Terms of use

About these terms of use

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) manages the administration of the website of the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions (CCAAE) (“we” or “us”). By accessing and viewing this website (“the website”), and/or by using our systems, you agree that you have read and accepted the terms set out below.

We reserve the right to amend these Terms of Use from time to time by posting updated versions on the website.

Copyright

Except where otherwise stated, all material on this website is subject to Crown copyright, and that material is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 New Zealand licence. Find out how you can use certain material on this website under this licence.

Using MPI copyright

In essence, you are free to copy, distribute and adapt the material, as long as you attribute the work to the Crown and abide by the other licence terms.

Read the licence – Creative Commons website

Note that:

  • some material linked to, included in, or referenced on this website is owned by third parties, and retains the status accorded to it by the relevant third party. The licence referred to above does not apply to such material, and no licence to use that material is granted to a user of this website.
  • no departmental or governmental emblem, logo, or Coat of Arms may be used in any way that infringes any provision of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981
  • attribution to the Crown should be in written form and not by reproduction of any such emblem, logo, or Coat of Arms.

Refer to the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 – NZ Legislation website

Attribution

If you publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate this work to the public without adapting it, the following attribution to MPI should be used:

“Source: Ministry for Primary Industries and licensed by MPI for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence."

If you adapt this work in any way or include it in a collection, and publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate that adaptation or collection to the public, the following attribution to MPI should be used:

"This work is based on/includes MPI data which is licensed by Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence."

Disclaimer

The information available on or through this website is intended to provide general information to the public and all reasonable measures have been taken to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information available on or through this website. However, the Ministry for Primary Industries:

  • may change, delete, add to, or otherwise amend information contained on this website without notice; and
  • is not responsible for the content of other websites linked to or referenced from this website.  The Ministry for Primary Industries neither endorses the information, content, presentation, or accuracy of such other websites, nor makes any warranty, express or implied, regarding these other websites; and
  • disclaims any and all responsibility for any inaccuracy, error, or any other deficiency in the information, and also fully excludes any and all liability of any kind to any person or entity (whether a user of this website or not) that chooses to rely upon the information.

The contents of this website should not be construed as legal advice. It is not intended to take the place of, or to represent the written law of, New Zealand or other official guidelines or requirements.

Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service whether by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the New Zealand government or the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Privacy and security

Our privacy and transparency commitment

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) collects, uses, and discloses information as part of its role to prevent, detect, investigate, respond to, and resolve non-compliance and offending.

We understand that the way we use and hold information is important to maintain the public’s trust and confidence.

We are committed to ensuring the privacy, security, and confidentiality of all the information we hold.

Our governance and assurance framework

This Privacy and Transparency Statement has been developed and published to provide the public and those we engage with in the course of our work with information about the type of information gathering activities we undertake. It outlines the purpose of those activities, and the steps we take to manage and protect the information we collect. 

Download a copy of our privacy and transparency statement [PDF, 460 KB]

We collect, use, manage, and disclose personal information only as provided by the law and to meet our statutory obligations, which include activities covered by:

  • the Privacy Act 1993
  • the Search and Surveillance Act 2012
  • the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
  • MPI’s Code of Conduct
  • the State Sector Code of Conduct.

We have internal authorisation processes and procedures to make sure we gather, use, share, and disclose information in a way that complies with the law and manages possible risks.

Our approach to managing data aims to support transparency and make it easier for the public to engage with government agencies. As data custodians, we also protect individual privacy, confidentiality, and trade sensitivity over accessibility.

We expect all our staff and contractors to meet the State Services Commission’s Code of Conduct and act with fairness, impartiality, responsibility and trust. We are also committed to adopting and complying with the State Sector’s Model Standards for information gathering associated with regulatory compliance, law enforcement and security functions. We strive for continuous improvement in the way we manage information, in accordance with the Government Chief Privacy Officer’s core expectations for privacy management and governance in the public sector.

Assurance for staff integrity and conduct within MPI, and for oversight of our regulatory compliance and law enforcement functions, is provided through a number of mechanisms, including through the work of the Security and Privacy Directorate, Human Resources, Procurement, the Assurance and Evaluation Directorate, the Compliance Directorate, the Professional Standards Unit, the Inspector-General for Regulatory Systems, and the Risk and Audit Committee.

