Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Standards

1.      Returning Officers must provide complete and accurate information via the booking form, and be authenticated, before registration to this service.

2.      In accordance with the NZ Privacy Act 2020:

• The Returning Officer uses Information from the school database to prepare the electoral roll and manage the election for a school board.
• Parents are advised through schools, and via our website, that information is being provided to the Returning Officer for the purpose of the school election.
• Schools transfer information to the Returning Officer via secure means, for example by direct upload or as password-protected files or other shared transfer protocol. 
• The Returning Officer will store that information on secure servers for the purpose of the election.
• Personal information used for the election may be accessed, corrected, or deleted on request to the Returning Officer by the person concerned, actioned no later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received. 
•  Information is used only for the purpose of the election and no other purpose.
• Once the election is completed, school database information is held only for as long as is reasonable to comply with legal or regulatory obligations.  Normally, this would be within 90 days.
• Unique identifiers may be assigned for the purpose of electronic voting, for voter authentication and verification purposes, and not for any other purpose. 

Consent

3.      Users of the website consent to the collection, use, disclosure, storage and processing of personal information for the purpose of the school board election. 

4.      The booking form confirms the school has authorisation to supply data to the Returning Officer for the electoral roll.

Information we may hold

5.      The Returning Officer will use the following information:

a.    For preparation of  electoral rolls: Name, physical address or postal address and email address, and mobile phone number of parents and caregivers of students; and/or of staff; and/or of students eligible for the student representative electoral roll. 

b.    To meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education: Candidate name, physical address, email address, contact phone numbers; and optionally, gender, ethnicity and previous governance history; and optionally, a profile picture and candidate statement for preparation and publication of election materials.

6.      The following information may also be held or accessed:

a.    For voting purposes, allocated passwords and unique identifiers.

b.    Metadata collected through our website, including IP addresses, computer and connection information, referrals from other web pages, standard web log information, language settings, time of access.

c.    Payment information, such as debit or credit card details.

d.    All communications, direct or indirect, with the Returning Officer and/or administrator.

e.    Data related to software used in association with an election, for example, MailChimp or SMS messaging services, which may include pages viewed, buttons clicked, viewing time, keyword searches, and GPS co-ordinates.

f.     Data that you give us permission to access on public platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google.  You may remove access at any time by contacting us at the address below. 

g.    Data that we may collect from public sources. 

Good practice is in everybody’s interest

7.      Information will not be shared with third parties except where required for the proper conduct of a fair, transparent, and secure election (for example, a mail-house for postal voting). 

8.      The Returning Officer will ensure that data files are password-protected. 

9.      The Returning Officer will notify the school about a security breach as soon as practicable after becoming aware of a breach. (Sections 112–122 of the Privacy Act 2020 apply, which may require the Privacy Commissioner to be informed.)

When a notification is being prepared, the factors to be considered are:

• The nature of the information and how sensitive it is.
• What the school or My School Election has done to reduce the risk of harm following the breach.
• The actual consequences of the breach (for example, who has been able to access the information).
• The nature of the harm that has resulted from the breach and anything else that may be relevant.) 

If a breach occurs, the approach to assessing the level of harm caused by a privacy breach means that the school's policies and procedures (and whether they are followed) as well as those of My School Election will be an essential consideration.

How we use information provided by schools

10.    The Returning Officer may use the information schools and parents provide to -

a.    Communicate information about the election.

b.    Verify users and voters.

c.    Authenticate access.

d.    Publish candidate information.

e.    Prepare voting papers and addressed envelopes for postal voting, including via our printing and posting house, Western Mailing

f.     Co-operate with the Ministry of Education or any other government, industry, legislative or regulatory authorities.

g.    Protect and enforce legal rights and interests.

11.    We may also use generic information provided by Returning Officers to -

a.    Market this service to Returning Officers.

b.    Request payment for this service.

c.    Monitor use of this website (for example, through cookies).

d.    Link this website to other websites (with your permission). 

12.    Should a User fail to provide the Returning Officer or website users with the information required to safely and securely conduct the election, with 3 days’ notice we may withdraw access to the website. 

13.    Users may request we stop sending marketing or promotional messages by contacting us at the Helpdesk address below.

How you can provide feedback about privacy and/or our service

14.    Complaints or feedback about privacy matters may be made at any time, using the contact details provided on the website.

15.    Schools and Returning Officers may be invited to complete a survey about the services (both Full Service and Manage Your Own options) at the completion of the election cycle.  Survey responses may be completed anonymously. 

Archiving and Deleting data

16.    Hard copies of the Electoral Roll (without contact details) must be available for public inspection for the election period.  The pdf may be downloaded from the dashboard only by Account Users

17.    Hard copies of the public version of the Electoral Roll, with the Vote Audit Report, postal voting papers and Candidate Statements, are lodged at the District Court as Regulations require.

18.    Electoral roll data is stored for up to 90 days from the Election Date on the dashboard and then deleted from online servers. An automated deletion message is sent (to Account users) to certify the deletion of their school’s electoral roll data.

19.    Electoral roll data (working files) may be stored on our administration computers for no longer than the election period.

20.    Licenses automatically expire 90 days after the election day entered on the dashboard. The Returning Officer details remain on the Admin Panel but become dormant. Licenses must be renewed to reactivate the account.

21.    Only pdfs of the Declaration of Result are Archived online.  On request, these may be made available to the Ministry of Education, Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa, or to schools, at no additional cost. 

22.    Candidate Statement pdfs are sent to schools for their storage; and may remain in storage in our office One Drive or hard copy.  Candidate data is forwarded as Appendix 1 to the Ministry of Education.

23.    Returning Officer or User Accounts on the Administration Panel are reviewed annually.  Inactive users are removed from the system at annual review periods.

Global connections

24.    We are a New Zealand based provider, and this website has been developed in New Zealand.  The Privacy Act 2020 applies to our service.

25.    Information, including personal information, may be held on servers or hosted on IT platforms that are held outside New Zealand.  We take responsible steps to check that our service providers meet the high standards of protection that your information deserves. 

Cookie Privacy Policy

1.   Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet) when you visit our website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

2.   Types of Cookies We Use

We use the following types of cookies on our website:

• Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our website. They enable you to navigate the site and use its features.

• Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website, such as which pages are visited most often. This information is used to improve how the website works.

• Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features.

• Targeting/Advertising Cookies: These cookies may be used to deliver relevant advertisements. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement, if any, and help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

3.   How We Use Cookies

We use cookies to:

• Understand and save your preferences for future visits.
• Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions to offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
• Provide advertisements and marketing communications that we believe may be of interest to you.

4.   Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies in various ways. Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

 [Google Chrome](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en)\

 [Mozilla Firefox](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences)

 [Safari](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265) [Microsoft Edge]

(https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/delete-cookies-in-microsoft-edge-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09)

Please note that if you choose to refuse or delete cookies, some features of our website may not function correctly.

5.   Third-Party Cookies

We may also use third-party cookies from service providers such as Google Analytics, which helps us understand how you use our site and how we can improve it. These third-party service providers may use cookies in connection with the services they provide us.

6.   Consent to Use Cookies

When you first visit our website, you will be asked to consent to our use of cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our placing cookies on your device.

7.   Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have certain rights regarding your personal data, including the right to access, correct, delete, and restrict processing of your personal data. In New Zealand, similar rights are provided under the Privacy Act 2020.

Contact Us

For any matters related to our privacy policy contact us at office@myschoolelection.nz.  Please use the subject line Privacy Policy.