OIA 17449 Response.pdf

44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995

Wellington 6141
New Zealand

T 64 4 894 5400

F 64 4 894 6100

www.nzta.govt.nz

5 March 2025


Ira
[FYI request #29835 email]
REF: OIA-17449

Dear Ira

Request made under the Official Information Act 1982

Thank you for your email of 22 January 2025 requesting the fol owing information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act). I wil  respond to each of your questions in turn.

Please note that Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) is a counter agent who is contracted to
undertake certain transactions and activities on behalf of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
(NZTA).  VTNZ has no role in access to the Registers under Section 241 of the Land Transport Act as
NZTA is the owner/administrator of the Motor Vehicle Register (MVR) itself.

I would like to have a copy of al  audit reports sent by Auror to VTNZ.

The fol owing document is in scope of your request and is enclosed:
•  Motor Vehicle Register 2023-2024.

This report has been provided to NZTA from Auror and provides details of the date, individual log-in,
and the reason for access for each name and address search undertaken of the MVR under Auror’s
authorisation.

Please note that I am withholding plate details under section 9(2)(a) of the Act to maintain the privacy
of natural persons.

I would also like to know if VTNZ has confirmed that Auror has been fol owing their legal
authorisation to only use VTNZ data for the fol owing purposes:
- sending letter to registered owners informing them of debt
- sending information to debt col ection agencies
My understanding of the Auror app is that is al ows for much more than this and the data is
incorporated into a mobile app that retail staff, police and security services can access.

Auror has released a privacy statement which explains how data col ection works within their app. This
can be found at: www.auror.co/privacy-policy.

I can confirm that Auror does not obtain name and address information from the MVR for any other
purpose than it has been contracted for by fuel retail customers, and it only accesses that information

for the purpose of investigation and debt col ection processes. The Auror platform does not provide NZ
Police or any other third parties with access to any information obtained from the MVR.

To date we have received no complaint or evidence that Auror has been using their authorisation
under Section 241 for any purpose other than that specified, which is:

Where the occupant(s) of a motor vehicle have failed to pay the full amount for goods or services
obtained from a fuel supplier, where Auror Limited has entered into a contract with that fuel supplier
instructing them to investigate non-payment at a service station.

In order for Auror Limited to:

•  To send a letter to the registered person advising them of the failure to pay and requesting
payment (including details of possible methods of making payment); or
•  Provide the registered person information to debt col ection services for the purposes of
lawfully collecting the debt.

I note that their privacy statement indicates that users upload information about incidents, and that
information does not include personal address details. If you have any evidence that name and
address information has been obtained for any purposes other than what is specified above, you are
welcome to provide this, along with details and supporting documentation to NZTA for further
investigation.

Could I please also have any documents, emails, messages, reports or correspondence
regarding the scope and purpose of Auror’s access to VTNZ data?

The attached document schedule outlines the documents in scope of your request and my decision on
the release of each document.

Please note that some information in these documents is withheld under the following sections of the
Act:
•  section 9(2)(a) to protect the privacy of natural persons.
•  section 9(2)(b)(i ) to protect information where the making available of the information would
be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who
is the subject of the information
•  section 9(2)(c) to avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of
the public

With respect to the information that has been withheld, I do not consider there are any other factors
which would render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.

And is there has been any review of their use of this data?

There has not been a review undertaken to date. The conditions of their authorisation
(https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/vehicle/docs/MVR-terms-and-conditions-auror-limited.pdf) means
that NZTA can request data or other details from Auror at any time, and they must provide it to us
within a certain time period (conditions 15 and 16).

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Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to
withhold some information in your request. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

In line with NZTA policy, this response wil soon be published on our website, with personal
information removed.

If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA please contact Ministerial Services by email to
[NZTA request email].

Yours sincerely

Tracy Moore
Head of Customer Operations

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OIA-17449 Document Schedule

Ref
Document
Date
Decision on release
1.
RE: NZTA CA05 Application
7 April 2022
Some information withheld under
– Auror Limited
section 9(2)(a), 9(2)(b)(ii) and 9(2)(c)
of the Act.
2.
S241 Application Payment
11 April 2022
Some information withheld under
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
3.
RE: S241 Application Debt
14 April 2022
Some information withheld under
Check
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
4.
RE: 241 Templates and
16 May 2022
Some information withheld under
Guidance
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
5.
RE: New application – Auror
18 May 2022
Some information withheld under
Limited
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
6.
New Application – Auror
23 May 2022
Some information withheld under
Limited
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
7.
RE: [EXTERNAL] New
25 May 2022
Some information withheld under
Application – Auror Limited
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
8.
S241 Application – Auror
27 May 2022
Some information withheld under
Limited
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
9.
RE: New Application – Auror  9 June 2022
Some information withheld under
Limited
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
10.   Notice of Proposed Decision
10 June 2022
Some information withheld under
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
11.   S241 Application – Notice of
13 June 2022
Some information withheld under
Proposed Decision
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
12.   RE: S241 application –
20 June 2022
Some information withheld under
Notice of Proposed Decision
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
13.   FW: S241 application –
22 June 2022
Some information withheld under
Notice of Proposed Decision
section 9(2)(a) of the Act.
(2)

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