Your privacy and our website

You can browse our website without providing any personal information.

We do not try to identify people using our website through their browsing history.

To help us improve our website, we collect some basic, anonymous, technical information including: 

  • your domain name or IP (internet provider) address
  • the resolution of your screen
  • your web browser (for example: Edge, Google Chrome) and operating system (for example: Windows 10, Mac OS X)
  • the date and time
  • search terms
  • the pages and links you visited, and any documents you downloaded
  • the website you visited before you visited our website.

Cookies and statistical data collected for analytics

We use web cookies to temporarily store information to enhance your browsing experience and helps us improve our website.

Cookies are small text files on your computer’s hard drive to collect information about your use of our website. Cookies do not collect identifiable information about you.

You can disable and enable cookies at any time and can continue to view our website.

Cyber security

We monitor, analyse and audit our online systems and information to maintain security.

We may use information about your use of our website or other IT (information technology) systems to prevent or resolve unauthorised access or attacks, even if you were not directly involved.

We may use third party suppliers to do this.

Personal information use and disclosure

In general, we do not share personal information, except in the following circumstances.

  • It is necessary to do so for the reason you provided it, or we collected it.
    You have given your consent for us to share it.
  • You would reasonably have expected the information to be passed on, such as to a supplier providing a specific service or acting on our behalf.
  • It is necessary to prevent or respond to a crime.
  • It is required or authorised by the Privacy Act or other law.
  • It will be used or published without identifying you.

Collection of personal and sensitive information

We collect information from a range of sources to undertake our statutory functions and to administer the laws we are responsible for. Some information we collect is provided voluntarily and some is mandatory.

We do not obtain approval to obtain information that is readily available to the public (such as through an online search engine).

Any proposed covert collection of information for regulatory, compliance or enforcement work is restricted to staff with specialist knowledge, experience and competence. Relevant senior staff determine this on a case by case basis and take a range of factors into account such as the severity of the harm we seek to prevent or address, the intended and possible outcomes, and the credibility and reliability of the information source.

Information gathered for regulatory and enforcement purposes

We have certain legal powers to carry out our regulatory and enforcement functions. In some situations, this might require us to:

  • receive a sworn statement or statutory declaration
  • ask for an original copy of a document
  • record an interview, either in person or by phone
  • make a site inspection and take photographs.

We collect information directly from you

We collect information in a number of ways for a range of different reasons.

In most cases, we tell people why we are collecting the information and what it will be used for.

If there is a legal requirement to provide information, we will specify which law applies, why it is needed, if it is compulsory or voluntary to provide it, and the consequences if you choose not to provide it.

Information collected from a third party

Sometimes, we collect information about someone from another source, if this is permitted by law, including under the Privacy Act.

In this situation, someone may be unaware that we have obtained information about them from another individual or agency.

On occasions, we receive information that gives us reasonable cause to believe that a person or group may pose a threat to the public or to our staff. In such cases, we may take appropriate actions to protect people, information, or places.

Collecting and checking information before taking compliance action

We take all reasonable and practical steps to check the accuracy and reliability of information received from third parties.

We do not employ private investigators to conduct surveillance on individuals or as part of our compliance or enforcement activities.

However, if we received information of a direct threat or possibility of harm to anyone, we would collect information as part of our assessment and response. We may use a specialist third party to help us with this.

In some situations, it may be appropriate to collect information or undertake surveillance in a way that does not immediately identify us, as allowable under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.

Enhanced levels of oversight and controls will be adopted in such situations.

We take care to exercise our information gathering powers lawfully and appropriately, and to meet our obligations under the Privacy Act 1993, State Sector Code of Conduct, and State Services Commissioner’s Information Gathering Model Standards at all times.

We protect information collected in these situations, and disclose only what we consider necessary to carry out our statutory responsibilities, and to support other government agencies to enforce the law and carry out regulatory compliance and security activities.

Information use and disclosure

We may use and disclose information only in connection with our lawful purposes, functions and powers.

We may share information with other agencies to carry out either of our responsibilities or comply with international obligations and commitments.

