Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Privacy Act 2020

Preliminary provisions - Preliminary matters

4: Application of this Act

You could also call this:

“Who and what the Privacy Act 2020 covers”

This Act applies to different groups and situations involving personal information. You need to know that it covers:

New Zealand agencies, no matter where they are, when they handle personal information they’ve collected or hold.

Overseas agencies doing business in New Zealand, when they handle personal information they’ve collected or hold.

People who don’t usually live in New Zealand, when they handle personal information they collected while in New Zealand, or information they hold while in New Zealand.

For New Zealand and overseas agencies, it doesn’t matter where they collected or hold the information, or where the person the information is about is located.

An agency can be seen as doing business in New Zealand even if it’s not trying to make money, doesn’t have an office here, or doesn’t charge for its services.

The Act also applies to courts when they’re doing their judicial work, but only for a specific part of the Act.

There’s a special section of the Act (Section 212) that applies to New Zealand agencies, overseas agencies, people in New Zealand, and in some cases, people outside New Zealand if they do something related to an offence under that section.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS300952.

Topics:
Rights and equality > Privacy
Previous

3: Purpose of this Act, or

“This Act outlines how your privacy is protected and aligns with global standards”

Next

5: Transitional, savings, and related provisions, or

“Rules for managing changes when the Privacy Act 2020 comes into effect”

Part 1 Preliminary provisions
Preliminary matters

4Application of this Act

  1. This Act (except section 212) applies to—

  2. a New Zealand agency (A), in relation to any action taken by A (whether or not while A is, or was, present in New Zealand) in respect of personal information collected or held by A:
    1. an overseas agency (B), in relation to any action taken by B in the course of carrying on business in New Zealand in respect of personal information collected or held by B:
      1. an individual (C) who is not ordinarily resident in New Zealand, in relation to any action taken by C in respect of—
        1. personal information collected by C while present in New Zealand, regardless of where the information is subsequently held by C or where the individual to whom the information relates is, or was, located:
          1. personal information held by C while present in New Zealand (but not collected by C while present in New Zealand), regardless of where the individual to whom the information relates is, or was, located.

          2. For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) and (b), it does not matter—

          3. where the personal information is, or was, collected by the agency; or
            1. where the personal information is held by the agency; or
              1. where the individual concerned is, or was, located.

                1. For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), an agency may be treated as carrying on business in New Zealand without necessarily—

                2. being a commercial operation; or
                  1. having a place of business in New Zealand; or
                    1. receiving any monetary payment for the supply of goods or services; or
                      1. intending to make a profit from its business in New Zealand.

                        1. Subpart 3 of Part 7 also applies to a court in relation to its judicial functions.

                        2. Section 212 applies to—

                        3. a New Zealand agency:
                          1. an overseas agency:
                            1. an individual who is present in New Zealand:
                              1. a person who is outside New Zealand if—
                                1. any act or omission forming part of any offence under section 212 occurs in New Zealand; or
                                  1. any event necessary to the completion of any offence under section 212 occurs in New Zealand.