Privacy notice

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington cares about your privacy and wants to be transparent about what we do with your personal information.

On this page:

Purpose of this notice

Victoria University of Wellington (“we”, “us”, “our”) cares about your privacy and wants to be open with you about what we do with your personal information. This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use, and share personal information and explains your rights in relation to those activities.

If you would like to contact us, you can email us at privacy@vuw.ac.nz or call 0800 04 04 04.

What information do we collect, why, and who will see it?

Students

General

We collect personal information about prospective and current students for the primary purposes of considering applications for admission to the University, enrolling successful applicants, administering programmes of study, providing University-related opportunities to you, and catering for your wellbeing while you are at the University.

The information we collect about students

We may collect personal information:

  • when you provide it to us directly (for example, during the pre-application, application and enrolment processes);
  • from third parties (for example, where we need to verify previous studies at other institutions); or
  • when you generate personal information by using our services (for example, when you check out a book from the library).

If you choose not to provide any of the personal information requested, the University may not be able to consider you for admission, enrol you, or properly deliver the services you have requested.

If you are a student (or prospective student), the information we collect includes some or all of your:

  • biographical details (including name, former name, alias, gender identity, and date of birth);
  • contact details (including address, telephone, email, and contact details for your next of kin or emergency/alternative contact);
  • education record and academic/research history;
  • citizenship or residency information;
  • country of origin and ethnicity;
  • iwi affiliation (if you are a Māori student);
  • National Student Number;
  • health and wellbeing information (including as required under the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021);
  • interactions and communications with us or on systems used for university purposes;
  • your location (including whether you are accessing our systems from on or off-campus and your location on campus);
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems);
  • whether you have been suspended from another New Zealand tertiary education institute;
  • your image or visual recordings (for example, through recording of lectures/seminars, through security equipment such as CCTV footage, bodycam footage, and for student ID cards);
  • your voice (through recording of lectures/seminars); and
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or that you have decided to share with us, including surveys.

In addition, depending on your programme of study or involvement with specific services that we offer, we could also collect information about your:

  • areas of study interest (if you are a prospective student);
  • passport and visa details;
  • National Health Number;
  • English language proficiency;
  • health and disability information (where you have enrolled with Mauri Ora (our Student Health and Student Counselling Services), Disability Services, Accommodation Services or our recreation services, applied for a field trip, student exchange or study abroad programme, or you have otherwise consented to us collecting this information);
  • career information (including aspirations and relevant work history/experience);
  • financial information (including how you will pay for your studies, credit/debit card or bank account details, where you have provided these to us);
  • criminal convictions (if necessary for certain programmes or work placements);
  • information provided through reference checking processes for accommodation or other benefits;
  • health and travel insurance arrangements (if, for example, you are an international student or going on a field trip or student exchange); and
  • information about your child provided by you to our Early Childhood Centres (if you have enrolled your child in one of these Centres).

How we use your information

In order to meet the primary purposes set out above, we will use your personal information in the ways set out below. We will generally only use personal information in these ways. Where we need to use information in a way we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We will use your personal information to, as applicable:

  • correspond with you;
  • inform you about your courses and other aspects of admission, enrolment and study;
  • inform you of the availability of scholarships;
  • enable you to apply for special entry consideration;
  • inform you about opportunities to engage with and support the University;
  • facilitate and enable programmes relevant to your enrolment (such as cross-institutional study, student exchanges, student placements, voluntary workplace activities, internships, and industry experience);
  • facilitate and allow you to participate in activities relevant to your enrolment that support your academic achievement;
  • facilitate and enable community engagement, work-integrated learning activities and student-to-student learning;
  • facilitate and enable international experiences and perspectives through study abroad;
  • facilitate and enable scholarship programmes for which you may be eligible;
  • provide associated services such as security, parking, information technology and (where used by you) residential or sport and recreation services;
  • on programme completion, place your details on the University's alumni database so that you may be kept informed of alumni news, events and activities;
  • assist you in the event of an emergency or if we have serious concerns about your mental or physical wellbeing;
  • conduct benchmarking, analyses, quality assurance and planning in respect of the products and services we offer;
  • support our academic integrity and discipline processes, and the overall integrity of the tertiary education system;
  • maintain relationships with schools;
  • meet audit, contractual or legislative reporting and recordkeeping obligations, including those under the Official Information Act and the Education and Training Act 2020;
  • conduct ethics committee approved research, the reporting or publication of which is in an aggregate non-identifiable form, or to seek your consent to participate in ethics committee approved research conducted on another basis; and/or
  • after your enrolment with the University ceases, contact you for the purpose of seeking your feedback in relation to benchmarking, analyses, quality assurance and planning activities.

