Privacy policy

General site

This statement applies to the website nzdf.mil.nz, and to any content accessed by the following platforms. Including, but not limited to: defencecareers.mil.nz, codewords.nz, Force Fit AppDefence Careers Facebook and other NZDF social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

You can use this site without disclosing any personal information to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) unless you provide express consent (see below). If the NZDF collects any personal information it will be done in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

The NZDF systems to which our website connects and related equipment may be subject to monitoring (including by third parties) in order to support the utility and security of this site.

Collection of personal information

The NZDF collects personal information when you:

  • Provide us directly with express consent, for example by submitting an ‘apply now’ or ‘contact us’ form,
  • Visit an NZDF website as listed above,
  • Engage with any of NZDF’s Social Media accounts.

Personal information collected includes:

  • Questions, queries or feedback you leave, including your email address if you contact NZDF on our enquiry /contact us forms,
  • Contact details including email address, mobile number and residential address when you apply to join NZDF, and
  • Information on how you use the site; using cookies and page tagging techniques

By submitting an application, you also agree to information being collected on your character and academic ability from employers, schools or other educational institutions, nominated referees and the NZ Police.

Usage of personal information

By providing personal information to NZDF directly through a form or indirectly through your engagement with NZDF’s platforms, you agree to your information collected by the NZDF being used for the following purposes:

  • Recruitment screening and eligibility,
  • Correspondence and updates,
  • Personnel management,
  • Assessment and training,
  • Course candidate management and selection,
  • Course planning, research and evaluation,
  • Improving NZDF’s processes and services,
  • Improving NZDF’s candidate experience on other communication channels e.g. email, advertising, and
  • To comply with contractual or legislative reporting and record-keeping requirements, or under obligation of the Official Information Act 

Cookie information

NZDF's websites and web-based mobile apps use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc to help us make decisions about our digital operations and to improve the content and functionality we provide.

This information is collected via cookies or tags which are enabled by default to optimise website functionality and customise user experience.

You can opt out of this by disabling first-party cookies in your web browser. However, this may impact your experience with NZDF’s websites and may cause certain features to not be available.

If you do not disable cookies, you consent to the processing of data about your use of the website, in the manner and for the purposes set out below, including:

  • your service address (IP address)
  • your location in terms of country
  • the date, time and duration of your visit to the site
  • the pages you accessed and the documents you downloaded
  • the type of browser you used
  • the search terms you used
  • your operating system
  • other incidental matters such as screen resolution and the language setting of your browser.

This information helps NZDF:

  • Make decisions about the operation of NZDF’s websites,
  • Improve the content and functionality that is provided through the website, 
  • Provide you with a personalised online experience without requiring you to remind us of your preferences each time you return to our websites,
  • Target our advertising using services such as Google Adwords and Google Analytics,
  • Aggregate your interactions with us across the devices that you use to access our services, and
  • Perform system administration tasks

Storage of personal information

The information generated about your use of the website is transmitted to, and stored securely by third-parties such as Google and Salesforce on servers in the United States.

Neither party will disclose it to any person except for the purposes described above, or as authorised by yourself, or by law.

This information will continue to be held until such time as it is no longer administratively required. 

Sharing your information

The NZDF does not share any personal information provided by you to other government agencies, organisations or anyone else unless one of the following applies:

  • One of the reasons the NZDF was provided the personal information was to give it to a third party,
  • You have given authority to share the information with a third party, or
  • It is required or authorised by the Privacy Act 2020 or by any other law, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:
    • To avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law including prejudice to the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and punishment of offences,
    • For enforcement of a law that imposes a pecuniary penalty,
    • For the protection of public revenue,
    • For the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal,
    • If it is reasonably believed that the use of the information will prevent or lessen a serious threat to public health or safety or to somebody's life or health, or
    • The information will be used in a way that will not identify you, or it is to be used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a way that will identify you.

NZDF may share the information that is collected about visitors to our various websites and online service only with third-party service providers - such as: Google, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Meta – that provide us with advertising and other online services for the purposes of improving the experience on the website and other advertising purposes.

Changes to this policy

NZDF reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy. It is recommended that you check this website from time to time as this Privacy Policy may be revised. You will be provided with notice of a material change to the Privacy Policy by either email or by posting it on our website. The most current version of the policy will govern NZDF’s use of your information. By continuing to use this website after those changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy.

How to access any personal information we hold about you

Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to access and to request correction of any of your personal information provided to the NZDF. In the case of evaluative information, access may be limited and you will be provided a reasonable explanation when that is so under the Act.

To view any personal information held by us, or if you have any concerns about personal information that we hold and wish to request its correction, you can email privacy@nzdf.mil.nz, or write to:

The Privacy Officer
New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag 39997
Wellington 6011

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