New Zealand Privacy Act Starts Dec 1 2020

Thursday, November 19, 2020

On 1 December 2020, the New Zealand Privateness Act 2020 will come into operation and repeal and exchange the Privateness Act 1993.

The Privateness Act 2020 modernises New Zealand’s privateness legal guidelines and seeks to maintain tempo with worldwide requirements and expertise. Whereas New Zealand’s new privateness laws shouldn’t be as onerous as different worldwide privateness legal guidelines, such because the GDPR, it nonetheless introduces vital modifications together with:

necessary knowledge breach notification;
new investigative and regulatory powers for the New Zealand Privateness Commissioner; and
new prison offences and penalties, together with fines of as much as $10,000.

Details about the Privateness Act 2020 may be discovered on the New Zealand Privateness Commissioner’s web site.

Importantly, abroad companies will probably be expressly required to adjust to New Zealand’s privateness legal guidelines because the Privateness Act 2020 has extraterritorial impact. Any actions taken by an abroad organisation in the midst of carrying on enterprise in New Zealand in respect of private data collected or held by the organisation will probably be caught by the Act. An abroad enterprise or organisation could also be handled as carrying on a enterprise in New Zealand, even when it doesn’t have a bodily presence in New Zealand.

In case your organisation carries on a enterprise in New Zealand it ought to familiarise itself with the brand new Privateness Act, if it has not completed so already. Time is passing shortly and 1 December is simply across the nook. Nevertheless, it’s not too late to evaluate in the event you should adjust to the Privateness Act 2020 and replace your processes, insurance policies and procedures to be compliant.