At Victim Support, we take our privacy obligations towards the people we help seriously. As we deal with sensitive and difficult situations and issues, we strive to keep the information we gather confidential and secure in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.

Gathering information

The initial personal information we gather may come from the New Zealand Police or directly from the victim themselves. We will endeavour to collect personal information about a victim from them directly, for the purposes of enabling us to provide support.

Protection of information

We take appropriate steps to ensure that all personal information we hold is kept securely so that it is safeguarded against loss, unauthorised access or misuse. We do not release personal information to third parties other than in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993.

Examples of circumstances where we may release information include (but are not limited to):

• when you specifically authorise it
• when the information was collected it was so that Victim Support could provide it to a third party
• there is a serious and imminent threat to your life or health, or to that of another individual
• to enable the police to maintain the law, including investigating offences; etc.

Retention of information

Victim Support only retains personal information for as long as is it is required for the purposes for which that information may lawfully be used.

Call Recording Privacy Statement

The Victim Support Contact Service is committed to providing all those who use our services, a professional and best possible customer service experience. We record all telephone calls both to and out of the Contact Service to assist us in providing a better service to you.

We record calls:

• For training and coaching purposes. This assists us identify training opportunities for our staff and ensures consistent and accurate information is recorded from every phone call. We use call recordings as part of our Quality Assurance and auditing process.
• For investigation processes. This assists us investigating incidents or calls that require further action. This information may be used to support your position if there are any disputes and may be used to assist coaching.

We store records securely for up to three years and destroy them after this period.

You may request a copy of your voice recording stored at Victim Support. Unless we have lawful reason to withhold this information we will provide you with access. You can request a copy of your recording by asking for the Contact Service Manager on 0800 842 846.

The New Zealand Police may request access to Victim Supports voice recording when carrying out an investigation, Victim Support may then supply this information.

We may also pass on your call to a third party academic institution when their intent is to research improved victim services. All personal information will be removed when publishing research. Victim Support will use this research for training purposes to improve our services.

If you have any queries or concerns about our voice recording policy please contact:
Contact Service Manager
Victim Support – National Office
PO Box 3017
Wellington 6140
Phone: 04 470 4751
Email: renee.farrelly@victimsupport.org.nz

Access and complaints

If you wish to access your personal information held by Victim Support, seek correction of information held about you, or make a complaint about how we have dealt with your personal information, please send your written request to:
Privacy Officer
Victim Support
PO Box 3017
Wellington 6140

If you not satisfied with our response to your concern, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10094
The Terrace
Wellington 6143

Phone: 0800 803 909
Fax: 04 474 7590

Fundraising

Victim Support is a charity which relies on a mixture of government funding and generous donations to provide our service. It is our policy never to use information for fundraising purposes if it has been gathered for the purpose of providing support. Personal information may only be gathered for fundraising use with your permission.