Access to and sharing of your personal information

Our relevant staff will have access to your personal information where they have a genuine need to see it for the purposes described above. Wherever possible, we anonymise information so that you are not identifiable.

We will share your information (including information relating to your health and wellbeing) with appropriate staff members if we are concerned about your engagement, academic progress, behaviour, safety, security or wellbeing (or the safety, security or wellbeing of others) or under the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021. Appropriate staff members could include, for example, student academic advisers, staff at Mauri Ora, Disability Services, Student Accommodation (including staff employed in our halls of residence), Student Interest & Conflict Resolution, specialist student support teams, and staff involved in issue and risk management.

Sometimes we may also need to share these concerns with appropriate third parties (for example, your next of kin or emergency contact person, police, law enforcement agencies or emergency services, or other relevant external support agencies (such as critical or emergency mental health services)). However, unless an emergency or other critical incident has occurred, we would usually only do this as a last resort (for example, if we were unable to contact you after a reasonable number of attempts or if our concerns were sufficiently serious to warrant it).

We will share specific categories of personal information with external people and organisations when necessary for our purposes of collection described above or when otherwise permitted or required by law (including under the Privacy Act 2020, Education and Training Act 2020, Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, Immigration Act 2009, and Student Loan Scheme Act 2011). We do not pass on all the information that we collect – only the minimum required in the particular context.

We will not sell your information to anyone.

Specific people and organisations we share specific categories of information with may include:

  • New Zealand Government departments and agencies – including the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission, the Ministry of Social Development (including Work and Income and StudyLink), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Inland Revenue Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand, Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), Statistics New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Education Review Office, and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority;
  • organisations responsible for public health requirements or responses;
  • My eQuals;
  • local authorities – including the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Wellington City Council;
  • other education providers in New Zealand and overseas (including tertiary education institutions, schools and English language testing services);
  • service providers contracted to the University (including third party accommodation providers);
  • organisations that provide services related to your status as a student or staff member (including public transport providers, academic dress hire providers and organisations that provide discounts or benefits);
  • law enforcement agencies and emergency services;
  • professional registration agencies (e.g., the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and New Zealand Law Society);
  • organisations and individuals responsible for course moderation, accreditation or quality assurance;
  • ranking and benchmarking agencies;
  • employers and internship providers (only where you are undertaking a work placement as part of your programme of study);
  • alumni groups, societies and organisations;
  • scholarship or prize providers and sponsors (only if you have applied for, or been awarded, a scholarship or prize);
  • social media – including Facebook (in order to provide targeted information on University programmes and events);
  • our Iwi partners (only where you have identified an affiliation with a particular iwi);
  • providers of StudentSafe insurance (only if you are an international student or are studying with us on an exchange);
  • student associations and clubs;
  • organisations and individuals involved in hosting events that you attend;
  • your next of kin or emergency contacts (in an emergency or critical incident situation or if our concerns about your engagement, academic progress, behaviour, safety, security or wellbeing (or the safety, security or wellbeing of others) are sufficiently serious to warrant it;
  • relevant support agencies (if our concerns about your engagement, academic progress, behaviour, safety, security or wellbeing (or the safety, security or wellbeing of others) are sufficiently serious to warrant it;
  • the agents and service providers that we have appointed to enable us to operate effectively (for example, organisations that provide us with IT or data hosting services);
  • our subsidiaries, and controlled or related entities (including the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation, the U.S. Friends of Victoria University of Wellington, the UK Friends of Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria Link Limited (trading as Wellington Uni-Ventures), Wellington Uni-Professional Limited, and the Research Trust of Victoria University of Wellington);
  • our insurers, professional advisers and auditors; and
  • other people or organisations with whom you have authorised us to share your information.

