What can I do if an organisation will not recognise my rights under the Privacy Act?

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Last updated: January 30, 2025

You can make a complaint to the organisation 

If an organisation will not recognise your rights under the Privacy Act, you can make a complaint to them.

For example, you might make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner because the organisation: 

  • did not respond to your request within 20 working days
  • refused you access to the records you requested
  • made a lot of redactions (removed information from your records) and did not give a good reason why
  • refused to correct their records about you, and did not give you a good reason why
  • refused to provide your records in the format you asked, and did not give a good reason why. 


Make your complaint in writing (by email or letter), explaining what your complaint is about and what you want them to do about it.

You can contact the Privacy Commissioner

If you are not happy with their response to your complaint, you can go to the Privacy Commissioner.

Generally, the Privacy Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless you have tried making a complaint to the organisation first.

Find out how to make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner and how they can help you.

If you request records held by a court, from a case where you were not the defendant or plaintiff the judicial officer (Judge) of the court may choose to deny your request.  

  • A plaintiff is someone who makes a claim in court.
  • A defendant is someone charged with a crime or someone who is defending a claim made by a plaintiff 

If you are a survivor of abuse in care and you are requesting court records about you, the courts will generally grant you access to the documents, especially if this is to support a claim.

If you request court records from any other organisation, for example Disability Support Services, normal Privacy Act and Official Information Act (OIA) rules apply, unless there is a court order or rule preventing them from providing these records to you.