Website Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

We take your privacy very seriously and are committed to respecting your privacy, autonomy and data sovereignty. We believe that using personal information in a safe and respectful way will help you and us to achieve better outcomes for Te Arawa.

We entrench a te ao Māori approach into our information privacy and security design to ensure that we embed Māori data sovereignty requirements in our approach to being kaipūpuri of your personal information. Our focus has been on ensuring your personal information is protected and cared for in accordance with Māori Data Sovereignty principles.

These Website Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (“Terms”) govern this website, owned by the trustees of Te Arawa Lakes Trust (referred to on this Site as “we”, “our” or “us”), and the websites of Te Arawa group entities (“Site”).

By accessing and browsing this Site, providing us with, or authorising us to collect personal information and otherwise interacting with any of our staff and/or services you agree to be bound by these terms of use, and you authorise us to access, collect, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with these Terms. If you wish to access specific functions on our Site, such as membership registration, AGM elections, voting etc, then these Terms may be supplemented by, and will be subject to, any specific terms and conditions (including privacy statements) that apply to such services or features offered through this Site.

Our Site is intended for use within New Zealand. If you access our Site from outside New Zealand, you are responsible for compliance with any applicable laws of that jurisdiction.

Updates to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time by publishing an updated version of these Terms on our Site. The updated version of these Terms will take effect immediately upon publishing and automatically apply to all personal information that we hold. You are responsible for reviewing these Terms regularly to ensure you are aware of any updates. If any updates are material, then we will also take additional steps to bring the changes to your attention, including by notifying you directly.

Additional rights and obligations

These Terms apply in addition to, and do not limit our rights and responsibilities under the Privacy Act 2020 (as amended and replaced from time to time) (“Privacy Act”) or any specific authorisation that you provide to us when you interact with us or use our services.

You are not required to provide us with any personal information we request. However, if you do not do so, we may not be able to provide certain services to you.

Intellectual Property and Mātauranga Māori

All intellectual property on this Site, and/or including without limitation, all mātauranga Māori, the text, graphics, copyright works, and trade marks, is owned by us (or by third-party content suppliers). We are the exclusive owner of all rights in the compilation, design, and layout of this Site.

Right to Use Site and Content

You may access, view, reproduce, and print the content on this Site, provided you only use that content for informational, non-commercial purposes, and any reproduction includes a prominent acknowledgement of our rights in the relevant content.

We reserve the right to prohibit links to the Site, and you agree to remove or cease any link upon our request. You may not frame any part of the Site material by including advertising or other revenue-generating material.

Third Party Websites and Materials

This Site may contain links to third party websites or refer to third party services. These websites or third-party services have not been prepared by us and are not managed by us. These links are provided for your convenience only, will likely be subject to their own privacy policies and terms of use, and do not imply that we check, endorse, approve, or agree with third party websites or third-party services that this Site links or refers to.

The content of the Site may include information or commentary provided by users or other third parties. We are not responsible for the content provided by users or third parties, and we are under no obligation to monitor or remove any third-party content or user comments.

The Site may also contain third-party advertisements. Advertisements are not recommendations or endorsements by us.

Accuracy, Security, and Storage of Information

Security and storage of your personal information is important to us. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to protect your personal information that we hold. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed as totally secure. Whilst we strive to protect such information, we do not warrant and cannot ensure the security of any information which you transmit to us. Accordingly, any information which you transmit to us is transmitted at your own risk. You should never share your secure information, password or identifier with any other person.

Disclaimer

The information provided on the Site is for general information only and has not been prepared by taking into account the particular objectives, situation or needs of any individual users. Use of information and material contained on the Site is at your own risk.

To the extent permitted by law:

all warranties, representations and guarantees (whether express, implied or statutory) are excluded, including without limit, suitability, fitness for purpose, accuracy or completeness of this Site or the content on or accessed through it;
we will not be liable for any damage, loss or expenses, or indirect losses or consequential damages of any kind, suffered or incurred by you in connection with your access to or use of this Site or the content on or accessed through it, including any transaction processing or payment services made available on, or through, the Site;
and we do not represent, endorse, or warrant that you will have uninterrupted or error-free access to, and use of, the Site, or that the Site, any services provided on it, and any files available for downloading will be error-free or free from viruses, faults or defects.

If the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 applies, you may have rights or remedies which are not excluded nor limited by the above. If you are using this Site or its content for business purposes, the above exclusions and limits will apply, and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 will not apply.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend us and our group entities, affiliates, officers, and employees from any loss, liability, claim, demand, damage, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) asserted by any third party due to or arising from or in connection with your use of or conduct on this Site, or from any content or messages posted or transmitted by you on or through the Site. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, which shall not excuse your indemnity obligations.