Sometimes, we may need to share information with a third party outside New Zealand (for example, if you are going on an exchange and we need to share information with your host university or you are studying under a joint programme arrangement with an overseas university). Where we do this, we comply with the requirements in the Privacy Act 2020 for cross border transfer of personal information.

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Staff members or contractors

General

We collect personal information about prospective and current staff and contractors for the primary purposes of facilitating our staffing and contractor arrangements, managing relevant agreements, and administering relevant work-related activities.

The information we collect about staff and contractors

We may collect personal information:

  • when it is provided directly to us, such as during the recruitment process, employment onboarding, or through ongoing employment interactions; or
  • from third parties, typically with consent, such as when verifying previous work experience or qualifications.

Additionally, personal information may be generated as a result of utilising our services, such as when accessing administrative systems or participating in professional development activities.

If you opt not to provide certain requested personal information, it may impede our ability to consider you for employment, meet contractual obligations, or adequately deliver the services associated with your role at the University.

If you are a staff member, the information we collect includes some or all of your:

  • biographical details (including name, former name, alias, gender identity, and date of birth);
  • contact details (including address, telephone, email, and emergency contact details);
  • education record and academic/research history;
  • professional affiliations;
  • previous employment history (e.g. your CV);
  • bank account and tax information;
  • citizenship and passport details, and (where relevant) information on your entitlement to work for us in New Zealand;
  • pre-employment information the University sees relevant to your role (such as police check, credit check, Ministry of Justice check) and/or to comply with legislation such as the Children's Act;
  • driver license and driving record;
  • country of origin and ethnicity;
  • iwi affiliation (if you are a Māori staff member);
  • health and disability information (including as required under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015);
  • any other information necessary for us to verify your vaccination status or the application of, or compliance with, a relevant health order, vaccine requirement, or vaccine exemption, but only if we are required to do so by law or to provide a service to you;
  • interactions and communications with us or on systems used for university purposes;
  • your location (including whether you are accessing our systems from on or off-campus and your location on campus);
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems);
  • credit card details (where you have provided these to us);
  • your image or visual recordings (for example, through recording of lectures/seminars/business meetings, through security equipment such as CCTV footage, bodycam footage, and for staff ID cards and the staff directory);
  • your voice (through recording of lectures/seminars/business meetings);
  • information provided through reference checking processes;
  • information about your child provided by you to our Early Childhood Centres (if you have enrolled your child in one of these Centres);
  • union membership; and
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or you have decided to share with us, including surveys.

If you are a prospective staff member applying for a position with us, or a contractor engaged (or seeking to be engaged) to provide services to us, the information we collect about you will include the categories of information described above that are necessary for us to consider and decide upon your application for employment, or to decide and manage your terms of engagement with us.

How we use your information

In order to meet the primary purposes set out above, we will use your personal information in the ways set out below. We will generally only use personal information in these ways. Where we need to use information in a way we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We will use your personal information to, as applicable:

  • correspond with you;
  • provide information regarding your employment status, courses, and other aspects related to your role;
  • notify you of scholarship opportunities and enable participation in scholarship programmes for which you may be eligible;
  • enable you to request special considerations;
  • inform you about ways to engage with and support the University;
  • facilitate and support programmes pertinent to your role (such as professional development, workshops, and training sessions);
  • facilitate community engagement, work-integrated learning, and knowledge-sharing activities;
  • support international experiences and perspectives through various programmes;
  • provide associated services including security, parking, IT support, and residential or recreational services where applicable;
  • upon completion of your tenure, include your details in the University's alumni database for alumni communications;
  • assist in emergencies;
  • conduct analyses, quality assurance, and planning for our offered products and services;
  • support academic integrity, discipline processes, and overall tertiary education system integrity;
  • maintain relationships with relevant entities such as schools;
  • meet audit, contractual or legislative reporting and recordkeeping obligations, including those under the Official Information Act and the Education and Training Act 2020;
  • conduct ethics committee-approved research in aggregate non-identifiable form or with your consent;
  • post your tenure, seek your feedback for benchmarking, analyses, quality assurance, and planning activities.

Access to and sharing of your personal information

Relevant staff will have access to your personal information where they have a genuine need to see it for operational purposes. We take steps to anonymise information whenever possible to ensure that you are not identifiable.