Information will be shared only in accordance with our statutory powers and with appropriate controls. We take all practicable steps to verify information before sharing it with a third party.

Where possible, we inform the person concerned at an appropriate time. However, there are some circumstances where there are legitimate reasons for us not to do this, such as if it would affect our ability to investigate possible offending or a crime or threat.

Our third party contracts may include service requirements to do with privacy, information security and commercial confidentiality.

We may also exchange information with agencies in other countries that we have a treaty or co-operation arrangement with.

Information may be used to audit or monitor our compliance activities.

We exchange information for statistical purposes with Statistics New Zealand.

Information sharing and use for data analytics

Information may be used for analysis, risk assessment, or auditing and monitoring.

We share information with New Zealand’s other border agencies to help us detect and prevent risks and to help people comply with their obligations.

We do not make decisions or take enforcement actions based solely on data models.

Information we make public

Information on public registers

We are responsible for maintaining and publishing a number of public registers related to specific laws.

Anyone who is concerned that information we make public on one of the public registers we administer may pose a risk to their own, or someone else’s safety should contact us as in certain circumstances we can take steps to limit the amount of identifying information made publicly available. 

Public feedback on proposals

Submissions we receive from members of the public become official information, which can be requested under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).

The OIA requires us to make submissions available unless we have a good reason to withhold information. These reasons include the need to protect commercial or privacy interests.

We may also choose to proactively publish submissions to further public discussion and transparency of policy decisions.

Let us know if you would like to us to consider withholding specific information from public release when you provide feedback on proposals.

Withholding any information is at our discretion, however decisions can be reviewed by the Ombudsman.

How we keep personal information safe and secure

We respect your privacy and aim to keep your information confidential unless we are lawfully required or allowed to disclose it.

We have secure environments to protect your personal information and business records. We use reasonable security safeguards to protect information – both digital and hard copy – from loss, unauthorised access, use or disclosure.

We have a role-based, needs-only, access approach, where possible. All staff are assigned unique passwords, and we have a range of measures to prevent unauthorised access to your personal or commercially sensitive information.

The security of our premises and information is managed according to the:

New Zealand government’s Protective Security Requirements

New Zealand Data and Information Management Principles

Access rights to information about you

All information we hold is subject to the requirements of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and the Privacy Act 1993.

Under these laws, you have the right to ask for certain information. Under the OIA, you have the right to request a wide range of official information. Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to ask for access to any information we hold about you, including information collected from a third party.

To request information under the OIA, email: info@mpi.govt.nz

To request information about you under the Privacy Act, email privacyrequests@mpi.govt.nz

In your request, check that you have included:

  • your name
  • your contact details in case we need to check something or discuss your request
    any organisation you are representing
  • a clear, specific outline of the information you would like.

For some requests, we may need to see a photo identification or other proof of identity, to verify that you have authority to access information or to act on someone’s behalf.

We aim to respond to all requests for information within 20 working days. Some requests may take longer, such as large or complex requests and those that require us to consult with other parties. We will let you know if we need an extension of time.

If we refuse your request, we will explain why and outline the steps you can take if you disagree with this decision.

Updating or amending your personal information

You have the right to ask us to correct the information we hold if you think it is not correct. 

We may decline a request to update our records if we don’t consider it appropriate to do so. If this happens, you can ask for a statement to be added to your information that describes what your request was and explains why the change was not made.

How long we hold your personal information
We hold your personal information as long as necessary to achieve the purpose that it was collected for, or as required by law.

Information we collect may be classified as a public record and is kept according to our record retention and disposal policy, which is subject to the Public Records Act 2005.

Find out more about requesting information from us

Links and third parties

From time to time the website may refer to other people or organisations, or to their services or products. Such references do not imply that MPI endorses, or is endorsed by, those people, organisations, services or products.

Links to or from third party sites do not imply any connection with or endorsement of those sites, and MPI makes no claims, warranties or representations about the content or availability of those sites. We reserve the right to decline any linkages that we deem inappropriate.

Feedback and complaints

We are committed to providing you with excellent and timely service, and welcome your feedback – whether positive or negative – on our service.

You can also lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman or Privacy Commissioner.

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