Getting information from the government
Privacy Act requests: getting access to information that’s about you
Your right to information that’s held about you
Privacy Act 2020, ss 22, 49-53, Principle 6
If an organisation holds information about you, and they can readily retrieve it, you have the right:
- to get them to confirm for you whether or not they hold the information, and
- to see the information.
Your request doesn’t have to be in writing.
The organisation that holds the information doesn’t have to give you the information in certain cases – for example, if releasing it to you would also mean releasing information about another person.
Usually, the organisation must make the information available in the form that you want – for example, by giving you a written copy.
For more details on making a Privacy Act request, including when you can be refused access, see: “How you can access your information, and correct it if necessary”.
