Privacy statement

We may collect personal information directly from you:

• when you create an account with us, and any subsequent updating of your account information;
• when you make a request for any of our services or make contact with us in relation to our services or about us;
• in the course of providing our services to you and/or communicating and interacting with you;
• when you subscribe for any of our newsletters or updates, or participate in any survey we may conduct;
• when you submit any other form of submission or request to us, or provide feedback to us;
• when you apply for any jobs or contracting opportunities we may have; and
• when you communicate or contact us by any means for any other purpose.

We may collect personal information about you indirectly from publicly available sources and from third 
parties. This may include personal information about you that is shared with us by:

• our key stakeholders, including shareholding councils and mana whenua partners;
• network contractors and other service providers;
• third parties you authorise us to make contact with about you, or who you authorise to provide information about you to us;
• credit reporting agencies;
• Land Information New Zealand;
• Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora);
• Quotable Value Limited ; and
• Utilities Disputes Limited. 

We may also collect information about you indirectly through your use of our Website and the services and functionality offered through it (including through the use of cookies or similar tracking technologies).  

We collect the personal information you give us or as acquired through the other sources or means mentioned above. The personal information we collect may include:

• your name and contact details, including your postal, physical and email addresses and phone numbers;
• limited details of any medical problems relevant to dependence on water supply;
• land use or business activity if you are consented by a local authority as an individual;
• property ownership, property management and tenancy details (as applicable);
• meter details including water usage and wastewater usage;
• service history, connection details and details regarding outages and any service level arrangement details;  
•  billing history, charges, credits, arrears, payment plans and discounts;
• credit information, including details about your credit history, credit account, credit that may have been extended to you and your repayment history;
• written (including email) and verbal communications and interactions with us;
• regulatory interaction details, including in connection with contamination incidents and compliance issues; and  
• any other information you choose to provide to us, or authorise to be provided to us, from time to time. 

We may use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

• to provide our services to you and for safety and security purposes;
• to respond to your queries or requests for information;
• to communicate information to you about engagement opportunities, events and other initiatives;
• to create and manage your customer account and transactions, including carrying out credit checks;
• for assessment, statistical analysis or research and development purposes to help us improve the services that we offer and to develop new services;  
• for any specific purpose which we notify you of when we collect your personal information or, where we have collected your personal information indirectly, after the information has been collected;  
• if you are applying for employment or a contracting role, to carry out pre-employment or pre-contracting checks;  
• to provide aggregated statistical information about you to regulators and reputable third parties in a form where you are not identifiable;  
• our general business and administrative purposes; and to comply with relevant laws and regulations including the
• performance of our functions and the provision of our services or facilities, in accordance with the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 and the Water Services Act 2021.

Where we need to use your personal information in a way that we have not anticipated here, or that we have not otherwise notified you of, we will only do so if required or permitted by law or with your authorisation. 

We may disclose information about you:

• to our key stakeholders, including shareholding councils and mana whenua partners;
• to our service providers facilitating payments, including Payble Pty Ltd (Payble);
• to other service providers and contractors, including NZ Post and Payble, as reasonably necessary for the services that they perform for us;  
• to other third parties to the extent reasonably required to carry out any of the purposes for which we may use your personal information (as outlined above);
• to courts or tribunals;
• to any third party where we are required or permitted to do so by applicable law; or
• to any other third party with your authorisation. 

If you do not provide to us your personal information we request from you from time to time, we may not be able to provide you with all or some of our services, respond to your communications to us, provide you with the information you have requested, or otherwise deal with any, requests or enquiries you have provided to us, or if you are applying for an employment or a contracting role with us, to process your employment or contracting application. 

Some payments are processed through third-party payment provider, Payble. When you choose to make a payment, set up a direct debit, or manage a payment schedule using Payble, you are interacting directly with Payble’s secure payment platform. Payble manages the processing of these payments, including one-off payments, recurring payments, and payment scheduling. Any information you provide through Payble is handled in accordance with, and is subject to Payble’s own privacy policy and terms and conditions. 

We may use “cookies” to collect information from the hardware and software that you use to access our Website. Cookies help us to provide you with access to tailored information on the Website.  

A cookie is a small data file that the Website sends to your browser, which may then store it on your system for later retrieval by the Website. Cookies record information about your online preferences and allow us to tailor the Website to your interests. Information supplied by cookie and session information can help us to analyse the profile of the Website’s visitors and help us to provide you with a better user experience.  

Users have the opportunity, using their browser settings, to set their devices to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, deleted, or not to receive cookies at any time. If you reject cookies, you may still use our Website, but your ability to use some of its features or functionality may be limited.  

For further information on cookies and how to switch them off see www.allaboutcookies.org. 

If you wish to obtain confirmation that we hold personal information about you and to access that information, or you wish to request a correction to your personal information that we hold, please contact us at the details provided in the “Who you can contact for further information” section below.  

If you request access to, or a copy of, your personal information, we will provide you with a copy of the personal information we keep about you, subject to any lawful grounds that may be available to us for withholding the information. We reserve the right to charge you a reasonable amount for providing copies of any personal information you request, to take into account the reasonable time, cost and effort involved in us complying with your request.  

If you request a correction to your personal information and we agree that your personal information needs correcting, an amended record of your personal information will be provided back to you. If we do not agree to your request for a correction, you have the right to provide us with a statement of correction sought, and request that we attach to your information a statement of correction sought but not made.  

If you have any queries about this Privacy Policy or personal information we have collected about you, 
please contact:  

Privacy Officer  
Email Address: official.information@tiakiwai.co.nz 

We may modify or amend this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting an updated version on our website (at www.tiakiwai.co.nz (Website). If we do amend this Privacy Policy, we will post the revised version on our Website with an updated revision notice.  

By continuing to use the Website or any of our services, you are deemed to have agreed to the updated Privacy Policy.