The Honours Unit (we, our) administers the New Zealand Royal honours system on behalf of the Prime Minister.
This statement sets out how the Honours Unit complies with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) in the Privacy Act 2020 when requesting, collecting and managing personal information required to administer the New Zealand Royal Honours system.
The Honours Unit collects and shares personal information to administer the New Zealand Royal Honours system including announcing and congratulating honours recipients.
We keep personal information safe by storing it in our secure honours database and only allowing certain staff to access it, except as detailed below.
We may change this privacy statement from time to time by publishing changes on our website.
Privacy in the New Zealand Royal Honours system
Nominations for honours and awards are made by members of the public, organisations or Government bodies for individuals to be recognised within the New Zealand Royal Honours system. These nominations are received by the Honours Unit and contain personal information about those individuals.
The integrity of the New Zealand Royal Honours system relies on the principle of confidentiality – personal information about the nominee is collected without their knowledge, so as not to prejudice the purposes of the collection. It is in the public interest to ensure nominees are unaware of their nomination until, and only if, their nomination is successful. Doing otherwise may lead to personal and reputational embarrassment and disappointment on the part of unsuccessful nominees.
If the nominee is not recommended to the Sovereign for an honour, they will not be advised that their information has been collected. If the nominee is recommended to the Sovereign for an honour, they will not be advised of all the information that has been collected, such as letters of support. However, the nominee’s permission will be sought before their honour is approved. This is detailed below under “If you are a nominee…”.
If you are a nominator or a supporter…
We collect personal information from you, including information about your name, contact information and relationship to the nominee as per our nomination form.
Besides our staff, we share your personal information with members of the Cabinet Appointment and Honours Committee including the Prime Minister.
Some information is optional. However, if you choose not to share the information marked on the nomination form as being “required”, we may be unable to accept your nomination.
If you are a nominee…
If your nomination is approved by the Prime Minister for recommendation to the Sovereign, we will ask you if you wish to accept the relevant honour. If you agree, we will collect further personal information from you and confirm other information, including your contact information, gender, ethnicity and biographical information.
Besides our staff, we may share your personal information with appropriate third parties including:
- members of the Cabinet Appointment and Honours Committee so that Committee can consider the nominations and the Prime Minister can make recommendations to the Sovereign
- members of the New Zealand Bravery Awards Committee or the New Zealand Antarctic Medal Committee, where your nomination relates to awards for bravery, gallantry or the New Zealand Antarctic Medal, so they can consider your nomination
- if you work or have worked for a government agency (including as a volunteer) and your nomination relates to that work, that government agency in relation to service or appointment records
- if you indicate you are a Justice of the Peace, the Ministry of Justice to confirm your appointment
- if you are a citizen of another country, the government of that country to seek their consent before your honour can be approved
- the Sovereign and the Governor-General in relation to approving your honour
- unless you tell us otherwise, the media at the time of the announcement of your honour (only your contact details, ethnicity if consented and citation are shared)
- the Governor-General, Ministers, Members of Parliament, government agencies and other organisations (eg councils and universities) for the purpose of congratulatory messages and/or invitations (only your name and postal address is shared)
- Government House in relation to events in connection with the honour or award received
- when requested or required to disclose information under the Official Information Act 1982 or to a Parliamentary Select Committee or Parliament in response to a Parliamentary Question
- other third parties, if you separately consent.
We also receive death records from the Department of Internal Affairs under the Privacy (Information Sharing Agreement Facilitating Access to Information about Deaths) Order 2023 to allow us to keep up-to-date records of the life status of honours recipients.
Some information is optional. However, if you choose not to share some information, we may be unable to progress the award of an honour to you.
Contact us
As a nominator, supporter or nominee, you have the right to find out from us whether we hold personal information about you, ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you'd like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, or you have any concerns about personal information that we hold please write to:
The Privacy Officer
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
or send an email to [email protected]