Privacy policy

Indoor Air Quality Research Centre of New Zealand

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 18 May 2022.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Site owned and operated by BRANZ Limited, GNS Science International Limited, Massey University, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the University of Otago, and the Victoria University of Wellington, together the “Indoor Air Quality Research Centre of New Zealand” (IAQRC), (Site) and should be read in conjunction with the Terms of Use.

By viewing and using this Site you will be deemed to agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please stop using the Site.
The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to let Users of the Site (you and your) know when we collect personal data and what we do with it. We do not use, share or transfer personal data except as set out in this Privacy Policy. When we talk about “personal data”, we are referring to information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual.

All capitalised terms that are used but not defined in this Privacy Policy will have the meaning given to them in the Terms of Use.

1. Collection of Information
1.1 We may gather two types of information about you from the Site:
(a) personal information provided by you, which includes, but is not limited to, your name, address, e-mail address, phone number and any other personal information that you voluntarily give to us; and
(b) aggregate technical information automatically generated by our systems, which track traffic to the Site, which includes, but is not limited to, your Device identifier, the IP address used to connect your Device to the Internet, operating systems and Sites, pages you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits on certain pages, page interaction information, and any other such technical information relating to your use of the Site.
1.2 We may collect and hold personal data about you from the following sources:
(a) indirectly, through your use of the Site, including by automated technologies (as described above);
(b) through your interaction with our administrators, such as by telephone or email;
(c) through your interactions with other Users;
(d) through cookies (see clause 4 below); and
(e) provided by third parties authorised by you.
1.3 Failure to provide necessary personal information when requested may result in certain services on the Site not being available to you.

2. Disclosure of Information
2.1 We will not disclose your personal information to any third party unless you have given us permission to do so, in this Privacy Policy or otherwise.
2.2 We work with third-party service providers who provide hosting, maintenance, backup, storage, infrastructure, analysis, marketing and other services for us, which may require them to access information about you. If a service provider needs to access information about you to perform services on our behalf, they do so under instruction from us, including abiding by policies and procedures designed to protect your information. Some of these service providers may be located in countries other than yours or ours.
2.3 We may disclose to third parties:
(a) any information that we gather about you for the purposes of providing the Site to you;
(b) aggregate tracking information and other information that does not personally identify you;
(c) your personal information when we believe in good faith that we are required to do so by law;
(d) your personal information, provided we have your prior authorisation, which we will obtain at the time of collecting the information from you;
(e) to protect the intellectual property rights of any person;
(f) to protect the security or integrity of our Site and services; and
(g) protect us, you or the public from harm or illegal activities.

3. Use of Information
3.1 Generally, we will process and use the information we collect:
(a) to assist in providing the Site and its services to you (including responding to any queries and/or comments you have sent to us, administering any surveys or other services);
(b) to enable you to communicate and share information with other Users you choose to communicate and share information with;
(c) to ensure you are using the Site safely and for its intended purpose;
(d) for ensuring that you are shown the information that is most relevant to you and your interests;
(e) to investigate any complaints relating to the misuse of the Site or its functionality;
(f) to anonymise data (from time to time) and use it in a manner in which you cannot be identified so we can understand how our Site is used; and
(g) for any other use that you authorise.

4. Cookies and Tracking
4.1 We may use a “cookie” file containing information that can identify the computer, smartphone or other Device you are accessing the Site from. The cookie file is anonymous as it only gives us details of your IP address, the Site you are using, browser (e.g. Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge or other, plus the version of browser) and domain (whether you are accessing the Site from New Zealand or elsewhere).
4.2 We may use the information generated by cookies to:
(a) track traffic patterns to and from the Site; and
(b) ensure any content (which may include any advertising) is being shown to the most appropriate person.
4.3 You can choose to refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser and/or deleting them from your hard drive or other storage device.
4.4 You do not need to have cookies turned on to use the Site, but you may need them for customisable areas of the Site that we may develop in the future.
5. Content Providers, Advertisers and Partners
We do not control the practices of content providers, partners and advertisers connected with the Site and to whom you provide personal information whilst using the Site or services. The Site may contain links to other sites, such as links to sites with relevant articles and information about events, which may not follow the same privacy policies as us. We recommend that you check any relevant privacy policies before providing your personal information to any third party.

6. Security
While we use reasonable safeguards to protect your personal information against theft, loss or unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or disposal, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit or receive through the Site. These activities are conducted at your own risk.

7. Opting in and Opting Out
7.1 If our intended collection, use or disclosure of your personal information is outside the collection, use or disclosure set out in this Privacy Policy we will give you the option to:
(a) opt out and not receive certain services or participate in certain interactive areas; or
(b) opt in to agree to be contacted by us in relation to certain matters such as notification of new features to the Site.
7.2 You may opt out of receiving certain types of communications from us by utilising the unsubscribe function in communications sent to you. Any emails we send will contain a link at the bottom enabling you to edit your email settings or be removed from our general mailing list. If you elect not to receive emails or ask to be removed from a mailing list, we may still send you emails where it is necessary to provide you with details of changes to our services or the way the Site is to operate.

8. Changes
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Any amendments will be posted on this page and the “last updated” date will be updated). By continuing to access the Site, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy as amended by the relevant changes. We recommend you regularly check back to review this Privacy Policy to see any updates or changes to our Privacy Policy.

9. Holding, Correcting and Updating

9.1 Any personal information that you provide to us will be collected and held by us at our nominated secure data centers that we use to provide the Site and its services. If you are an individual, under the Privacy Act 2020, you have rights of access to and correction of personal information that we hold.
9.2 You have the right to request access to correct or change the information collected at any time and as often as necessary. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected or updated.

10. Notification of a Breach
If there is a privacy breach in relation to your personal information, we will follow the notification procedures in the Privacy Act 2020.

11. Contact
If you have any questions about how our services work or regarding this statement, contact us by sending an email to [insert a customer service contact email].

12. Privacy Commissioner
If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10-094
Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Phone: +64-4-474-7590
Enquiries Line: 0800 803 909
Email:

For information about New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 and how it protects the personal information of individuals in New Zealand, visit privacy.org.nz.