongoing auditing of our use of personal information, and
  • providing training on the Privacy Act to our staff.

Storage and retention of personal information

We use third party providers to store and process our information, including the use of electronic analytical tools for processing, to inform decision making, and to improve the ways in which we support our customers. This means that some personal information we hold may be transferred to, or accessed from, countries other than New Zealand.

Where personal information needs to be stored with or disclosed to organisations in other countries HORTNZ will comply with Privacy Principle 12. This involves seeking to ensure that there will be similar protections to those in the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.  However, where HORTNZ is unable to ensure this, HORTNZ will ensure the individual whose information is being stored or disclosed is aware of the potential risk by informing them that that their information may not be given the same protection. If the individual is not happy with that offshore storage or disclosure the individual will be able to withdraw from being provided the service involved.

The information is kept until it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was held.

Personal information and the HORTNZ website

You may access and browse our website https://www.hortnz.co.nz/ without providing any personal information:

In some places on the website, you can voluntarily provide personal information, such as emailing an enquiry to one of our service units, making a submission to a consultation document, making a complaint, or registering or logging into HORTNZ’s secure services (such as the grower portal).

If you choose not to provide the required information, you will not be able to access the secure services.

Important information

For any further explanations of what we do with your information, check the parts of the website where you can provide us with that information, or contact our Communications Manager.

For information on the privacy laws of New Zealand, please visit the Privacy Commissioner’s website:

https://www.privacy.org.nz/

If you wish to make a complaint about HORTNZ gathering or use of your personal information please email the Communications Manager on info@hortnz.co.nz

Statistical information - websites

We collect non-identifying statistical information about all visits to our websites.

These statistics allow us to assess the number of visitors to different sections of our website, identify information of interest, monitor system performance, and help us make the website more useful to visitors.

Refer to the Privacy Act for details of the Privacy Principles https://www.privacy.org.nz/privacy-act-2020/privacy-principles/