Privacy Commissioner's Consultation to Share private medical information / covid vaccination status
Erika Whittome made this Official Information request to Privacy Commissioner
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Privacy Commissioner should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear Privacy Commissioner,
I refer to a "news" communication dated 15 October 2021 from the Waikato DHB called Staff Advisory - Order Requiring Healthcare Workers to be Vaccinated Against
COVID-19
This "news" says:
The DHB received permission from the Ministry of Health to access the Covid Immunisation Register for those staff where we did not have a vaccination status. It has been agreed it is essential for us to understand our workforce’s vaccination status so we can rapidly and safely deploy staff to where they are needed most for our public health response to this outbreak and to manage the risk of a wider community outbreak. This access was granted after the Ministry of Health consulted the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which confirmed the Ministry could apply Rule 11(2)(d) of the Health Information Privacy Code to allow disclosure of this private health information to DHBs to support the public health response for this current outbreak.
Would you kindly share the memos, consultation documents, correspondence, emails and any other communications regarding this consultation back in October 2021 to the Privacy Commissioner.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
From: Erika Whittome
Dear Privacy Commissioner,
Please acknowledge this request for information will be answered in the statutory timeframe
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
Kia ora Erika,
Confirming receipt of this request. We will respond to your request as soon as we can, and no later than 13 December.
Ngā mihi,
Emily
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From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
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2024 12 10 official information response.pdf
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Tçnâ koe
Please find attached the Privacy Commissioner’s response to your official
information request.
Aku mihi
Sharyn Leonard
Executive Assistant (Legal) | Kaiâwhina Mâtâmua – Ture
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Te Mana Mâtâpono Matatapu
PO Box 10094, Wellington 6140
privacy.org.nz
[1]NZBN 9429041913161
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA,
You have withheld the information based on " the serious threat". Would you kindly share the details on how "the serious threat" was justified?
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
Tēnā koe
You have asked us about the reference to "serious threat" when we
responded to your OIA request on 10 December 2024.
Please note that in responding to your OIA request, information has not
been withheld on the basis of the Privacy Act's "serious threat"
exception.
To explain our response, the information you requested was withheld under
section 18(c)(i) of the Official Information Act, apart from the summary
that was released to you under section 206(2) of the Privacy Act.
This summary explains the operation of the "serious threat" exception in
the Health Information Privacy Code in feedback that OPC gave to the
Ministry of Health in 2021.
Aku mihi
OIA team
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA,
I have made a complaint with Ombudsman.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
Tēnā koe
We would like to understand the basis of your complaint to the Ombudsman
so we can resolve it with you if possible.
We explained there is a statutory requirement for the Privacy Commissioner
and staff at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) to maintain
secrecy in respect of all matters that come to their knowledge in the
exercise of their functions under the Privacy Act. The Commissioner has
the discretion to waive secrecy for the purpose of giving effect to the
Act.
In response to your request, the Commissioner waived secrecy in part to
provide a summary of OPC’s advice. This is permitted under section 16(e)
of the OIA. We are unable to provide copies of the information you
requested due to the statutory requirement to maintain secrecy. However,
if you have concerns or queries with the summary provided, we would be
happy to resolve this with you.
Aku mihi
OIA team
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Te Mana Mātāpono Matatapu
PO Box 10094, Wellington 6140
privacy.org.nz
NZBN 9429041913161
Privacy is about protecting personal information, yours and others. To
find out how, and to stay informed, subscribe to our newsletter or follow
us online. Have a privacy question? AskUs
Caution: If you have received this message in error please notify the
sender immediately and delete this message along with any attachments.
Please treat the contents of this message as private and confidential.
Thank you.
show quoted sections
From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA,
Your response says"... we expressed the view that there is likely to be an arguable case for
the Ministry to provide the employee vaccination information for health staff in those areas of
known community transmission of the Delta variant, under the serious threat exception."
I would like the details and particulars of what this serious threat was, please.
It seems that the concept of Privacv at the privacy office was not upheld due to a "serious threat". What was the information on the serious threat exactly?
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
Kia ora Erica
Thank you for the clarification. If you would like further information
about the serious threat to public health exception in the COVID-19
context, you can find our published comments [1]here.
It notes, in particular, that the Ministry of Health has the lead role in
advising the Government and New Zealand on whether a situation represents
a serious threat to public health. The Ministry of Health is also
responsible for coordinating and disseminating best practice scientific
advice on what is necessary to prevent or lessen the threat.
In the COVID-19 context, the issuing of an epidemic notice and the ongoing
advice from the Ministry of Health made it very clear that Covid-19
represented a serious ongoing threat to public health. Agencies are
entitled to rely on this advice in making decisions regarding whether the
collection, use and sharing of personal information is necessary to
prevent or lessen the threat posed by the transmission of COVID-19.
If you would like further information about how the Ministry of Health
applied the exception, you can make a request for information [2]here.
OIA team
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Te Mana Mātāpono Matatapu
PO Box 10094, Wellington 6140
privacy.org.nz
NZBN 9429041913161
Privacy is about protecting personal information, yours and others. To
find out how, and to stay informed, subscribe to our newsletter or follow
us online. Have a privacy question? AskUs
Caution: If you have received this message in error please notify the
sender immediately and delete this message along with any attachments.
Please treat the contents of this message as private and confidential.
Thank you.
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA,
Your reply says "comments [1]here."
There is no link. Would you kindly share the information
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA
Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Privacy Covid 19 and the Serious Threat to Public Health exception.pdf
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Kia ora Erica
It appears the link has been removed by the FYI website. We have printed a copy of the webpage for you, attached. It can also be found on our website under Blog > Privacy, Covid-19 and the 'Serious Threat to Public Health' exception.
Ngā mihi
Office of the Privacy Commissioner | Te Mana Mātāpono Matatapu
PO Box 10094, Wellington 6140
T 0800 803 909
E [Privacy Commissioner request email]
privacy.org.nz
Privacy is about protecting personal information, yours and others. To find out how, and to stay informed, subscribe to our newsletter. Have a privacy question? AskUs
Caution: If you have received this message in error please notify the sender immediately and delete this message along with any attachments. Please treat the contents of this message as private and confidential. Thank you.
show quoted sections
From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA,
Would you please provide the information you hold or were supplied with on the "serious threat" ? It appears that you used "serious threat" to disregard privacy principles .
I note in August 2021, the Ministry of Health stated the severity of the covid-19 disease as the following "Covid-19 Science Updates" and the disease is not identified as any "serious threat":
" Severity of Disease
• PHE data estimated that Delta is associated with 2.3 times the risk of hospitalisation compared to Alpha. Fortunately, PHE data indicate that the case fatality rate for Delta remains low (0.2%). Data reported for risk of death with Alpha varies: PHE’s most recent case fatality rate for Alpha is approximately 1.8%, noting that this data is based on the wave from December 2020. "
(from https://web.archive.org/web/202204081825...)
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
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