Privacy statement

Employment New Zealand ('Employment NZ', 'we' or 'us') is a brand of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Scope

This privacy statement is to let users of our website, learning modules and Service Centre know when we may collect personal information and what we may do with it. We do not use, share or disclose personal information collected or received except as set out in this statement. 

This privacy statement covers information collected or held by MBIE through the Employment NZ website, learning modules and our Service Centre.  

Voluntary disclosure

You may choose to voluntarily provide personal information through our website or learning modules (for example, through an online form). This information may be viewable by site administrators, MBIE staff (as appropriate) and third-party contractors who may administer or work on the site.

Collection of personal information

Online forms

We may ask you to provide some personal information when you complete an online form through our website or learning modules. MBIE may ask you to provide your details to create an account, make a complaint or submit a request for service.

As part of our online processes there may be other information that we would like to be supplied. If you do not provide the personal information requested (for example, your contact details), we may not be able to provide the services to you.

We may also ask you to voluntarily provide personal information (for example, your name, address and employment status) through our website or learning modules. Where you choose to do so, we will use it to understand the customers accessing our services and it may be shared with our team, enabling us to provide better services.

Electronic alerts and newsletters

When you subscribe to one of our alerts or newsletters, the details you provide will be stored in our secure third-party databases, Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor.

Mailchimp privacy policy(external link)

Campaign Monitor privacy policy(external link)

Your name and email address will be used to send you future electronic newsletters and surveys from MBIE or third parties. When you unsubscribe to our alerts or newsletters, your details will be removed from our mailing list.

Statistical information

We collect statistical information about your visit to help us analyse usage and improve our website and learning modules. This information includes, but is not limited to:

• users' location
• users' search terms
• pages accessed on the website
• links clicked on
• date and time of visits
• previous visits to the website
• users' operating systems
• browsers and devices used when accessing the website.

This information can be seen by website administrators, MBIE staff and is shared with other government agencies. It is used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify you.

Cookies 

We have 3 types of cookies on this site.

• Some cookies remember the information you have entered so we can show content relevant to you based on your site preferences
• Some cookies help us collect statistics and other analytical information so we can improve and manage the site
• Some cookies make the website function properly for you — for example, they remember your cookie preferences

Third-party vendors such as Google use cookies to serve advertisements based on someone’s past visits to the employment.govt.nz website. Any data collected will be used in accordance with our privacy statement as well as the privacy policies of Google. 

Privacy and Terms - Google(external link)

The types of Advertising Features implemented on the Employment NZ website may include:

• Google Display Impression Reporting
• DoubleClick Platform integrations

None of our cookies collect information that could identify you personally. We may use this statistical data to enhance your browsing experience and improve our website.

You can manually disable cookies at any time – check your browser's 'Help' section to find out how (disabling cookies will not affect your ability to use this website). 

Call Recording and Email Retention

As part of our commitment to providing the best possible service to our customers, we record all inbound and outbound communication with the Service Centre (for example, telephone calls and email queries). This helps us to identify ways that we can provide better services.

We record calls and retain emails for staff training purposes, helping us to improve the quality of our customer service and to ensure the information we provide is consistent and accurate. We may also share the communication internally with other MBIE business units if required.

We understand your personal information is important to you, and we are committed to protecting your privacy. We will only retain personal information until no longer necessary and according to our legal requirements. 

Unless we have lawful reason for withholding this information, it will be made available if you request access to a transcript or copy of your call by emailing the Privacy Officer or completing the online form.

Official information request form - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment(external link)

Email: oia@mbie.govt.nz

Use of information

MBIE staff, where appropriate, will only use personal information provided to us through our website, learning modules or Service Centre for the purposes outlined above or to carry out functions of the business. 

We may also use personal information for other reasons as permitted under Information Privacy Principle 11 of the Privacy Act 2020.

Disclosure of information

We do not share personal information that is provided or collected by MBIE through our website, learning modules or Service Centre, unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which you gave us the information or where you consent.

We will, however, disclose your information to a third party where it is required or permitted by the Privacy Act 2020 or other law.  For instance, MBIE may be required to disclose information under the Official Information Act 1982 or to a Parliamentary Select Committee or Parliament in response to a Parliamentary Question.

The information that we may be required to disclose may contain personal information and may be disclosed without prior notice to you.

Storage and retention of personal information

When you provide personal information through our website or learning modules, unless otherwise indicated, it will be held by MBIE. It may be stored on behalf of MBIE by third parties to the extent that is necessary to carry out the functions of MBIE. 

We will store your personal information securely in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and authorised third parties will be subject to MBIE's information security and privacy requirements. 

Where any information that is provided (which may include personal information) to, or through, this site constitutes public records, it will be retained to the extent required by the Public Records Act 1995. 

Where information provided does not constitute public records, MBIE will only retain your personal information if it is required for the purposes for which the information was collected and may lawfully be used.

Access to your personal information

You have the right to:

• find out if we hold personal information about you
• access that information, and
• request corrections to that information

If you want to find out if we hold personal information about you, access that information or request corrections to that information, email us or complete the online form to request official information.

Official information request form - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment(external link)

Email: oia@mbie.govt.nz

If MBIE has a good reason for refusing a request for correction, you are entitled to request that a statement be attached to the information of the correction that was sought but not made.

For more information on the privacy laws in New Zealand and contact details for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, visit the Privacy Commissioner website.

Privacy Commissioner(external link)

Google Analytics

Using Google Analytics means that we can advertise to visitors who have visited certain pages on our site. This could be in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page or a site in the Google Display Network. 

Security

MBIE websites have security measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of information under our control. To maintain the cyber security of MBIE systems and information, MBIE systems are subject to ongoing monitoring (including activity logging), analysis and auditing. 

We may use information about your use of our websites and other IT systems to prevent unauthorised access or attacks on these systems or to resolve such events. We may use this information even if you are not involved in such activity. 

MBIE may utilise services from one or more third party suppliers to monitor or maintain the cyber security of its systems and information. These third-party suppliers will have access to monitoring and logging information as well as information processed on Employment NZ websites and other IT systems.

Changes to this privacy statement

The Employment NZ privacy statement is under regular review. Changes in laws, regulations and industry standards may result in updates to our privacy statement. We encourage you to review our privacy statement to stay informed.

You can email us if you have an enquiry or concern about our privacy statement.

Email: oia@mbie.govt.nz