Introduction

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that we are open and transparent about what your personal information is used for.  

This Privacy statement summarises why and how we collect personal information, and the types of personal information which we collect.  It also summarises who may have access to your personal information, who we may disclose your information to, how long we may keep your information for, and what we do to keep your information secure.  In addition, the statement refers to your related rights and how you can raise concerns about privacy issues.  

We also have a related Privacy Policy, available on request.

Why we collect your personal information

We collect your personal information so that we can conduct our operations, functions, and activities as a wānanga, service provider and employer.  The lawful purposes for which Awanuiārangi may collect your personal information include: 

  • our learning, teaching, research, and other educational activities.
  • our administrative, employment, and management activities.
  • the services and benefits that we provide (including through third parties).
  • communicating with you or with your emergency/alternative contacts.
  • our legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations.
  • monitoring, evaluating, and improving our performance and effectiveness.
  • the recruitment, marketing, and fundraising activities that we undertake.
  • providing a safe, secure, and healthy environment.
  • providing an appropriate level of student support and pastoral care.
  • providing tailored assistance to support success and retention.
  • promoting equity and diversity.
  • maintaining an engaged community of students, staff, alumni, donors, and other persons with a connection to us.

You may decide not to provide personal information we request from you.  However, if you choose not to provide information we ask for, we may not be able to, for example, employ you as a staff member, enrol you as a student, or provide our services to you.

How we collect personal information

We act lawfully and fairly when we collect personal information.  We collect personal information directly from you or as otherwise permitted or required by law. 


1. Information you provide to us

This includes information provided:

  • as a part of our marketing, recruitment, enrolment, conferment, health or care processes and operations.
  • when you register for, enrol in, or use our services, systems, or facilities.
  • when you register for or attend events, functions, or conferences.
  • when you participate in surveys or competitions.
  • through your discussions and interactions with us (including via voice, email, webform or social chat).
  • when you make any type of application to us.
  • if you donate or gift to us.

2. Information we automatically collect

This includes information collected:

  • from your use of our website at https://www.wananga.ac.nz (including via cookies).
  • from your Awanuiārangi email or other IT account or service we provide you, and distribution lists.
  • from our online library loan service.
  • from CCTV footage.

3. Information we collect from third parties

This includes information collected or provided:

  • from publicly available sources (including media articles, social media, and the internet).
  • by relevant government or education agencies and providers (including the New Zealand National Student Index).
  • by our student and employee recruitment agents.
  • by fellow students, family members, employees or contractors, visitors to Awanuiārangi, and other people who may provide us with information about you if and when they contact us.
  • by third parties that provide services to us or you (including exchange partners, scholarship providers and accommodation providers).
  • through reference or other pre-employment checking prior to employment or the provision of a benefit.
  • by our photographers and videographers.
  • by third parties with whom we also share information.
Personal information we collect from students, employees and contractors, alumni and donors 

Students 
The information that we collect from prospective or existing students includes your: 

  • biographical details (including name, former name, any alias, gender, 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 on our systems, or with us.
  • your location (including whether you are accessing our systems 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 or had your enrolment cancelled by another tertiary education institution.
  • your image (for example, through CCTV footage and for student ID cards).
  • your voice (through recording of lectures/seminars).
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or that you have decided to share with us.

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

  • areas of study interest (if you are a prospective student).
  • passport and visa details.
  • English, te Reo, or other language proficiency.
  • health and disability information.
  • career information (including aspirations and relevant work history/experience).
  • financial information (including how you will pay for your studies, and credit/debit card or bank account details where you have provided these to us).
  • criminal convictions.