We may share your information, including details relating to your health and wellbeing, with appropriate staff members if concerns arise regarding your professional conduct, safety, security, or wellbeing, or that of others. This may include sharing with staff involved in human resources, workplace safety, employee assistance programmes, Student Interest & Conflict Resolution, and risk management.

In certain situations, it may be necessary to share your information with third parties such as your next of kin, emergency contacts, police, other law enforcement agencies, or emergency services. This will typically only occur in emergency situations or when a critical incident requires it, and after reasonable attempts to contact you have been exhausted or if the severity of the situation justifies such action.

We may share specific categories of your personal information with external parties when required for our operational purposes or as permitted or required by law, including the Privacy Act 2020. We endeavour to share only the minimum information necessary in these contexts and, where possible, anonymise the information before sharing it to protect your privacy.

We will not sell your personal information under any circumstances.

Specific people and organisations we may share specific categories of information with may include:

  • Government departments and agencies – including the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission, the Ministry of Social Development (including Work and Income and StudyLink), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Inland Revenue Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand, Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), Statistics New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Education Review Office, and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority;
  • service providers contracted to the University, such as IT support and data hosting services;
  • professional and regulatory bodies relevant to your employment or contractual engagement;
  • law enforcement agencies and emergency services when necessary;
  • external organisations and individuals involved in assessing, auditing, or reviewing the University's operations or its compliance with regulatory requirements;
  • our insurers and legal advisers in the context of managing risks and legal claims;
  • other tertiary institutions, especially where joint appointments or collaborations exist; and
  • external parties involved in organising or hosting events you participate in as part of your role.

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Alumni

General

We collect personal information about our alumni (former students and employees) and friends (anyone, including employees, who has a direct interest or relationship with us, or the potential to develop one) for the primary purpose of connecting you with the University and other alumni.

The information we collect about alumni

We may collect personal information:

  • when you provide it to us directly, for example, when you update your details, connect with us on social media or register to attend events;
  • or from third parties (usually with your consent), for example, from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn or other agencies that support the University.

If you choose not to provide any of the personal information requested, it may not be possible for the University to keep you connected with us and other alumni.

The personal information we collect about you as an alumnus is initially that which you provided as a student and may include:

  • biographical details (including name, former name, alias, gender identity, and date of birth);
  • contact details (including location, address, former addresses, telephone, email, social media and website links, contact preferences);
  • education record and academic history (including your associations with us if you were a student – such as your hall of residence and club membership);
  • ethnicity (if we were required to collect this under New Zealand law from when you were a student);
  • interactions and communications with us or on systems used for university purposes ;
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems);
  • responses to our electronic communications (including what you open, any comments you make, and your location); and
  • events you have been invited to and whether or not you have responded or attended.

In addition, we could also collect information about your:

  • family details, including spouse/partner and children;
  • links with other organisations and individuals (including alumni, supporters and potential supporters);
  • business details including positions, organisation, professional memberships and qualifications;
  • career highlights and other lifetime achievements;
  • outside interests and membership of groups;
  • media articles; and
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or you have decided to share with us, including surveys.

How we use your information

In order to meet the primary purpose set out above, we will use your personal information in the ways set out below. We will generally only use personal information in these ways. Where we need to use information in a way we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We will use your personal information to, as applicable:

  • correspond with you, including re-establishing contact when we appear to have lost touch;
  • provide you with any services you have requested from us, including events or sport and recreation services;
  • inform you about University courses or events;
  • inform you about, and provide, alumni benefits;
  • inform you about opportunities to engage with and support the University;
  • conduct benchmarking, analyses, quality assurance, and planning to improve alumni services;
  • assist you in the event of an emergency or if we have serious concerns about your mental or physical wellbeing; and
  • meet audit, contractual or legislative reporting and recordkeeping obligations, including those under the Official Information Act and the Education and Training Act 2020.

Access to and sharing of your personal information

Our relevant staff will have access to your personal information where they have a genuine need to see it for the purposes described above. Wherever possible, we anonymise information so that you are not identifiable.

