New Zealand operates on the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. Nevertheless, by convention there are a number of statutes that are of particular constitutional importance and are regarded as ‘higher law’. This is in the sense that they form part of the constitutional background or landscape by informing government practice and the enactment of other legislation. Moreover, cross-political consensus would be expected in the event of amendment or repeal of this legislation. Several of these statutes — the Bill of Rights Act of 28 August 1990 (Public Act No 109 of 1990), the Human Rights Act of 10 August 1993 (Public Act No 82 of 1993), and the Privacy Act of 17 May 1993 (Public Act No 28 of 1993) — are relevant to data protection. The constitutional importance of this legislation is reflected by the convention that they must be taken into account when developing or proposing new legislation.

The legal standards for the protection of personal data in New Zealand are primarily set out in the Privacy Act, as amended by the Privacy (Cross-border Information) Ammendement Act of 7 September 2010 (Public Act No 113 of 2010). It predates Directive 95/46/EC, and is not limited to automatically processed data or structured data in a filing system, but covers all personal information in whatever shape or form. It covers the entire public and private sectors, with a few specific public interest exceptions that one would expect in a democratic society.

The legal data protection standards applicable in New Zealand cover all the basic principles necessary for an adequate level of protection for natural persons, and also provide for exceptions and limitations in order to safeguard important public interests. These legal data protection standards and the exceptions reflect the principles laid down in Directive 95/46/EC.