Employees and contractors 

The information we collect about employees and contractors includes your:

  • biographical details (including your name, former name, any alias, gender, 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. CV).
  • bank account and tax information.
  • citizenship and passport details, and (where relevant) information on your entitlement to work for us in New Zealand.
  • criminal convictions, credit history and other pre-employment vetting and verification information.
  • country of origin and ethnicity.
  • iwi affiliation (if you are Māori).
  • health and disability information.
  • interactions and communications on our systems, or with us.
  • your location (including whether you are accessing our systems on or off-campus and your location on campus).
  • device ID (when you use a device to connect to our systems).
  • your image (for example, through CCTV footage, and for staff ID cards and the staff directory).
  • your voice (through recording of lectures/seminars).
  • information provided through reference checking processes.
  • trade union membership.
  • other information that we request (for example, on our forms) or that you have decided to share with us.
Who at Awanuiārangi will have access to your personal information? 

Our employees, contractors and other people who work for us may have access to your personal information.  

In limited circumstances, such as where you are involved in an Awanuiārangi research project, students may have access to your personal information.

Who may we disclose your information to?

We may disclose specific categories of your personal information to other people and organisations.  However, we only do this with your consent or as otherwise permitted or required by law (including the Privacy Act 2020 and Education and Training Act 2020).  Information we disclose may also be anonymised so that the disclosed information does not identify you.

We will not sell your personal information.

People and organisations we disclose specific categories of information to include but are not limited to: 

  • New Zealand Government departments and agencies
  • Ministry of Education.
  • Tertiary Education Commission.
  • Ministry of Social Development (including Work and Income and StudyLink).
  • Te Puni Kōkiri.
  • Inland Revenue Department.
  • Audit New Zealand.
  • Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  • Ministry of Health.
  • Other health organisations.
  • Statistics New Zealand.
  • Immigration New Zealand.
  • Accident Compensation Corporation.
  • Education Review Office.
  • Education New Zealand.
  • Privacy Commissioner.
  • New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
  • Other education providers (including tertiary education institutions and exchange partners, schools, and English language testing services).
  • Service providers contracted to Awanuiārangi (such as third-party accommodation providers, recruiters, banks, or other financial institutions, mailing houses, research, media agencies, data service providers, fundraising service providers, logistics, and IT service providers).
  • Nominated financial institutions for the payment of salary or KiwiSaver, or other superannuation scheme providers.
  • Organisations that provide services related to your status as a student or a staff member (including public transport providers, academic dress hire providers, trade unions, 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, Social Workers Registration Board, Nursing Council of New Zealand, and the NZ Psychologists Board).
  • 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).
  • Scholarship or prize providers and sponsors (only if you have applied for or been awarded a scholarship or prize).
  • Social media – including Facebook (to provide targeted information on Awanuiārangi programmes and events).
  • Our iwi partners (only where you have identified an affiliation with a particular iwi).
  • Student associations and clubs.
  • 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).
  • Organisations and individuals involved in hosting events that you attend.
  • Where you are a donor, our partner institutions or associated entities who may be the beneficiaries of your donation (although if you wish your donation to be anonymous, we will ensure your gift is not acknowledged publicly).
  • Our insurers, professional advisors, and auditors.
How long will we keep your information for?

We retain your personal information for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which we obtained it, and as otherwise required for us to comply with our legal obligations.

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

How will we keep your information secure?

We take all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect is safeguarded against loss, unauthorised access, misuse, or disclosure.  

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). We will not transfer your information to an overseas-based service provider or organisation unless we reasonably believe 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.

Your rights to access and request corrections to your information

If you believe that Awanuiārangi is holding your personal information, then you can ask us to confirm whether or not we hold personal information about you.  

If we do hold personal information about you, your rights under the Privacy Act 2020 include:

  1. the right to request access to any personal information we hold about you.
  2. the right to request a correction of personal information we hold about you

You can make either request by emailing our Privacy Officer on privacy.officer@wananga.ac.nz.  We will respond to your request in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. 

Complaints to the Privacy Commissioner 

If you think we have interfered with your privacy, you can complain to us by emailing privacy.officer@wananga.ac.nz.  You can also make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner (see www.privacy.org.nz for more details).