Privacy Statement

Personal information (or personal data) is any information about an identifiable individual. Processing is how we refer to the collecting, handling, use, protecting or storing of personal information.
We process personal information from people we work with—such as funding recipients, suppliers, employees, job applicants, contractors, corporate partners, event participants and other individuals connected with our work.
The types of personal information we may process include:

• Contact details (e.g. name, address, phone number, e-mail, job title and organisation).
• Information collected in the course of providing services to our stakeholders.
• Personal information relating to attendance at workshops or events we run, sponsor or are otherwise involved in.
• Correspondence with us, including via e-mail, online forms, phone conversations, and face-to-face meetings.
• Information about job applicants, employees or contractors when they apply for a role with us.
• Financial information such as IRD numbers, bank account details, and GST numbers for individuals that we make payments to.
• General user information such as IP address, browser type and Internet service provider details when you visit our websites.

We generally do not seek to collect sensitive personal information (such as ethnicity, political views, religious beliefs or health details) unless it is necessary for employment, safety or legal compliance. If you choose to provide such information, we will handle it in accordance with this privacy statement and the Privacy Act.
Because of the nature of our business, it is generally impracticable for us to deal with individuals anonymously, although this may be possible in some circumstances (for example, survey feedback).

We collect, hold and process personal information for necessary business purposes including:

• responding to an individual's requests or enquiries;
• communicating and maintaining contact with stakeholders;
• administering and managing our business and services: This includes:
  • managing our relationship with grantees and applicants;
  • administering and improving our services, programmes and operations;
  • analysing and evaluating engagement, participation, performance, progress and trends;
  • administering and managing IT systems, websites and applications; and
  • hosting, facilitating and evaluating events.
• distributing communications or information such as ecosystem and service updates, invitations to events, and newsletters (you may unsubscribe at any time);
• for general management and reporting purposes, such as invoicing and account management;
• for recruitment and engagement of employees and contractors;
• for security, quality and risk management activities to protect KiwiNet and our stakeholder’s information, which involves detecting, investigating, and resolving security threats;
• compiling health and safety data (directly or indirectly) and ensuring safety and security of staff and visitors;
• complying with any requirements of law and regulation; and
• other purposes related to our business.

Your personal information will not be used for other purposes unless we obtain your consent, or the secondary use is required or permitted by law.

If you choose not to provide personal information which we have requested from you, we may be unable to fulfil one or more of the purposes listed above.

We may collect information:

• Directly from you – For example, when you complete an online form, subscribe to our newsletters, register for or attend events, apply for funding, attend meetings, visit our offices, or supply your details for recruitment or supplier purposes.
• Indirectly – In some instances, we may obtain your personal information indirectly from:
• Our stakeholders – from our member organisations or partners if required to access the services we provide; for example, the names of researchers when applying for programmes or PreSeed Accelerator Funding.
• Third parties – from service providers such as recruitment agencies or consultants that we engage to assist us with fulfilling any of the purposes recorded in our privacy statement.
• Public sources – public registers, government agency publications, news articles, Internet searches and social media sites.
• Automatically – when you visit our website, we collect basic information to help us understand site use and improve user experience (such as pages visited, general traffic patterns and the type of device used). We do not use cookies that store personal information or track you across other sites.

We process your personal information only when we have a lawful reason to do so. These include situations where it is necessary for:

• the effective delivery of KiwiNet’s services and operations;
• our legitimate interests in developing and improving our businesses, provided these do not interfere with your fundamental rights;
• our legitimate interests in maintaining the security of our and our stakeholders’ data;
• complying with laws, regulations or contractual obligations;
• performing our obligations under a contractual relationship with you; or
• any other purpose for which you have given your consent.

We do not disclose your personal information unless:

• Disclosure is permitted by this privacy statement in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020;
• It is necessary to protect the rights, property or personal safety of any member of the public, or the interests of KiwiNet;
• You give your consent; or
• Such disclosure is otherwise required or permitted by law, regulation or rule.

We may also disclose personal information under the following circumstances:

• to our professional advisors—for example, law firms—as necessary to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights and obtain advice in connection with the running of our business;
• when explicitly requested by you;
• when necessary in order to provide our services or manage our relationship with you;
• when required to facilitate conferences or events hosted by a third party;
• when required for media releases or publications, in which case explicit consent will be obtained from the relevant individuals or organisations; or
• to third party contractors and/or their affiliates (for example, independent contractors and consultants, travel service providers, and event managers).

We may also share non-personal, de-identified and aggregated information for reporting purposes.

We do not sell or trade personal information with third parties.

We will hold your personal information for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for as long as is necessary to comply with our legal obligations.

We will endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, and loss. To the best of our ability, access to your personal information is limited to those who need it for legitimate business purposes. We also require our employees and those individuals who have access to data to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by KiwiNet.

You have the right to request access to any personal information that we hold about you, and to request correction of that information by emailing us at privacy@kiwinet.org.nz.

If we cannot give you access to the personal information that you have requested, we will let you know the legal reasons for not disclosing it.

We will correct your personal information if it is necessary to ensure it is accurate, up to date, complete and not misleading. If we decide that it is unnecessary to correct your personal information, you have the right to request a statement of the correction sought but not made, which will be attached to the information. If you are not happy with the response to your request, then you have the right to complain to the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner: www.privacy.org.nz/your-rights/how-to-complain/.

We may need to verify your identity before releasing information. In some cases, we may also request an administrative fee to cover the cost of access.