Privacy

Timaru District Council respects and protects the privacy of our website users. This policy sets out our approach to the privacy of personal information and is based on the principles expressed through the Privacy Act 1993.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

You may browse and access information contained on our website without providing personal information. Timaru District Council will only collect information from you that you volunteer. We will hold your personal information in accordance with the requirements set out in the Privacy Act 1993. In particular:

  • your personal information will only be used for the purposes for which it is collected
  • it will be retained only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected (including any time that we are required by law to retain such information).
  • we will not release your personal information to any third party except where required to, permitted to, by law, where you have authorised us to do so or where disclosure is connected to the purpose for which the information was collected.

Any information we collect will not be used in ways that you have not consented to.

All enquiries about or formal requests for information in terms of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, or the Privacy Act 1993 should be in writing to:

Timaru District Council
PO Box 522
Timaru

For more detailed information about the Privacy Act you can refer to the Privacy Commissioner's Guide to the Privacy Act 1993. If you are concerned that the Council may have breached the Privacy Act or if you are not sure of our obligations, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner. Privacy Hotline: 0800 803 909.

Privacy Commission website

How Timaru District Council Uses Your Information

Timaru District Council may use your information:

  1. to provide you with personalised content;
  2. to process and respond to inquiries;
  3. for the purposes for which you provided the information.

Storage of Personal Information

We have strict security procedures covering the storage of your information in order to prevent unauthorised access and to comply with the terms of the Privacy Act 1993. We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. All data is stored behind corporate firewalls and only specific employees are able to access your personal data. This means that sometimes we may ask you for proof of identity or for other personal information before we can process your enquiry further. TDC attempts to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of your personal information. Our servers are protected by reasonable physical and electronic security measures.

Access to, editing and deleting personal information

At any stage, you have the right to access and correct or update your personal information or to request not to receive communications from us. This can be done by contacting us by emailing enquiry@timdc.govt.nz or phoning 03 687 7200. It is your responsibility to ensure that personal information provided to us is accurate.

Links to Third Parties

The website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. Timaru District Council takes no responsibility for the privacy practices of third parties. You should consult the privacy policies of each linked website in order to determine the policy that each third party adheres to.

Website Data

This website may record information about user behaviour. This data cannot be used to identify individuals or any personal information. Any information collected will be used to improve your website experience and will not include any information that identifies you.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

From time to time, at our discretion, we may change aspects of our Privacy Policy with or without notice to you. All changes will be posted on this page so that you are always aware of how we are handling your personal information. If you have any further questions relating to this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the website enquiry form or phoning 03 687 7200.