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This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect the personal information of our clients and visitors to our websites and digital platforms. The policy is intended to be placed on our websites for viewing by clients. For clarity, this is an external facing policy and is not intended to act as the guidance for the business on how it ensures client privacy. Internal guidance is provided via the Privacy Policy-internal which is formatted like other Opes policies.
| Policy owner | Chief Operations Officer |
|---|---|
| Approver | Board of Directors |
| Review frequency | Annually |
| Next review date | April 2027 |
| Classification | External – public |
We know that how we look after your personal information matters to you, and it matters to us too. This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and how we keep it safe.
This policy applies to Opes Group Holding Company Limited and its subsidiaries (together “Opes Group”, “we”, “us” or “our”). It covers personal information we collect through our websites, apps, social media pages, and any other interactions you have with us. We handle your personal information in line with the Privacy Act 2020 (including the Privacy Amendment Act 2025).
By using our websites, apps or social media pages, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use them — you are welcome to call us on 0800 676 737 instead.
Opes Group is a New Zealand financial services and property group.
Our group is made up of:
Different parts of our group collect different information for different reasons. This policy explains our approach across the whole group.
Personal information is information about an identifiable person. We only collect personal information we need to provide our services, meet our legal obligations, and run our business.
Depending on what you are asking us to do, this may include your:
We mainly collect this information directly from you — for example, when you speak to us by phone or video call, email or write to us, use our websites or apps, complete forms when you become a client, or take part in an event, campaign or promotion we run.
If it isn’t obvious that we’re collecting personal information from you, we will do our best to make it clear.
Sometimes we collect personal information about you from someone other than you. We may receive information from publicly available sources, from your professional advisers or referees (with your consent where required), from business partners and service providers we work with, or from identity verification, credit reporting and fraud prevention providers.
When we collect personal information about you from someone else, we will take reasonable steps to let you know — what we have collected, where it came from, why we need it, who we may share it with, and your right to access and correct it. We will tell you either when we first contact you or as soon as we reasonably can after receiving the information.
In some limited situations, the Privacy Act allows us not to notify you — for example, where you already know, where the information is publicly available, where telling you isn’t reasonably practical, or where notifying you would prejudice a lawful purpose such as fraud prevention or a legal investigation. Even then, we will handle your information carefully and in line with this policy.
We may use your personal information to:
When you visit our websites or social media pages, we may use cookies and similar technologies to understand how our sites are used and to improve your experience. Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your device or browser. They help us recognise you when you come back and make our sites work better for you. Cookies can be managed via your browser settings.
Information collected through cookies may include the pages you view, how you got to our site, how you move through it, your approximate location, your device type, and your IP address and browser.
We will never ask you to share personal information publicly on social media. If we need personal information from you, we will ask you to provide it through a private or secure channel.
Most of your information is stored electronically — on our own systems or with trusted third-party cloud service providers. Some information may still be held in paper files. We take reasonable steps to keep your information secure and prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, using a combination of physical, electronic and procedural safeguards.
Our cloud-based service providers are subject to appropriate security and confidentiality arrangements. Data is encrypted in transit and stored on secure servers, and access is limited to authorised people through role-based controls and multi-factor authentication.
We cannot guarantee that your information will never be accessed by an unauthorised person. If we give you passwords or other security credentials, please keep them confidential and let us know straight away if you think they have been compromised.
We take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information once we no longer need it for any legal, regulatory or legitimate business purpose. Where the information relates to financial advice or services, we are required by law to keep it for at least seven years. Where we have collected identity information under the AML/CFT Act, we are required to keep it for at least five years.
We work hard to keep your information safe, but no system is perfect. If we experience a privacy breach that is likely to cause serious harm, we will act quickly to contain it, reduce the harm, and — where appropriate — notify the people affected and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, in line with our legal obligations.
We may share your personal information where it is needed to provide the services you have asked for, where the Privacy Act allows us to, where you have agreed, or where we are required or authorised by law to do so. We will never sell your personal information.
We may share your information with:
Some of our service providers store or process information outside New Zealand. When your information is sent overseas, we take reasonable steps to make sure it is protected to standards comparable to those in New Zealand, including through contractual confidentiality and security arrangements.
If we can’t put appropriate protections in place, we will let you know and ask for your consent before sending your information overseas.
You have the right to ask us to:
We’ll deal with your request within a reasonable time. To protect your information, we may ask you to verify your identity first. There is no charge for correcting or deleting your information; we may charge a reasonable cost for access requests to cover locating and supplying the information.
We can only delete your information to the extent we aren’t required by law to keep it. If we decline your request, we will explain why (unless the law prevents us) and tell you how you can complain. If we decline to correct your information, you can ask us to attach a statement noting that you disagree with its accuracy.
If you don’t give us information we have asked for, we may not be able to provide the service you are seeking, or you may only be able to access a limited version of it. If you’re unsure what’s needed, or how your choice might affect you, please ask us.
Our websites and social media pages may link to other sites we do not control. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites — they should have their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to read them.
We review this Privacy Policy regularly. The latest version is always available on our websites. If we make significant changes, we may let you know directly. You can also request a copy by calling 0800 676 737.
If you have a question about how we handle your personal information, you want to access, correct or delete your information, or you think we haven’t met our privacy obligations, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer
Opes Group Holding Company Limited
PO Box 1965, Christchurch Central, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0800 676 737
We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days and aim to resolve it within ten working days. If it is going to take longer, we will keep you informed and give you a date by which you can reasonably expect a response.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10-094, Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Phone: 0800 803 909
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.privacy.org.nz
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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