We may need to share information as part of the purposes described above, or to provide services to you, or to comply with government or regulatory requests or reporting requirements. Where we need to share information with an agency we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We may share your information with:

  • University-owned or related entities;
  • contracted service providers which the University uses to perform services on its behalf (such as mailing house services, advertising agencies, logistics and IT service providers);
  • affiliated agencies, such as clubs or associations, in order to meet the purposes set out above;
  • in the event of an emergency, police, medical or hospital personnel, civil emergency services, your legal representative, or any other person assessed as necessary to respond to the emergency;
  • the University's legal advisers or other professional advisers and consultants engaged by the University, and
  • government agencies, where permitted or required by law.

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Donors

General

Donations from our alumni and friends make a real impact on our ability to retain our excellence in teaching, learning and research. We collect and process personal information about potential and actual donors for the primary purpose of soliciting and processing donations and to stay in touch with donors.

The information we collect about donors

We may collect personal information:

  • when you provide it to us directly, for example, when you complete a donation form; or
  • from third parties, for example from publicly available sources or other agencies that support the University.

If you choose not to provide any of the personal information requested, the University may not be able to process your donation or provide you with current information about events we think you may be interested in.

If you are a donor, or a person we have identified as a potential donor, the information we collect includes some or all of your:

  • biographical details (including name, former name, alias, gender identity, and date of birth);
  • contact details (including location, address, former addresses, telephone, email, social media and website links, contact preferences);
  • any other information necessary for us to verify your vaccination status or the application of, or compliance with, a relevant health order, vaccine requirement, or vaccine exemption, but only if we are required to do so by law or to provide a service to you;
  • credit card details (if you have provided these to us);
  • interactions and communications with us or on systems used for university purposes; and
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems).

In addition, we could also collect information about your:

  • education record and academic history (including your associations with us if you were a student – such as your hall of residence and club memberships);
  • ethnicity;
  • responses to our electronic communications (including what you open, any comments you make, and your location); and
  • events you have been invited to and whether or not you have responded or attended;
  • family details, including spouse/partner and children;
  • links with other organisations and individuals (including alumni, supporters and potential supporters);
  • business details including positions, organisation, professional memberships and qualifications;
  • career highlights and other lifetime achievements;
  • outside interests and membership of groups;
  • wealth and philanthropic interests;
  • media articles;
  • donations of time, expertise or money (including to organisations other than us); and
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or you have decided to share with us, including surveys.

How we use your information

In order to meet the purposes set out above, we will use your personal information in the ways set out below. We will generally only use personal information in these ways. Where we need to use information in a way we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We will use your personal information to:

  • correspond with you;
  • process your donation, or provide any other services you have requested from us;
  • inform you about University courses or events;
  • inform you about, and provide, friends benefits;
  • inform you about opportunities to engage with and support the University;
  • assist you in the event of an emergency or if we have serious concerns about your mental or physical wellbeing; and
  • meet audit, contractual or legislative reporting and recordkeeping obligations, including those under the Official Information Act and the Education and Training Act 2020.

Access to and sharing of your personal information

Our relevant staff will have access to your personal information where they have a genuine need to see it for the purposes described above. Wherever possible, we anonymise information so that you are not identifiable.

We may need to share information as part of the purposes described above, or to provide services to you, or to comply with government or regulatory requests or reporting requirements. Where we need to share information with an agency we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

We may share your information with:

  • your nominated financial institution for processing your donation;
  • the public, where we publicly identify you as a donor (if you have not asked for your donation to be anonymous);
  • University owned or related entities;
  • contracted service providers which the University uses to perform services on its behalf (such as mailing house services, logistics and IT service providers), within and outside New Zealand (see more on this below);
  • in the event of an emergency, police, medical or hospital personnel, civil emergency services, your legal representative or any other person assessed as necessary to respond to the emergency;
  • the University's legal advisers or other professional advisers and consultants engaged by the University; and
  • government agencies, where permitted or required by law.

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Other associations with us

The information we may collect

If you have or have had an association with us (you may have studied here short term, taken part in an exchange, attended an event, enrolled your child in one of our Early Childhood Centres, or have some other association with us), the information we collect could include your:

  • biographical details (including name, former name, alias, gender identity, and date of birth);
  • contact details (including location, address, former addresses, telephone, email, social media and website links, contact preferences);
  • information about your child provided by you to our Early Childhood Centres (if you have enrolled your child in one of these Centres);
  • interactions and communications with us or on systems used for university purposes;
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems);
  • links with organisations and individuals (including alumni, supporters and potential supporters);
  • business details including positions, organisation, professional memberships and qualifications;
  • credit card details (where you have provided these to us);
  • career highlights and other lifetime achievements;
  • outside interests and membership of groups;
  • media articles;
  • events you have been invited to and whether or not you have responded or attended;
  • donations of time, expertise or money (including to organisations other than us); and
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or you have decided to share with us, including surveys.

