Contact Us
Donate
Connect
Donate

Privacy Statement

Te Puna Manawa Trust Privacy Statement explains how Te Puna Manawa Trust manages the information we collect about our clients and external agencies. It explains what information we collect, why we need it, how we will use it and who we might need to share it with. It also explains how we protect your information, your privacy rights and how you can access or correct the information we hold about you.

Te Puna Manawa Trust is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with our legal obligations, including the Privacy Act 2020 and the Privacy Amendment Act 2025, including IPP3A.

We offer a wide range of services which require us to collect, store, use and share personal information differently, depending on the service.  All our services are on independent password protected patient management systems or data management systems. We know that you need to trust us to take good care of your information. We are committed to ensuring that you understand how we use and share your information and that we always operate in accordance with the law and the expectations of our clients and community.

We collect information from you and from others

We need to collect and create health information so we can deliver our services. Not all the information we collect is mandatory, but we may not be able to properly deliver the services you really need without it. If you have any concerns about providing us with information, talk to us about it and we can help you understand why we need it.

1. How we collect your information

A) We collect health information from you directly, for example when you interact with us over the phone, over our social media platforms or when you fill out one of our referral forms.
B) We may receive health information from your healthcare provider when they refer you to us.
C) We may also collect health information about you from other third parties, where required and usually with your authorisation, such as your school or whānau, or other healthcare providers and community organisations.
D) We may collect information about you when you are referred to us via Te Whatu Ora, National Screening Register, for example, Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). E) We may collect information about you as part of that episode of care including blood test results, referral acknowledgements, letters from specialists etc. F) We also create health information about you when we are delivering services, such as carrying out assessments, creating contact information when you called us, or communicating with you or other healthcare providers about you.

2. What information we collect about you

We may collect or create the following health information about you:

  • A) General information – your name, contact details (address, email and phone number), date of birth, gender or preferred pronoun, ethnicity, school details, your whānau details, and emergency contact details
  • B) Healthcare provider information – your primary or secondary healthcare provider, the healthcare provider who referred you to us, and other health professionals involved with you
  • C) Referral and risk information – if you have been referred to us by your healthcare provider, information they share with us as part of your referral, including risk indicators we should know about to give you the best service possible
  • D) Relevant medical history – if we are delivering counselling or therapy services, clinical notes, and information about relevant medical conditions or mental health issues
  • E) HEEADSSS and other assessment information – if you have had a HEEADSSS or PHQ-9 assessment, or other assessment, this may be relevant to some of the services we deliver such as counselling, therapy or youth development services
  • F) Health, housing and social information – to help assist with our Healthy Homes Assessments
  • G) Information we create about you – assessment reports, contact information and consultation notes
  • H) Information about our interactions with you – date, time and duration of your appointment, and communications with you or about you (see more on this below)
  • I) Information about your use of our website – IP address, cookie data, contact form information, and webchat information
  • J) Feedback you provide to us and complaints – we often ask for comments, or feedback about our services, and you can make complaint if you are unhappy with something we have done
A word about cookies

We use cookies (text files that are placed on your hard disk by our web server) to manage the way you can interact with our website. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our website or apps.

3. We use your information to deliver services

In order to deliver effective health and social services, we must use and share the information we collect about you. We make sure that your information is used and shared only for the delivery of services, to keep you or others safe, or to manage our relationships with other healthcare providers, social service providers or funding agencies. We anonymise information before using it for reporting purposes.

We will use your health information to:

  • A) Understand your situation and needs, to provide you with the best possible information and support
  • B) Deliver the services you or your referrer have requested
  • C) Communicate with you or your whānau
  • D) Communicate with your referring healthcare provider, your school or agencies with a role in your care
  • E) Make referrals to other providers where required
  • F) Keep you and others safe
  • G) Meet our internal and external reporting requirements, including to our funding agencies (such as the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Social Development), using only anonymised information
  • H) Develop and improve our services and resources, to ensure they are operating well and meeting the needs of our clients and stakeholders
  • I) Conduct research into youth issues, to inform policy, develop resources, guidance and training, and better inform our community, using only anonymised information

4. When we share your information with others

Our health system depends on responsible and legitimate sharing of health information to ensure that healthcare providers and others have the information they need to ensure your safety and wellbeing, and the safety of others. We think it is important that you have no surprises about the way your information may be shared.