Suspension or Termination of Access

We may at any time without notice, suspend, or withdraw your access to this Site, including services and features provided in connection with the Site, if you breach any of these Terms, you have acted fraudulently, or we consider we have other reasonable grounds to do so.

Additional Terms

You may need to agree to additional terms and conditions for any promotions, competitions, services or features, which may be available to you from time to time through this Site, prior to being able to obtain or participate in such promotions, competitions, services or features. Any such additional terms and conditions must be read in conjunction with these terms of use. In the event of any inconsistency between these terms of use for this Site and any promotion, competition, services or features terms and conditions, the relevant promotion, competition, services or features terms and conditions will prevail.

Jurisdiction and Governing Law

This Site and content has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of New Zealand law. These Terms and any matters or disputes connected with this Site will be governed by New Zealand laws and you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.

Types of Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we may collect from you will vary depending on how you interact with us and the services you may use. For example, we may collect, your:

identification details (including name, date of birth, place of birth, principal and secondary hapū and marae, pictures of you);
payment information;
demographic information;
contact details (such as postal and physical address, email and contact phone number);
proof of identification (such as driver’s licence, passport, 18+ card, birth certificate);
names of parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and other whakapapa-related information;
information relating to your relationship with us and any services we have provided you;
voting information in relation to annual general meeting voting requirements;
email and phone correspondence with us; and
any other personal information you provide to us when you use our Site or communicate with us.

We may also collect personal information for research and statistical purposes, including:

device and location information;
Site usage information (collected by cookies); and
information provided by advertisers and marketers (such as information collected by cookies).

How We Collect Your Personal Information

We may collect personal information about you in the following ways:

directly from you or third parties acting on your authority or who you authorise us to make contact with about you;
publicly available information searched as part of the administration of tribal matters;
through your use of the Site and the services and functionality offered through it;
the agents and service providers that we may engage to assist us with fulfilling any of the purposes recorded in these Terms; and
third parties connected with matter(s) related to any benefits provided by us.

We may use “cookies” to provide you with access to tailored information and services on the Site and to serve you better when you return to it. A cookie is a small data file that the Site sends to your browser, which may then be stored on your system for later retrieval by the Site. Cookies track your movements through different websites and are widely used on websites to help with navigation and to help personalise your experience when you visit a website.

Information About Other People

If you provide us with, or authorise us to access and/or collect, personal information about another person (such as your representatives and/or whānau members), you confirm that they have authorised you to provide us, or authorised the access to and/or collection of, their personal information in accordance with these Terms and that you have informed them of their rights to request access to and correction of their personal information, as set out below.

How We Use Your Information

We may use your personal information for the purposes in which it is collected and reasonably expected related purposes.

For example, we will use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

manage our relationship with you;
provide you with our products and services, such as registration of membership, fishing licenses, news and updates, information about our events, and other service related information;
provide you with our support services and help you connect with your marae, hapū and iwi;
assess eligibility for our services, grants, and scholarships and to verify your identity;
enable appropriate collaboration between us and other agencies, including Government and Crown agencies, for the improvement and wellbeing of tribal members;
market and promote our services, events, and products to you (with your consent);
carry out research and obtain feedback;
respond to access/correction requests;
to develop and improve our Site, services, products and operations; and
any other purpose associated with our normal business functions and activities, including for compliance with law, reporting purposes, administration, and management.

Sharing Your Personal Information

Personal information we collect may be shared with:

employees and contractors working for us, to the extent they help provide the Site and any products and services in connection with the Site, to you;
your nominated kaumaatua and nominated marae (if any);
service providers who help us in our everyday activities, provide the Site and the products and services offered in connection with the Site;
our subsidiaries, group entities, affiliates and related persons;
our business partners and any Government/Crown agencies that we work with or help us undertake our functions;
any persons as required or permitted by law; and
anyone else, with your consent.

Storage of Information

We will keep your personal information only for as long as is required for the purposes for which the information may be lawfully used. After that, we will de-identify or securely destroy the information.

We rely on you to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate and up to date. To assist us in this, please provide accurate, current, and complete information to us and update us if your details change.

Personal information that we collect is either held by us at our head office or on our behalf by a group company or cloud services provider.

Accessing, Correcting and Deleting Information

You have a right to request access to the personal information that we hold about you, request correction of any personal information that we hold and request deletion of any personal information we hold about you. To exercise these rights, contact us using the contact details set out below.

You may also provide to us a statement of the correction you are seeking, and if we do not agree to make the correction you have requested, you may request that we attach that statement of correction to the relevant information.

Contact us

If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the Site or these terms of use, please contact us at reception@tearawa.iwi.nz or 1161 – 1163 Pukuatua Street, Rotorua 3010, New Zealand.

These Terms were last updated on 16 June 2025.