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Electoral Act 1993

Miscellaneous provisions

263B: Disclosure of personal information for enrolment purposes

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"How the Electoral Commission uses your personal info to help you enrol to vote"

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

The Electoral Commission can get personal information from some agencies to help people enrol to vote. You are eligible to enrol if you are 17 or older. The agencies can share your name, date of birth, address, and contact details with the Electoral Commission. A specified agency can share your information with the Electoral Commission. These agencies include the department responsible for the Social Security Act 2018, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, the New Zealand Transport Agency, and the Department of Internal Affairs. The Electoral Commission can use this information to check if you are already enrolled to vote. They can also use it to encourage you to enrol if you are not already on the electoral roll. On or after 1 December 2020, information can only be shared under an information matching agreement or an approved information sharing agreement, as set out in the Privacy Act 1993 and the Privacy Act 2020. The Electoral Commission can compare the information they get from the agencies with the information they already have about you. This helps them keep their records up to date and accurate.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM310479.

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Part 9Miscellaneous provisions

263BDisclosure of personal information for enrolment purposes

  1. The purpose of this section is to facilitate the disclosure of information described in subsection (2) by a specified agency to the Electoral Commission only for the purposes of—

  2. identifying persons who are qualified to apply to register as an elector but who have not yet registered; and
    1. encouraging those persons identified to register as an elector; and
      1. updating and ensuring the accuracy of the particulars of persons whose names are on the roll.

        1. The information referred to in subsection (1) is the following information relating to any person of or over the age of 17 years:

        2. the person’s full name:
          1. the person’s date of birth:
            1. the person’s address of residence (if known):
              1. the person’s postal address (if known and if different from the address of residence in paragraph (c)):
                1. the person’s email address or phone numbers (if known):
                  1. the date at which the information in paragraphs (a) to (e) held by the agency was last provided to the agency.

                    1. For the purposes of this section, a specified agency means—

                    2. the department for the time being responsible for the administration of the Social Security Act 2018; and
                      1. the Registrar of Motor Vehicles; and
                        1. the New Zealand Transport Agency; and
                          1. the Department of Internal Affairs.

                            1. For the purposes of this section, any officer or employee or agent of a specified agency, authorised by the chief executive of that agency, may from time to time, at the request of the Electoral Commission, supply to the Electoral Commission any of the information described in subsection (2) held by that agency,—

                            2. in the case of the department for the time being responsible for the administration of the Social Security Act 2018, in relation to any—
                              1. beneficiary; or
                                1. student; or
                                  1. borrower (as that term is defined in section 4(1) of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011):
                                  2. in the case of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, in relation to motor vehicle registration:
                                    1. in the case of the New Zealand Transport Agency, in relation to driver licences:
                                      1. in the case of the Department of Internal Affairs, in relation to any persons—
                                        1. who obtain New Zealand citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1977; or
                                          1. by whom, or on whose behalf, an application is made under the Passports Act 1992 for the issue or renewal of a New Zealand passport.

                                          2. If, in relation to any person, information is supplied to the Electoral Commission under subsection (4), the Electoral Commission may cause a comparison of that information to be made with any information that is held by the Electoral Commission and that relates to that person.

                                          3. On or after 1 December 2020, no information may be disclosed under this section except under—

                                          4. an information matching agreement entered into under Part 10 of the Privacy Act 1993 and continued by clause 11 of Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 2020; or
                                            1. an approved information sharing agreement entered into under subpart 1 of Part 7 of the Privacy Act 2020.

                                              1. In this section, Registrar of Motor Vehicles has the same meaning as Registrar in section 233(1) of the Land Transport Act 1998.

                                              Notes
                                              • Section 263B: inserted, on , by section 97 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 1).
                                              • Section 263B(1): amended, on , by section 52(18)(h) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).
                                              • Section 263B(2)(e): replaced, on , by section 23 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).
                                              • Section 263B(3)(a): amended, on , by section 459 of the Social Security Act 2018 (2018 No 32).
                                              • Section 263B(3)(b): amended, on , by section 45 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 8).
                                              • Section 263B(3)(c): amended, on , by section 50(1) of the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 47).
                                              • Section 263B(4): amended, on , by section 52(18)(h) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).
                                              • Section 263B(4)(a): amended, on , by section 459 of the Social Security Act 2018 (2018 No 32).
                                              • Section 263B(4)(a)(iii): amended, on , by section 223 of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011 (2011 No 62).
                                              • Section 263B(4)(b): amended, on , by section 45 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 8).
                                              • Section 263B(4)(c): amended, on , by section 50(1) of the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 47).
                                              • Section 263B(4)(d): substituted, on , by section 27 of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).
                                              • Section 263B(5): amended, on , by section 52(18)(h) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).
                                              • Section 263B(5A): inserted, on , by section 190 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).
                                              • Section 263B(6): inserted, on , by section 45 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 8).