Cybersecurity Policy Report, New Zealand Issues Privacy Guidance for Education Sector, (Mar 13, 2026)

By Tony Foley

Guidance issued by New Zealand’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) targets privacy and data protection issues in the education sector.

“Privacy, especially when it relates to children and young people, can be a complex area,” Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said in a press release. “Our new guidance focuses on the specific needs of those working within the education sector and uses a range of real-world scenarios to help them make good privacy decisions with confidence.”

Topics covered in the guidance include the rights of children and young people, education technology, and health and learning support information, as well as information request management, learner information safety, and privacy incident management, among others. Digital technologies like online learning platforms, virtual classrooms and parent communications tools are a point of emphasis in the guidelines, and a checklist is provided presenting a list of questions to ask when undertaking due diligence on these tools. Topic chapters focus on relevant areas of the Privacy Act and applicable privacy principles, including how they can be applied across the lifecycle of information from collection to deletion.

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