Serious privacy breaches notified by organisations rose 43% in number, Michael Webster says
Michael Webster, privacy commissioner, has shared that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has kept up its advocacy efforts striving for the modernisation of New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 over the 2024/25 period.
In a media release announcing the OPC’s latest annual report, Webster claimed that the Privacy Act currently contains inadequate incentives for many organisations to comply with or comprehend basic privacy requirements.
“For example, a growing number of organisations do not establish policies and practices to effectively manage the privacy impacts of their activities,” Webster said. “Other countries have modernised their privacy regimes beyond our own to capture the benefits and avoid the harm of new technologies.”
Webster stressed that the OPC has continued to suggest Privacy Act amendments to adapt the law to current times and improve privacy outcomes. In its media release, the OPC noted that the recommended amendments aim to:
In the media release, Webster highlighted increased privacy concerns, as demonstrated by the rising number of privacy complaints and privacy breach notifications that the OPC received.
“Privacy complaints in our 2024/25 Annual Report are up 21% from 2023/24, which was also a record year,” Webster said. “The number of serious privacy breaches notified by organisations rose 43% this year.”
According to the OPC’s 2025 privacy survey, among those surveyed:
“New Zealanders are saying they’re more concerned about their individual privacy and personal information and it’s easy to see why,” Webster said. “People are right to worry, as more needs to be done to improve New Zealander’s privacy.”
According to the OPC, it has worked on guidance this year on children’s privacy and biometric technology, among other subjects engaging different audiences.
“The reputational damage and financial costs associated with privacy breaches, and not protecting or respecting individuals’ personal information, should provide a spur to encouraging organisations to do privacy well,” Webster said in the OPC’s media release. “But my Office also understands people need help to understand how to do that.”
The OPC added that it hosted webinars for Privacy Week this year, attracting the participation of more than 8,000 New Zealanders.