How we use your information

We collect this information, as applicable, for the purpose of providing the service, information, or event for which you provided the information to us. We will use it in connection with our provision of that service, information, or event. Where we need to use information in a way we have not anticipated here, we will only do so if required or permitted by law.

Access to and sharing of your personal information

Our relevant staff will have access to your personal information where they have a genuine need to see it for the purposes for which we collected it or you provided it.

We will only share your personal information with third parties where that was one of the purposes for which you provided it, or you consent to the sharing, or we are otherwise permitted or required by law to share it.

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Information we automatically collect

We also collect information from relevant individuals automatically. This includes information collected:

  • through your use of our websites (including via cookies), emails, and other services and systems that we may provide to you (including Wi-Fi, swipe card and our learning management systems); and
  • through security equipment such as CCTV footage and recording of lectures and seminars.

We use this information for, as applicable, the operation of our websites and other IT services and systems, individuals' safety and security, access to premises and systems, and the provision of our learning and related services.

We only share the information with relevant staff for these purposes (as applicable), police for law enforcement purposes if required, and otherwise if permitted or required by law.

How long do we keep personal information?

We retain your personal information for as long as is necessary for the applicable purposes described above, to comply with our legal obligations and, if applicable, to perform our contracts with you.

We are required under New Zealand law to retain information in accordance with the Public Records Act 2005.

Additional Information

Public Health

Despite anything in this Privacy Notice, information collected for government requirements relating to public health tracing and vaccines in the event of an outbreak or epidemic will only be collected, held, used and disclosed in accordance with legal requirements that may arise from time to time. We cannot, and will not, collect, hold, use or disclose it for any other purpose.

Profiling and automated decision-making

We may carry out profiling, analytics or tracking activities (including by automated means) to:

  • improve the quality of our teaching and learning activities;
  • measure space utilisation on campus, traffic flows, and attendance at our activities (including lectures and tutorials);
  • tailor support services and pastoral care for you;
  • support you in your learning and academic achievement; and
  • personalise our communications with you.

We do not engage in any form of profiling that would give rise to a claim of discrimination (including as defined in the Human Rights Act 1993).

We do not use solely automated processes to make any decisions that would affect you in any way.

Communications and marketing

We will use your information to communicate with you and carry out our marketing activities. Generally, these communications would be by email, text message, post or telephone, and you consent to receiving them. You can, however, unsubscribe from these communications at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link in an email or by emailing privacy@vuw.ac.nz or phoning 0800 04 04 04.

We do not pass on your information to other organisations for their own communications and marketing purposes.

Graduation and degree information

We will publish your name, degree and year of graduation on our online roll of graduates, in our Council papers and in our graduation programme (where appropriate). We will also provide graduation and degree information to My eQuals.

If you do not want to be included in the online roll of graduates, please email graduation@vuw.ac.nz or call 0800 04 04 04.

Research activities

We may use information collected in order to conduct approved research activities (including surveys) and publish the outcomes. Where this includes personal information, any collection and use of this information will be in accordance with our Human Ethics Policy and Guidelines and the Privacy Act 2020.

If you are asked to participate in a research project involving personal information, we will obtain your consent to any collection and use of that information. The information you provide will be used by the University strictly in accordance with your consent and any ethics approval.

Donor activities

We may carry out research to assess your likely ability and willingness to make donations or gifts to the University so that we can better tailor our fundraising approaches or requests. This research, which is sometimes known as prospect research, may include collecting and storing information about you that is publicly available as well as information that you have provided to us. We may carry out this research ourselves or we may use a third party. If we use a third party, we will ensure that your information is held confidentially, with appropriate security safeguards and only used in accordance with our strict instructions.

If you would not like us to carry out the above activities in relation to you, please email development-office@vuw.ac.nz or call 0800 04 04 04.

Alumni activities

We use your information to help us plan our alumni and donor activities and determine whether or not we should contact you in relation to particular communications or activities. This assists with ensuring that our communications and activities are relevant and of interest to you and ensuring our alumni are connected with the University.

