Your privacy is important to us. Our privacy statement sets out how, and why we collect and store your personal information, what we will use it for and with whom we can share it.

Last updated 19 December 2024.

  1. Your privacy is important to us. Our privacy statement sets out how, and why the Christchurch City Council (Council, us, we) collects and stores your personal information, what we will use it for and with whom we can share it.
  2. We take our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 (the Privacy Act) and the information privacy principles contained within the Privacy Act seriously. This Privacy Statement has been prepared in accordance with our obligations, and your rights under the Privacy Act.
  3. Certain products, services and websites that we provide may be subject to additional terms and conditions, and privacy policies. Therefore, we recommend that you carefully read the terms and conditions and any specific privacy policies that apply to the particular products, services and websites we offer prior to using them.
  4. To ensure we keep up with changes to our business, the Council may occasionally update this Privacy Statement. Any changes will be effective from the date that the revised Privacy Statement is uploaded. We encourage you to review the Policy regularly for the latest information on our privacy practices.

  1. We need to collect personal information for a number of reasons, however, this will only be where necessary to perform a function or activity of the Council.
  2. The nature and quantity of information we collect from you will depend on the functions and activities of Council that you interact with, and no more information will be collected than necessary to perform those functions and activities. This may include your:
    1. name;
    2. date of birth;
    3. address(es);
    4. email address;
    5. telephone number;
    6. technical information (in accordance with clause 6.1);
    7. image; and/or
    8. other information where relevant to responding to your requests for information or providing you with our services and/or use of our facilities.
  3. We may also collect personal information through your communications with us, including the content and form of those communications.

  1. Wherever possible your personal information will be collected from you, or anyone you authorize to provide us with your personal information.
  2. We may collect personal information when you, or someone acting on your behalf, provides it to us directly. For example, when you:
    1. communicate with us in person, by letter, phone or electronically;
    2. complete and submit forms or applications for consents, licenses, approvals, permits, funding, or other authorisations;
    3. use, or register for, any of our services or facilities, such as our online services, apps and account systems, including libraries, hire of Council facilities, online payment services, newsletters, and service updates;
    4. submit a written submission, request, or other feedback;
    5. follow or post comments in response to our social media or other online communications;
    6. apply for employment with us; and
    7. appear in any images and audio from Closed Circuit Television or body cameras, as described below.

      Please be aware that this is an indicative list of examples only.
  3. We may keep a record of any information you receive from us.
  4. We may monitor and record your phone calls with us for quality control or staff training purposes. If your call is to be monitored and recorded, we will let you know at the time of the call.
  5. We may collect personal information about you from other organisations, entities or persons to fulfil a necessary activity. These might include:
    1. Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs); and/or
    2. our suppliers, which include organisations such as:
      1. Land Information New Zealand;
      2. QV;
      3. other government departments;
      4. solicitors/conveyancers;
      5. The New Zealand Police; and
      6. other organisations, entities and persons where:
        1. you have expressly authorised us to request and obtain your information from them or you have authorised them to provide your information to us; or
        2. that information is publicly available.
  6. When you visit or return to one of our websites, we may use collect information about you through the use of cookies pursuant to clause 6.1.
  7. We may use non-personalised statistics to monitor site traffic, to analyse trends, to gather demographic information about those who use our services, to improve our services and to improve user experience. These anonymized and/or amalgamated statistics do not include personal information.
  8. We may collect video footage through various means, including in the following circumstances:
    1. closed circuit television (CCTV) may be used in particular areas to monitor traffic movements, secure facilities such as Customer Service Hubs, libraries, parking facilities, and recreation centres, and to monitor public places in order to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Where possible. Signage will advise when CCTV equipment is being used. Only authorised people will be able to watch the CCTV footage for the purposes mentioned above or to regularly check the system is working. We will not actively attempt to identify individuals from the CCTV footage unless a reported or suspected incident needs investigation.
    2. council parking compliance staff may wear body cameras which are activated as required. This is to reduce abusive or threatening behaviour. Recordings of violent or threatening incidents will be forwarded to the New Zealand Police and the recordings are otherwise disposed of within 24 hours. We will not film or keep any other recorded activity.
    3. public sessions of Council meetings are broadcast online and then made available on our website. Signage will clearly state the meeting is being filmed before you enter the meeting room. Elected members will mostly be filed as they speak and debate at the meeting. However, the filming may include shots of the public in the background and anyone speaking in a public session.

