The Centre for Health Privacy Policy  

POLICY: Member Data Protection

Application
This policy applies to the following people:

All team member (employees and independent contractors) of TCFH, Fasttrack and Manawaora Integrated Health Research

All people providing services to TCFH

Purpose
TCFH is committed to managing personal and health data securely and respectfully. We comply with the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020, and uphold Māori Data Sovereignty as guided by Te Mana Raraunga

Policy
Principles
• Purpose & Minimisation: We collect only data that is lawful, necessary, and for a specified purpose.
• Transparency: Data subjects must be informed why, how, and by whom their data is collected.
• Security: Information is stored securely with encryption, access controls, and breach prevention protocols.
• Access & Correction: Individuals can access and request corrections to their personal data.
• Retention & Disposal: Data is retained only as required by law or operational need, then securely destroyed.
• Use & Disclosures: Use and sharing of data follow legal and consent-based guidelines.
• Cross-Border: International data transfers occur only with safeguards equivalent to New Zealand standards.
• Unique Identifiers: We avoid assigning new unique identifiers unless necessary and lawful.

What Information We Collect
We collect:
• Personal details (e.g., name, contact information)
• Health information (when relevant to our services)
• Employment details (for team members, students, and independent contractors)
• Website usage data (to improve our services)

Māori Data Sovereignty & Governance
We honour Māori data as taonga by:
• Following principles from Te Mana Raraunga
• Ensuring free, prior, informed consent for Māori data use
• Consulting Māori-led governance on collection, access, use, and disposal.
• Embedding tikanga and Mātauranga Māori in all data operations.

How We Use Your Information
• Provide and improve services
• Meet legal and safety obligations
• Conduct research (with appropriate approvals)
• Improve our website and operations
• Contact you (only with your consent)
We will never sell personal data

Sharing Your Information
We may share your information:
• With trusted service providers under contract
• If required by law (e.g., court orders)
• If you give explicit consent
If we share data overseas, we ensure it’s protected under strict security measures.

How We Protect Your Information
We store data securely and use encryption and access controls to prevent unauthorised access.
If there is a data breach, we will:
• Contain the issue immediately
• Investigate the cause
• Notify affected individuals
• Take steps to prevent it from happening again

How Long We Keep Your Information
We only keep your information for as long as needed, based on:
• Legal requirements
• Operational needs
When no longer required, we securely delete or destroy the data via a secure document destruction company

Your Rights
You have the right to:
• Access your personal data
• Ask for corrections
• Withdraw consent for marketing or research use
• Complain if you believe your privacy has been breached
To exercise your rights, contact us at hello@thecentreforhealth.co.nz

Research & Māori Data Ethics
For research involving Māori data, we:
• Obtain Māori ethics approvals (where applicable)
• Ensure research benefits Māori communities
• Follow Māori-led data governance principles

Employee & Contractor Privacy Responsibilities
All team members and contractors must:
• Follow secure data handling practices
• Report potential breaches immediately
Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action.

Updates to This Policy
We may update this policy to stay compliant with the law.

All team members of TCFH are responsible for maintaining confidentiality and reporting any breach.

Definitions
Team Members refers to team members and independent contractors of TCFH, Fasttrack and Manawaora, including all people providing services to TCFH.

TCFH refers to The Centre for Health

    Cookies

    We and our trusted partners use cookies and other technologies in our related services, including when you visit our Site or access our services. 

    A "cookie" is a small piece of information that a website assign to your device while you are viewing a website. Cookies are very helpful and can be used for various different purposes. These purposes include allowing you to navigate between pages efficiently, enable automatic activation of certain features, remembering your preferences and making the interaction between you and our Services quicker and easier. Cookies are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see are relevant to you and your interests and to compile statistical data on your use of our Services. 

    The Site uses the following types of cookies:

    a. 'session cookies' which are stored only temporarily during a browsing session in order to allow normal use of the system and are deleted from your device when the browser is closed; 

    b. 'persistent cookies ' which are read only by the Site, saved on your computer for a fixed period and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Such cookies are used where we need to know who you are for repeat visits, for example to allow us to store your preferences for the next sign-in; 

    c. 'third party cookies' which are set by other online services who run content on the page you are viewing, for example by third party analytics companies who monitor and analyze our web access.

    Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but Personal Information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. You may remove the cookies by following the instructions of your device preferences; however, if you choose to disable cookies, some features of our Site may not operate properly and your online experience may be limited.

    We also use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about your use of the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users access the Site, what pages they visit when they do so, etc. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our Site and services. Google Analytics collects the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit sites, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this Site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.