Privacy statement
Northland Regional Council is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy governs the collection, use and disclosure of your personal data by us in connection with this website. It has been prepared in accordance with our obligations and your rights set out in the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020
The council reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time and for any reason. By using this website, you consent to the council's use of your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy (as amended from time to time).
Personal data collection
What kind of personal data we collect
The council collects only the personal data you provide (including your name, email address, and contact telephone numbers) when you engage with us. Subject to our obligations under the Privacy Act, we may also collect personal information about you from third parties (such as other councils or government agencies) where this is necessary for us to deliver services. The council may also keep a record of any information that you acquire from the regional council.
Where we collect personal data from
The council collects personal data from the following sources:
- By you contacting us enquiring about information on the Northland region, Northland Regional Council, council services or anything on this website
- Directly from you when you register and request the supply of information or services from the council in connection with this website
- By you conducting transactions through the website.
How we use your personal data
The council uses your personal data in order to carry out our functions and deliver services such as:
- Ensuring we’re interacting with and delivering services to the right person
- Replying to your queries
- Processing your application for registration for use of council services or to gain access to information on this website made available only to registered users
- Providing you with information about Northland region, Northland Regional Council or council services
- Providing you with subscription services, newsletters and updates
- Complying with relevant legislation and regulations
- Any specific purpose which the regional council notifies you of at the time personal data is collected
- Processing transactions that you may conduct through the website
The regional council may disclose information about you (including your identity) to a third party if the council is requested to do so in the course of a criminal or other legal investigation, or if the council determines that disclosure is necessary in connection with any complaint regarding your use of this website.
How we store personal data
The regional council stores personal data electronically and in paper form. The personal data is kept safe and secure using generally accepted standards of security.
How you can access/amend your personal data
You may access your personal data that the council holds by emailing us at [email protected] The regional council will provide you with a copy of the personal data the council keeps about you.
You may request that the personal data the council holds about you be corrected by emailing us at [email protected] If the regional council agrees that your personal data is to be corrected, we will provide you with an amended record.
How long we hold personal data
The council will keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected.
Other information collected
For the purpose of improving our website, we collect statistical information about your visit. This information is used for no other purpose and all users are anonymous and not personally identifiable. Information that we collect includes:
- IP addresses
- Dates and times of visits
- Types of devices used (e.g. iPad, tablet, desktop or phone)
- Search terms
- Pages visited and links clicked
- The immediate previous site visited
- Operating systems (e.g. Windows, Mac)
- Web browsers
CCTV cameras
We use CCTV cameras around council premises for safety and security purposes. You will see signage indicating they are operating.
Website use of "cookies"
When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device (for example, your computer or mobile phone). These include small files known as cookies. Cookies are small text files that are sent by a website and stored on your computer’s hard drive. They cannot be used to identify you personally. These pieces of information are used to improve services for you.
There are two types of cookie you may encounter when using this site:
- First party cookies: these are our own cookies, controlled by us and used to provide information about usage of our site.
- Third party cookies: these are cookies found in other companies’ internet tools which we are using to enhance our site.
Some third-party tools used on this website, such as Google Maps, may set additional cookies. The regional council has no control over cookies set by third parties and assumes no responsibility for them.
How to refuse or delete cookies
You may refuse the use of cookies and delete any cookies that are already stored on your computer by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you visit our site.
Instructions on how to delete and refuse cookies for various web browsers are available at allaboutcookies.org This is not part of our website, and the Northland Regional Council is not responsible for its content.
Contact and feedback
If you want to comment privately about the content of the site, or provide content for our news section, you can use the site’s online feedback form, or see the contact us page for phone, email, fax and post details.