  1. The personal information we collect from you, or someone acting on your behalf, may be used for any of the following purposes:
    1. to provide you with services or facilities – including those you have requested, and those our CCOs provide to you;
    2. to confirm your identity, to ensure we provide you with appropriate and relevant services and information, and to avoid inappropriate release or use of your information;
    3. to process any consent, licence, approval, permit, or other authorization for which you have applied;
    4. to process your application to use or register for any of our services or facilities, including our online services;
    5. to process payments received or made by the council, and to provide you with the services or facilities for which you have applied or registered to use;
    6. to respond to your correspondence, requests, enquiries, feedback, or for customer care-related activities;
    7. to update any information that we currently hold about, or in connection with, you in our existing records, database or systems;
    8. to assist us in analysing, and further developing and improving our products and services;
    9. for any specific purpose that we notify you of at the time when your personal information is collected;
    10. to provide you with information about our (or our CCOs') events, news, services, or facilities that we think may interest you;
    11. for general administrative and business purposes, and to carry out activities connected with the running of our business or operations such as personnel training, or testing and maintenance of computer and other systems;
    12. for analytical purposes, including through the use of cookies pursuant to clauses 6.4 - 6.6;
    13. for any other purposes authorised or required by the Privacy Act or any other relevant laws or regulations; and
    14. for any other purposes that you authorise.

  1.  Your personal information will only be disclosed to third parties where:
    1. you have consented to us sharing that information; or
    2. where Council is otherwise permitted to disclose that information in accordance with the Privacy Act.
  2. Where we disclose your personal information to a third party pursuant to clause 5.1, this disclosure may be to:
    1. any person engaged to provide products or services to the Council where the disclosure of your personal information is needed for these products or services to be provided, including to: 
      1. any person who hosts or maintains any underlying IT system or data centre that we use to provide any Council websites or other services;
      2. our payment providers;
      3. our fraud detection partners; 
      4. our marketing and advertising partners; 
      5. analytics providers (including those outlined in clause 6.6); and
      6. our customer support partners; and
    2. our CCOs, in order to assist with the functions and services they provide;
    3. a person who can require us to supply your personal information by law (such as a regulatory or government authority and including the New Zealand Police, who may receive disclosure of CCTV footage and footage from body cameras worn by parking compliance staff with the New Zealand Police or other public sector agencies where criminal activity is reported or suspected, and who may also access live feeds from certain CCTV cameras from time to time for law enforcement, investigation, and emergency response purposes; and
    4. any other person whom:
      1. we may notify you of at the time we collect your information;
      2. we are permitted to disclose that personal information to under the Privacy Act; and
      3. any other person whom you have authorised us to disclose your personal information to. 
  3. As we are a territorial authority, some information we hold about (or in relation to) you may also be made available to the public from time to time, such as:
    1. any submissions you make in relation to bylaws, annual plans and long-term plans, district or regional plans, or draft or proposed strategies and policies. Submissions are made available in full (including the submitter's name and contact details) on our website and at our main office;
    2. information held on property files or our rating information database; and
    3.  video footage of Council meetings that are intended for broadcast or to be otherwise available for public viewing.
  4. Where we disclose personal information within New Zealand, we do so in accordance with the Privacy Act and this Privacy Statement. Such disclosure may occur where: 
    1. the disclosure is for one of the purposes for which we collected the information;
    2. you have authorised the disclosure;
    3. the information is disclosed in a manner where you are not identified;
    4. disclosure is necessary to avoid endangering someone's health or safety; or
    5. we are otherwise compelled by law to disclose the personal information.
  5. Where we disclose information overseas, we will do so in accordance with Information Principle 12. We will only disclose information overseas where:
    1. we are authorised to disclose your personal information in accordance with paragraph 5.4 above; and
    2. the overseas recipient of the information:
      1. is subject to the Privacy Act; or
      2. agrees to be subject to the Privacy Act; or
      3. is subject to privacy laws that provide comparable safeguards to the Privacy Act.

  1. When you access any of our websites, we may also collect technical information about your device. This may include information about your:
    1. device and web browser;
    2. mobile phone carrier;
    3. approximate location;
    4. IP address; and
    5. interactions with our websites, through the use of cookies (as further detailed in clauses 6.4 - 6.6).

      We treat this technical information as personal information. Your device may allow you to restrict our ability to view any of this technical information, and should you wish to do so, we suggest that you consult with your device manufacturer. In some instances, however, the restriction of our ability to view this information may mean you are unable to use some parts or functions of our websites.
  2. Where you create a user account on our websites we will be required to collect some basic information about you. This will include your name and your contact details (which may include your email address, physical address, and/or phone number), and any additional details that are specified at the point of sign-in for that particular website. Where you use your user account across different websites or connect it with different services, we may collect additional information from you where required to provide you with those websites or services, and this information will be stored against your user account.
  3. Our websites may also support user account registration and login via social sign-in with supported social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter/X and LinkedIn. When you use the social sign-in feature, we:
    1. will only collect your name and contact details (which may include your email address, physical address, or phone number), unless otherwise specified; and
    2. will not collect any other information from your social media profile in respect of your user account following registration (unless otherwise authorised by you).

