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Lifewise Client Privacy Statement

This privacy statement explains how Lifewise manages the personal or health information we collect about our clients. It explains what information we collect, why we need it, how we’ll use it and who we might need to share it with. It also explains how we protect information and your rights to access or correct the information we hold about you.

This statement covers the following topics:

  • Who we are and what we do
  • The information we collect about you
  • How we use your information
  • How we share your information
  • How we store and protect your information
  • How can you access or update your information, or make a privacy complaint

We have also developed a summary of this privacy statement for children and young people.

We may update this privacy statement from time to time, to reflect changes to privacy law or our operations. This privacy statement was last updated in May 2025.

Who we are and what we do

Lifewise is an Auckland-based community social development organisation. We’re working towards a society where everyone counts, where everyone feels that they belong and where everyone has a contribution to make. Our services turn lives around for good. We go beyond meeting the immediate needs of people living with hardship. Our child, youth, and family support services address the root cause of social issues so individuals, families, and communities can have a better future. Find out more about what we do here.

Lifewise is one of three independent charitable trusts – Methodist Mission Northern (MMN), Lifewise and Airedale Property Trust. While each Trust operates independently, the Trusts work together towards one vision of connected, just, and inclusive communities.

The information we collect about you

We need to collect personal and 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.

What information we collect about you

We may collect or create the following information about you:

  • General information – such as your name, contact details (address, email and phone number), date of birth, gender or preferred pronouns, ethnicity, iwi/hapu, and emergency contact details
  • Information about your family and living situation – such as whānau details, number of children, type of income and amount earned, history of housing and homelessness, residential status, current support, or care and protection issues
  • Identification information – such as your driver’s licence, passport, or birth certificate
  • Unique identifiers – where relevant to the services you are receiving, including the Social Welfare Number (SWN) and NHI
  • Referral and risk information – if you have been referred to us by a government or community agency, information they share with us as part of your referral, including risk indicators we should know about to give you the best service possible, such as information about addiction, violence, gang affiliations, criminal convictions, and bail or other conditions
  • Information about your other support people or agencies – such as your GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health support, dietician, lawyer, or school liaison
  • Health information – where relevant to the services you are receiving, including immunisation records, medications taken, relevant medical or mental health issues.
  • Information we create about you – such as family wellbeing assessments, reports of child safety concerns, parenting or other plans and programmes, needs assessments, and goals plans
  • Information about your tenancy – such as rent details, housing inspections, breaches, eviction notices, Tenancy Tribunal information, and any risks or concerns
  • Information about our interactions with you – including communications with you or about you, or feedback or concerns you raise with us about our services
  • Information about your use of our website – such as your IP address, device data and cookie data (see below)

Who we collect your information from

We collect information from you directly, for example when you interact with us about the services you are receiving. We also create information about you when we’re delivering services, such as when we complete an assessment report about your needs.

However, we do collect some information about you from third parties, where required and usually with your authorisation. We may collect information about you from:

  • the agency that has referred you to us to receive services, such as a community agency, Kianga Ora, Te Whatu Ora, MCERT or MSD
  • other service providers, where necessary to manage services, such as the Ministry of Education, hearing and vision testing clinics, community support workers, and healthcare providers with a role in your care
  • Airedale Property Trust, a property owner, or a private property manager, where necessary to assist with the management of tenancy issues, health and safety issues, or other serious issues relating to housing services received by a client
  • your next of kin or whānau, where you have authorised this or where necessary to ensure your safety and wellbeing

If we collect personal information about you from a third party that did not already inform you about this, we will let you know as soon as we can after collecting it, and usually in our next communication with you.

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.

How we use your information

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 service providers or funding agencies. We anonymise information before using it for reporting purposes.

We will use your information to:

  • understand your situation and needs, assess your eligibility for services, and provide you with the best possible information and support
  • deliver the services you need or have requested
  • communicate with you or your whānau
  • communicate with other agencies involved in providing wraparound services to you (see When we share your information below)
  • keep you and others safe
  • meet our internal and external reporting requirements, including to our funding agencies (see When we share your information below)
  • develop and improve our services and resources, to ensure they are operating well, and meeting the needs of our clients and stakeholders
  • conduct research into social development issues, to inform policy, develop resources, guidance and training, and better inform our community, using only anonymised information
  • advocate for social development issues

When we share your information

In order to meet the purposes set out above, and deliver effective wraparound services, we must share your information from time to time. We will only ever share your information when, and to the extent, necessary to achieve our purpose.

We may disclose information about you in the following ways, and depending on the service(s) you are receiving from us:

  • Accountability reporting – we report anonymised data to several agencies, including government agencies, grant funders, the Methodist Church of NZ, iwi groups, and others
  • Incident reporting – we report some personal and health information about clients involved in incidents to MSD, Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport, Oranga Tamariki, Te Whatu Ora, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, and Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People
  • Audit reporting – where required under our funding contracts, we will share client file reviews, which may include personal or health information, with several organisations, including MSD, Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport, Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Te Whatu Ora, and Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People
  • Engagement and progress reporting – we report some personal information about client engagement with services and process to several referrers or funding agencies, including Kianga Ora, Te Whatu Ora, and MSD
  • Operational information sharing – we may share personal and health information with Airedale Property Trust where necessary to assist with the management of tenancy issues, health and safety issues, or other serious issues relating to housing services received by a client
  • Safety concern reporting – we may report any safety concerns, including concerns about the safety of children, to Oranga Tamariki and the Police
  • Service-related referrals – we may share personal or health information with other service providers where necessary to refer a client for other services, such as the Ministry of Education, hearing and vision testing clinics, community support workers, and healthcare providers with a role in a client’s care
  • Emergency services – we will share personal and health information with various emergency services where required to keep people safe and manage emergency situations, including paramedics, mental health teams, and the Police
  • Sharing with whānau – we will share personal or health information with your next of kin or whānau, where you have authorised this or where necessary to ensure your safety and wellbeing
  • Trusted service providers – we use service providers to manage some of our processes or to store our data for us
  • Other third parties – we may share personal or health information with other third parties where you have given us your permission to do so, where we have told you we will, or where we are required or permitted by law to do so

How we store and protect your information

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal and health information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up to date and stored in a secure environment protected from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Your information will be securely stored in Lifewise’s electronic systems, which may include cloud-based systems provided by third party providers. Personal and health information held in these systems is only accessed by Lifewise staff who are authorised and need to access the information for the purposes specified above.

We retain personal information only for as long as it is needed for a lawful purpose, after which time is securely deleted. If we hold health information about you, in relation to health and disability or mental health and addiction services, we are required by law to retain this information for 10 years after our last contact with you.

How can you access or update your information, or make a privacy complaint

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: 09 302 5390
  • email us at: lifewise@lifewise.org.nz
  • write to us at: Attention: Privacy Officer, Lifewise, PO Box 5104, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142

Accessing or correcting 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’s wrong. We will never charge you for making a request.

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’re unsure. Please understand that all these steps are intended to protect your privacy.

We will always seek to be open with you about the information we hold about you. We will only withhold information from you for limited reasons, and will explain this 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.

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’ve collected, used or shared your 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’ll try our best to resolve them.

If we are unable to resolve your privacy complaint, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. See www.privacy.org.nz for more information.