We may disclose health information about you to:

  • A) The healthcare provider who referred you to us, such as mental health services, your GP, midwife, or your school health or counselling staff.  If you have self-referred, we may still share information with your primary healthcare provider
  • B) Other providers we refer you to, such as Oranga Tamariki, mental healthcare providers, youth providers, or emergency housing providers
  • C) Your parent, guardian, authorised representative or whānau, where you have authorised this or where necessary to ensure your safety and wellbeing
  • D) Your school, if you are a school-age child, where necessary to ensure your safety and wellbeing
  • E) Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Health, as part of our reporting requirements, using only anonymised information
  • F) The Ministry of Social Development, if they have referred you to us
  • G) Oranga Tamariki, if we believe this is necessary to keep you or others safe
  • H) The Ministry of Social Development, as part of our reporting requirements under the Youth Services contract, using only anonymised information
  • I) Auditors, when required under our accreditations, who may review a small number of client files in person and are only anonymised information
  • J) The Police, if we believe this is necessary to keep you or others safe
  • K) Our trusted IT service providers, including data storage providers
  • L) National screening registers, National cervical screening programme or Aotearoa Immunisation register
  • M) Insurers, indemnity providers or legal advisors – as part of a complaints process for the purpose of managing and responding to your complaint
  • N) Other third parties, or in other situations, where you have given us your permission to do so or we have told you we will, including from programme enrolment forms or contact information

We will take good care of your information

We are required by law to retain health information about our clients for at least 10 years after the last contact we have had with them.

We store all information in secure systems that can only be accessed by the right Te Puna Manawa Trust staff, and only when they need it. Each staff member who uses our IT system signs a confidentiality agreement prior to starting their role to ensure your information is protected. We use secure cloud platforms to store and process information, including Medtech Evolution and other secure applications. All paper records we collect or create are stored securely.

We take all reasonable steps to protect the health information we hold from loss, misuse or unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including: Working closely with our IT provider, TMG, on IT risk assessment and mitigation.

All of our staff also undertake Privacy Training prior to starting their role with Te Puna Manawa Trust and complete this mandatory training every 3 years thereafter.

You have privacy rights

You have important rights in relation to your information, and we respect these. To make a privacy request, update your information, or tell us about any concerns, please:

  • Call us on: 09 8397480
  • Email us at: privacy@healthwest.co.nz
  • Write to us at: Attention: Privacy Officer, Te Puna Manawa Trust PO BOX 104098, Lincoln North, Auckland, 0654

You can access or correct your information

You have the right to ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, or to ask us to correct it if you think it is wrong. We will never charge you for making a request.

Help us identify you
We will need to verify your identity before releasing or correcting your information, such as by sighting a copy of your driver’s licence or birth certificate. If you ask someone (like a family member) to make a request on your behalf, we will need to see written authorisation from you and we may give you a call to check if we are unsure. Please understand that all these steps are intended to protect your privacy.

We will be as open as we can with you
We will always seek to be open with you about the personal and health information we hold about you, particularly if we have created it. We will only withhold information from you for limited reasons and will explain the reasons to you if we do. We will respond to your request as soon as we can, and no later than 20 working days after we receive it.

Likewise, we will correct factual information you think is inaccurate (such as your contact details) but may need to refuse a correction request if we think the information is accurate (such as our assessments). If we refuse a correction request, we will invite you to give us a statement of correction, which we will attach to the information you dispute.

You can tell us if you have concerns about your information

If you have any concerns about the way we have collected, used or shared your health information, or you think we have refused a request for information without a good reason, then please let us know using the contact details above and we will try our best to resolve them. You can also follow our complaints procedure to make a complaint about the way we have handled your information.

If we cannot resolve your concerns, you can also make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by:

  • Completing an online complaint form at www.privacy.org.nz
  • Writing to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, PO Box 10-094, The Terrace, Wellington 6143