      We encourage you to also review the privacy policies of the social media platforms we support to gain a further understanding of the privacy implications of using those platform's social sign-in capabilities.
  4. When you visit or return to one of our websites, we may use technology solutions such as cookies to provide you with better access to tailored information and services. A cookie is a small data file that a website or app sends to your device, which may be stored for later retrieval by the website or app. Some cookies we use last only for the duration of your website or app session and expire when you close your browser or exit the app. Other cookies are used to remember you when you return.
  5. We use the cookies that we collect for analytical purposes, including through the use of:
    1. Google Analytics;
    2. Google Tag Manager;
    3. Facebook Pixel; and
    4. Acquia Optimize (formally Monsido),

      To further understand how some of our services may be improved. For details on what information is collected for the purposes of carrying out analytics, please see the privacy policies of the suppliers of the above analytical tools.
  6. We understand that some people do not want their online activity to be tracked even if it is being used on an anonymous basis. The following links will show you how to opt-out of each analytical service that we use:
    1. Google Analytics(external link);
    2. Acquia Optimize(external link); and
    3. Facebook Pixel - if you have a Facebook account you can log in and go to facebook.com/privacy(external link) to check your settings and restrict what Facebook can do with your data.
  7. Our websites may contain links to a variety of advertising and third-party website sources. If you follow a link from our Website to any other website, the owner(s) of that site will not be bound by our Policy and may have their own policy in place. We suggest that you review that site's privacy policy before you provide your personal information to them.

    1. We may retain personal information we collect (on both our active systems and our archives) for as long as administratively necessary, or as required by law. This is in accordance with the Council's information retention and disposal schedule or applicable statutory requirements.
    2. The Public Records Act 2005 requires us to retain protected records indefinitely. In some circumstances, your personal information may be included within a protected record, including submissions you make in relation to bylaws, annual plans, and district or regional planning instruments.

    1. If you do not provide all the personal information that we request, we may not be able to adequately respond to your correspondence, process any applications you have submitted, provide the services or facilities you have requested or registered for, process payments, or otherwise deal with any requests or enquiries you have submitted.
    2. In some circumstances, you are legally obligated to provide information and the Council is fulfilling a statutory requirement.

    1. We take all reasonable steps to keep your personal information safe from loss, unauthorised activity or other misuse. These steps include:
      1. adopting and regularly reviewing the performance and terms of our internal data security policies and systems to ensure that they are fit for purpose and protect your personal information from unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage.
      2. adopting technologies for our internal use that meet the standards required by the Privacy Act.
      3. verifying the suitability of security systems in place with third parties that we work with to ensure that they meet the standards required by the Privacy Act.
    2. In some cases, the personal information that we collect from you may be processed or stored outside of New Zealand, including in Australia. Where this is the case, these third parties are also obliged to comply with the Privacy Act when dealing with your personal information. We make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all entities that we work with outside of New Zealand offer satisfactory protection for your personal information.
    3. We have taken steps to ensure that our websites are secure. We use the secure HTTPS data transfer protocol for the transmission of data and our site holds an SSL certificate from a trusted organisation. Despite this, the internet is not in itself a secure environment and we cannot give an absolute assurance that your information will be secure at all times.  Transmission of personal information over the internet is at your own risk and you should only enter, or instruct the entering of, personal information to the service within a secure environment.

    1. Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to be informed about how your data is being used. If you would like further information beyond that provided in this Policy, please contact us at privacy@ccc.govt.nz.
    2. You also have the right to ask us to confirm whether we hold any personal information about you, and you may request access to your personal information by emailing us at privacy@ccc.govt.nz or via the Privacy Commissioner's 'About Me' tool. Once we have verified your identity, we will provide you with confirmation and access, unless we believe we can withhold the information under the Privacy Act.
    3. You can ask us to correct any personal information that we hold about you by emailing us at privacy@ccc.govt.nz. If we agree that your personal information needs to be corrected, we will do so and provide you with an amended record, if requested.
    4. Account deletion: You may submit a request to us for your user account to be deleted, which will prevent your user account from being used unless re-activated again in the future. Please note, however, that the deletion of your user account will not result in the deletion of your information (whether or not that is personal information) that we are required to hold by law. For the process of having information deleted, you can contact our service centre at 03 941 8999 or email us at info@ccc.govt.nz, who can put in a service request.
    5. Your rights under the Privacy Act are subject to any limitations on those rights that may apply under the Privacy Act.

    1. In the event of a privacy breach, we will comply with all applicable notification requirements as set out in the Privacy Act.

    If you feel we have breached any of the principles set out in the Privacy Act or have a privacy issue you wish to discuss, please contact us via:

    Website: https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us/contact-us-form(external link)

    Email: privacy@ccc.govt.nz

    Phone: 03 941 8999

    If you believe there is a privacy dispute we cannot resolve, you can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner, who can investigate potential breaches of the privacy principles. You can contact the Privacy Commissioner by:

    Phone: 0800 803 909 (Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 3.00pm)

    Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz

    By Post: Office of the Privacy Commissioner, PO Box 10094, Wellington 6143