Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10094, Wellington 6140
Level 11, 215 Lambton Quay
Wellington, New Zealand
P +64 4 474 7590 F +64 4 474 7595
E [email address]
0800 803 909 Enquiries
privacy.org.nz
15 July 2025
Amanda Murtagh
By email only to: Amanda Murtagh
[FYI request #31385 email]
Tēnā koe
Official Information Act Request (Our Ref: OIA/0449)
We refer to your Official Information Act Request received on 25 June 2025.
Your request:
Please provide the criteria and words that the Of ice of the Privacy Commissioner
system quarantines emails.
In response, we are not able to provide the specific criteria and words in our email
quarantine system, and your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Of icial
Information Act. This is because email quarantine is run by our email system, rather than by
criteria or words set by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
A brief explanation is set out below.
Spam Filtering and Email Blocking
Our email system uses spam filtering and security protections that help prevent unsafe or
unwanted emails from reaching our inboxes. Spam filtering is a process where incoming
emails are checked to see if they might be unwanted, unsafe, or sent in bulk. These filters
look for common signs of spam, such as suspicious wording, unusual file attachments, or
known spam sources. This can block the message before it reaches an inbox.
Sometimes emails are blocked automatically because:
• The message contains potentially harmful content
• The email exceeds our size limits
• The sender’s system has been flagged as suspicious or compromised
• It matches patterns seen in known scams or phishing attempts
These systems help protect personal information and prevent disruptions to our services. If
an email was blocked, it is likely due to one or more of these security triggers.
OIA/0449/A1096794
2
I understand that our Investigations and Dispute Resolution Team is in touch with you about
your other concerns.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Liz MacPherson
Deputy Privacy Commissioner
OIA/0449/A1096794
Document Outline
