Statement about records breach from Chief Archivist
Archives New Zealand acknowledges there has been a breach of privacy in three sets of Restricted historical health records. When made aware the records were incorrectly made publicly accessible, we immediately restricted access to them.
Our priority is the people who may be impacted through this breach. We have been working with Te Whatu Ora who the records belong to, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, to develop a public notification plan based on the needs of the impacted individuals. Public notification will now take place on Monday 19 December, 2022. Information will be published on the Archives website, the Te Whatu Ora website, and social media. This notice will explain what happened, how we have responded, and the support available to you if you are concerned your information has been affected by this incident.
The records were digitised in response to a request by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. They were not created as part of the Inquiry.
The breach included three sets of health records from 1952-73 relating to one mental health facility. The files were accessed by two people, one being the person who alerted us, and the other a member of the public.
We recognise the trust people and agencies have in Archives to safeguard their Restricted information. It is our responsibility to protect the information and taonga we hold, a role we take very seriously, and in this case, we have made a mistake.
It is important to note this issue is not related to the ongoing functionality issues with Collections Search, which Archives continues to work with the provider, Axiell, to resolve.
ENDS
Media contact:
Media Desk
Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs
Mobile: +64 27 535 8639
Email: media@dia.govt.nz