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Privacy law Updated: 01 May 2010

Direct marketing

The Privacy Act doesn’t provide any specific controls on direct marketing but the general principles will apply. In order for the Act to regulate direct marketing it partly hinges on whether the marketing approaches are based on the use of "personal information".

It’s important to note that information such as a telephone number, physical address or an email address is not necessarily "personal information" unless it’s linked to other information in which an individual becomes identifiable. Marketing companies can also get around this by generic consent at the time personal information is collected.

The Act will not directly apply if information is publicly available or it was collected for marketing purposes.

Aside from the Privacy Act, the Marketing Association of New Zealand has developed a code of practice. This code established a "Do Not Call" register to which 44,000 people now belong. This register is said to decrease the number of unwanted, unsolicited phone calls that consumers receive from organisations. It is confined to direct marketers who are members of the Association. See our Telemarketing report for more information.

If you consider direct marketing is impacting on your informational privacy, contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and make a complaint.

Reform

The Law Commission has identified a range of proposals to address the issue of direct marketing and informational privacy. We support the call for a government-administered “Do Not Call Register”. This would be more visible, proactive, and, importantly, independent of the marketing industry.