If you would not like us to carry out the above activities, please email alumni@vuw.ac.nz or call 0800 04 04 04.

Sensitive information

Sensitive information includes information relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics, health, sex life, sexual orientation and criminal convictions.

Health information held by Mauri Ora (our Student Health and Student Counselling services) or Disability Services is managed in accordance with the Health Information Privacy Code and any specific Privacy Notice relating to that information. This Privacy Notice does not apply to that information.

We may be required under New Zealand law or its application by other government agencies to collect information relating to:

  • your racial or ethnic origin, as part of our admission and enrolment processes;
  • your criminal convictions, if you are being employed in a role covered by the Children's Act 2014;
  • any other information necessary for us to verify your vaccination status or the application of, or compliance with, a relevant health order, vaccine requirement, or vaccine exemption, but only if we are required to do so by law or to provide a service to you.

We also collect information relating to:

  • your racial or ethnic origin, for statistical purposes, the promotion of equity and diversity and to tailor support services;
  • your criminal convictions, as part of our pre-employment vetting processes and where you have applied for certain programmes (e.g. education and health);
  • your trade union membership information, to ensure that you are employed on the correct employment agreement; and
  • your health information, as part of our employment processes, where you have enrolled with Mauri Ora (our Student Health and Student Counselling services), Disability Services, Accommodation Services or our recreation services, applied for a field trip, student exchange or study abroad programme, or otherwise as required by the New Zealand Government (for example, for public health reasons). This helps us ensure we can provide a safe and healthy environment.

We do not collect any other form of sensitive information. However, if you or others have provided it to us, we may hold it in our systems.

ID numbers

If you are a student, alumni or staff member, a unique identifier (in the form of a Student or Staff ID number) will be assigned so that we can carry out our purposes effectively and efficiently.

Biometric information

We may collect additional biometric information from students and staff in particular situations (that is, additional to the image and voice collection referred to above) for identity verification and security-related purposes. If we do, you will be given further information prior to or at the point of collection.

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How do we keep your information secure?

We take all reasonable steps to keep your information safe and secure. In some instances, your personal information may be transferred, and held, by service providers in New Zealand and overseas (for example, where it is stored using a cloud-based service). Where this occurs, we do everything reasonably within our power to ensure that the service provider also has reasonable security and data protection measures in place. Like most organisations, we use a range of IT providers to provide services. We take reasonable care to select reputable IT providers to store and manage personal information.

We will not transfer your information to an overseas-based service provider or organisation unless we are satisfied that the service provider has obligations to protect your information in a way that is comparable to the protections afforded by New Zealand privacy law or you expressly consent to the transfer in accordance with the Privacy Act's information privacy principle 12.

What are your rights?

Access and correction

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you would like to do this, please email privacy@vuw.ac.nz. You may need to provide specific details about your identity and the nature of your relationship with the University and the information you are seeking, or seeking to have corrected, so that we can easily locate it for you.

We'll respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 20 working days after we receive it unless we extend the timeframe in accordance with applicable provisions in the Privacy Act.

You also have the right to make a complaint to us or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you think we have breached, or may have breached, your privacy. You can make a complaint to us by emailing privacy@vuw.ac.nz, or you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at www.privacy.org.nz.

Withdrawal of consent

Where we are using or sharing your personal information solely on the basis of your consent, you can notify us that you are withdrawing that consent. We will endeavour to act on that withdrawal unless doing so conflicts with our legal rights or responsibilities.

Deletion

New Zealand law does not confer a right on individuals to have their personal information deleted. You may, however, ask us to delete your personal information. Whether we can delete it will depend on whether we still have a legitimate need for it or are required by law to retain it.

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Other privacy notices

On occasion, we may supplement this privacy notice with other specific privacy notices. Those specific privacy notices apply in addition to this privacy notice.

We may also make available to you services provided by third parties, such as the Office 365 suite and Nuku. When you use these services, the service provider may collect personal information from you in accordance with its own privacy notice. The service provider may share some or all of that information with us. We will hold personal information shared with us in accordance with this privacy notice, but otherwise, the service provider’s privacy notice applies to personal information collected by these third party services.

Last updated: May 2024