Privacy Policy

STIEF Privacy Policy

About STIEF

STIEF is a registered charity that promotes optimal sexual health outcomes for all peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand. We understand that privacy is important to you. This policy explains how we collect, use and share your personal information. 

STIEF maintains three sexual health websites (www.herpes.org.nz, hpv.org.nz and justthefacts.co.nz). We also provide a sexual health Helpline, including a phone and email service which is managed by our dedicated team of Nurse Counsellors.

We will only deal with your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and this Privacy Policy.

When we collect information from you

We may collect information from you when you:

  • Contact STIEF (e.g. via phone, email or mail)

  • Contact our sexual health Helpline via our phone or email service

  • Complete our Helpline feedback form or other STIEF surveys

  • Order our sexual health resources

  • Subscribe to our newsletter.

What information we may collect:

  • General information: for example your name, contact details, ethnicity (in line with the Ministry of Health’s Ethnicity Data Protocols), age band and address.

  • Information about our interaction with you: for example the date you contacted our Helpline support service, and a summary of the issue you’ve contacted us regarding.

  • Information about your use of our website.

  • Feedback you provide to us, including complaints.

You can choose not to provide information to us. However, if you choose not to provide relevant information to us this may affect our ability to give you the best possible service.

We use your information in order to:

  • Understand your situation and needs, and provide you with the best possible support and information.

  • With your permission - refer you to other support services including peer support services.

  • Meet our reporting requirements to our funders such as Te Whatu Ora.

  • Monitor, review and improve our services.

Disclosures of your data

We will not disclose personal data we hold about you to any third party except as set out in this Privacy Policy, where we have informed you we will be doing so at the time of collection of the personal data, and/or as otherwise authorised by you.

Instances in which we may share your information:

  • When reporting to our funders such as Te Whatu Ora - we may provide anonymised and aggregate information about use of our services.

  • When working with trusted IT providers to improve our digital services (e.g. website performance) we may provide anonymised and aggregate data.

  • When you have given us permission to do so, e.g. if one of our Helpline Nurse Counsellors offers to refer you to alternative support services which they believe could help you, such as peer support.

  • We may provide information to the emergency services, but only if legally compelled to do so or where we have reasonable grounds to believe it's necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to public health, public safety, or a person’s life, health or safety.

Cookies and Google Analytics

We collect statistical information about your visit to our websites to help us improve them. This information does not identify individuals. Our websites - stief.org.nz; herpes.org.nz; hpv.org.nz and justthefacts.co.nz - use cookies for the purpose of monitoring website usage. You can disable cookies or clear them out of your web browser without affecting your ability to use our websites.

We use Google Universal Analytics to collect and analyse details about the use of our website. The information Google Analytics collects includes:

  • your IP address

  • the search terms you used

  • the pages you accessed on the website and the links you clicked on

  • the date and time you visited the website

  • the referring website (if any) through which you clicked through to this website

  • your operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Mac OSX)

  • the type of web browser you use (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)

  • other incidental matters such as screen resolution and the language setting of your browser.

No effort is made to identify individual visitors. You may opt-out from having Google Analytics collect your information by disabling cookies in your browser, or by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out browser add-on.

Data storage

We keep your information safe by ensuring all information is digitised and only accessible to STEIF staff with password protected user accounts. We only keep your personal information for as long as it’s needed and/or in line with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020. 

Accessing or changing your information

To view any personal information held by us, or if you have any concerns about personal information that we hold or wish to request its correction, please contact us via:

Email: [email protected]

Post: (STIEF) Sexually Transmitted Infections Education Foundation
PO Box 2437, Shortland Street
Auckland 1140

(Our newsletter is managed through Mailchimp. You can elect to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by following the "unsubscribe" prompt at the bottom of each newsletter issue.)

Making a complaint

If we cannot resolve your concerns, you can also make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Visit www.privacy.org.nz for more information.

Policy review

Amendments to this policy will be posted on this page.

Last reviewed: Sept 2023.