MinterEllisonRuddWatts is a leading New Zealand Law firm that is part of the MinterEllison Legal Group. This policy outlines the way in which we manage the personal information we hold about our clients, potential clients, contractors and others. We, us, our, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, MinterEllison Legal Group and MinterEllison Organisations are defined at the end of this policy.

MinterEllisonRuddWatts is bound by the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 (Privacy Act).

In summary, ‘personal information’ is information about an identifiable individual.

Why does MinterEllisonRuddWatts collect personal information?

We collect personal information to conduct our business, to provide and market our services and to meet our legal obligations, including (but not limited to) in relation to our anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations.

Who does MinterEllisonRuddWatts collect personal information about?

We collect and hold personal information about (but not limited to):

• clients, business associates and potential clients and their employees, contractors, owners and directors;
• individuals we deal with in the course of acting for clients and carrying on our business (including counterparties to matters we are involved with);
• suppliers and their employees and contractors;
• prospective employees, employees and contractors; and
• other people who come into contact with MinterEllisonRuddWatts.

What kinds of personal information does MinterEllisonRuddWatts collect?

In general, and depending upon the nature of the person’s connection with MinterEllisonRuddWatts, the type of personal information we collect and hold includes (but is not limited to): names, addresses, contact details, date of birth, occupations, personal preferences, payment details, employment history and/or details, education and qualifications, testimonials and feedback, identification documentation, nature of relationship to our client, evidence of source of funds (in some cases), your engagement with our digital platforms and communications, any personal information relevant to the specific transaction or matter we are advising on, and other information which assists us in conducting our business, providing and marketing our services, and meeting our legal obligations.

In some cases, if personal information we request is not provided, it might adversely impact our ability to supply the relevant product or service or to perform our obligation.

How does MinterEllisonRuddWatts collect personal information?

Except as otherwise permitted by law, we will collect the personal information directly from you when you provide your details to us including through:

• emails,
• forms, 
• subscription applications, 
• face-to-face meetings
•  interviews,
• client onboarding processes
• employment applications
• registration and attendance at seminars
• business cards
• telephone conversations; and 
• through the use of the services and facilities available through our websites and social media channels.

We may also collect personal information about you via indirect means, including from:

• third parties we engage to analyse traffic and engagement at our websites, social media channels and other digital platforms (which may involve the use of cookies), for the purposes of understanding visitor behaviour, undertaking analytics, and improving our products and services;
• third parties acting on your behalf or with your authority (i.e. your business partners and associates, family members, or employer) where necessary in connection with the provision of products or services to you; 
• our clients where you are involved in a transaction or matter in respect of which we have been engaged to provide services; 
• third parties you have authorised us to contact to obtain information about you, such as obtaining a report provided from a medical professional or an employment reference in connection with assessing your employment application; 
• third party identity verification providers or government agencies who assist us in conducting customer due diligence, sanctions checks, and complying with our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT laws); and
• publicly available websites for the purposes of carrying out customer due diligence under the AML/CFT laws, sanctions checks, assessing an employment application, or in connection with the provision of services to you or our clients.

Management of personal information

We take reasonable steps to protect the security of personal information. MinterEllisonRuddWatts’ personnel are required to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information held by us from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, for example by use of physical security and restricted access to electronic records.

In the course of providing legal services, we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with tasks such as research, drafting, document review and analysis. Where we use such tools, we take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information processed by or through those tools is not used to train AI models and is subject to appropriate security measures consistent with our obligations under the Privacy Act. For more information about our approach to generative AI please read our firm’s AI Charter available here. 

Where we no longer require your personal information we will comply with our legal obligations in respect of that information.

How might MinterEllisonRuddWatts collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?

In general, we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

• to conduct our business;
• to provide and market our products and services to you and our clients;
• to provide joint marketing initiatives with other service providers;
• to engage third parties on your behalf;
• to communicate with you;
• to purchase goods or services;
• to help us manage and enhance our services;
• to check your identity against governmental databases, including:
  • the National Register of driver licences;
  • one of more of the following databases maintained by the Department of Internal Affairs:
    • birth or death information recorded under the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995;
    • citizenship information recorded under the Citizenship Act 1977; and/or
    • travel document information recorded under the Passports Act 1992; and/or
  • the records of the Document Verification Service (and related databases) maintained and provided by the Commonwealth of Australia; and
• for health and safety, or security purposes; and
• to comply with our legal obligations, including (but not limited to) in relation to AML/CFT laws and sanctions compliance obligations.

To whom might MinterEllisonRuddWatts disclose your personal information?

We may disclose your personal information to:

• other members of the MinterEllison Legal Group;
• other companies or individuals who assist us in providing services or who perform functions on our behalf (such as mailing houses, hosting and data storage providers, specialist consultants and barristers);
• other companies or individuals who perform checks that are necessary or desirable under law on our behalf;
• other companies, agencies or individuals that maintain databases against which your identity may be verified, which may include (but is not limited to) the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand Transport Agency, and the Commonwealth of Australia Document Verification Service;
• other companies, professionals or related entities where we are permitted to disclose certain customer due diligence information under AML/CFT laws;
• social media sites on which we have a presence;
• courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities;
• anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it; and
• where we are permitted or required to do so by law.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

We endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. We encourage you to contact us to update any personal information we hold about you. Contact details are set out below.  You have the right to correct any personal information we hold about you in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Subject to the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act, you may seek access to the personal information which we hold about you by contacting our Privacy Officer on 0800 862 774.

We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. A fee may be charged for providing access. If a fee is to be charged, we will advise you of the likely cost in advance.

How can you make a privacy complaint?

If you have any questions about privacy related issues or wish to complain about the handling of your personal information by us, please contact our Privacy Officer on 0800 862 774. We may ask you to lodge your complaint in writing. Any complaint will be investigated by the Privacy Officer and you will be notified of the decision in relation to your complaint as soon as practicable after it is made, usually within 20 working days.

If we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your concerns about our handling of your personal information, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at: PO Box 10-094, The Terrace, Wellington 6143, phone 0800 803 909 or visit http://privacy.org.nz.

Address details of MinterEllisonRuddWatts

The address of MinterEllisonRuddWatts, as the agency collecting and holding your personal information, is:

PO Box 2793

Wellington

New Zealand 6010

Updates to this Policy

This Policy will be reviewed from time to time to take account of new laws and technology, changes to our operations and practices and the changing business environment. The most current version of this Policy is located at minterellison.co.nz and can be obtained by contacting our Privacy Officer on 0800 862 774.

Definitions

In this Policy:

We, us and our means MinterEllisonRuddWatts in Auckland (PwC Tower, 15 Customs Street West, Auckland) and Wellington (BNZ Place, 1 Whitmore Street, Wellington);

MinterEllison Legal Group refers to each MinterEllison Organisation; and the partnerships known as MinterEllison Hong Kong.

MinterEllison Organisations refers to:

• MinterEllison’s offices located in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, London, Beijing, and Shanghai.
• MinterEllison Consulting (ABN 50 017 469 292), MinterEllison Consulting Pty Ltd (ABN 50 077 613 828) and MinterEllison Advisory (ABN 27 632 804 465).
• Any other firm, entity, or company formally associated with these entities.

Last updated: May 2026