Contacting the Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Office of the Privacy Commission (OPC) has changed how it responds to enquiries.
Until recently, the OPC had operated a bespoke service with a dedicated email address and 0800 number to ask privacy questions. Many of those queries could have been answered by looking at their website or their contacting the organisation’s privacy officer.
With a massive increase in enquiries, the OPC has changed how New Zealanders can contact it.
The email address (enquiries@privacy.org.nz) is no longer operational and any emails sent to that address are not answered.
The 0800 803 909 number remains. From 1 May 2026, an automated message will give callers a suite of options to choose from, rather than a personalised response.
The OPC’s website (www.privacy.org.nz) can help answer privacy questions, including outlining your privacy rights.
Privacy breach notification: There are no changes to the way to contact the OPC of a notifiable privacy breach. The online NotifyUs reporting tool is unchanged and will help you assess the seriousness of the privacy breach.
Resource Management Act 1991 overhaul
As many of you will know, the government has proposed changes to the 35-year-old Resource Management Act.
Rather than tweaking the existing legislation, the government has proposed an entirely new approach to development and environment protection with two new core pieces of legislation: the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill.
Submissions to the select committee on both bills closed on Friday, 13 February.
The select committee is currently reviewing the submissions; the new legislation is expected to be enacted by mid-2026.
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