Dear Mr Zimmerman
Thank you for your enquiry. We noticed that this request was logged as overdue on the FYI website, so we were unsure whether our earlier response was what you needed. Just in case, we thought it might be helpful to provide another response for you.
We note that this is not a request for information that we hold, so it is not covered by the Official Information Act. Instead, you are asking us a series of questions, not all of which we can help you with - we can provide only a few general answers but we hope they will help you to pursue your enquiries.
Perhaps most importantly, we do not know whether your personal information may have been compromised, or whether it could be used against you in some way (for example in court). As advised by Mr Henderson of our office on 12 June, we do not hold that information. The way to find out would be to exercise your right to request access to personal information from New Zealand agencies that you think may hold it. If the agency refuses your request, though, and you think that there is a problem with that, you can ask us to review their decision.
Second, you have asked about laws that apply. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Many overseas governments have laws on what personal information can be collected, what can be done with it, and whether you can find out what has happened to your own personal information. Those laws are varied, and many are highly complex or fragmented (for example in the United States), but they should all be publicly available.
Finally, discrimination law in New Zealand is predominantly set out in the Human Rights Act 1993, and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Those statutes are also publicly available, for example through www.legislation.govt.nz. They're not our field of expertise, so we can't help with your query, but the Human Rights Commission may be able to assist.
If you have any specific questions about the interpretation of the Privacy Act, feel free to contact us on [Privacy Commissioner request email], or look at our website: www.privacy.org.nz. The Privacy Act is available in full on the legislation website.
I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely
Katrine Evans

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