Any organisation that created or holds records about you, must provide you access to or copies of your personal records once you ask for them.
There are limited reasons why an organisation might not give you some or all of your records. Learn about exceptions in the Privacy Act and your rights to your records
If you are a survivor of abuse and have made a claim or want to make a claim, you or your legal representative can ask the organisation considering your claim, for a copy of your records.
Learn about how to get your records when you make a claimopen_in_new.
If you are unsure which organisation has records about you, you can:
Contact the organisation that holds your records and ask for access to them.
Under the Privacy Act you have the right to request your records in the way you prefer. For example, you can request your records:
You have the right to request your records without having to use an organisation's form. But it may take longer for the organisation to complete your request.
If your request is urgent and you give reasons for the urgency, organisations have to consider your urgent request.
The organisation may ask for personal information, to confirm your identity and to assist them to find your records. For example:
The organisation may need to ask you for additional information to help them find your records, such as the full names of your parents, or the names and birth dates of any siblings who may have lived with you.
This is because your records may have been kept within a family file.
The organisation must reply to your request within 20 working days, either to provide your records or to tell you:
If the organisation finds records about you, they may redact (hide or remove) some information (for example, details about other people). Learn more about redactionsopen_in_new.
If the organisation is sending your request to a different organisation (usually because they do not hold your records), they need to transfer the request and tell you they are doing so, within 10 days of receiving your request.
The organisation your request is transferred to will have 20 working days once they receive the request to respond to it.
If there are records, you should get access to them or receive copies of them in the format you prefer. For example:
Under the Privacy Act you have the right to access your records in the format you prefer, with a few limited exceptions. Learn more about your rights to access records in your preferred formatopen_in_newopen_in_new.
If the organisation does not give a good reason for why they cannot provide your records in your preferred format, you can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioneropen_in_new.
Learn what kinds of records you might receiveopen_in_new.
You can request records about living or deceased whānau.
However, unless you have your whānau members' permission to act for them or power of attorney, organisations do not have to provide their records to you.
Learn more about your rights to access records.
If you do not have your whānau member's permission or power of attorney, you may still be able to access some information from government agencies.
Under the OIA government agencies will decide whether to let you access information about your living or deceased whānau, balancing your family member’s rights to privacy with your rights as their relative.
For example, some organisations may:
Learn about your rights and what you can do if they are not respected.
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