New standard for accessing and collecting of personal information
The Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) has recently published a new information sharing standard that outlines requirements to protect personal information.
The new standard comes into effect from 1 July 2025. We’re updating our social services outcome agreement templates to reflect the new standard. These will be published on our website.
The new standard only applies where personal information is accessed by or collected through a third party. We don’t recommend the use of the Government Model Contract templates in these circumstances. The Government Model Contracts are designed for the procurement of low-risk, low-value goods and services. An arrangement that allows a third party to access or collect personal information is no longer considered low risk and using the Government Model Contract is not a suitable option. Agencies should engage with their legal teams to prepare an agreement appropriate for this purpose.
New Zealand Government Procurement’s All-of-Government and Common Capability contracts fall outside the scope of the new standard as they do not generally relate to the delivery of public services, so we have not made any changes to these contracts.
If in the rare case you want to use one of these contracts for the delivery of public services, you should speak with your legal team to ensure the service order, purchase order or statement of work (as applicable) includes terms to meet the requirements of the new standard.
For more information about the new standard, you can read the news item, or email the GCDO team.