Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Commitment

We are committed to being open and transparent about how we manage your personal information.

Our Privacy Policy aims to communicate, in the clearest way possible, how we treat your personal information. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully. It will help you make informed decisions about sharing your personal information with us.

At The Botanic we have a few fundamental principles:

• We will always collect, store, use and disclose personal information in accordance with all applicable privacy laws. However, we have also put in place this Privacy Policy to protect personal information you submit or we collect.
• We will only use your personal information when it is necessary for us to deliver you our services or perform other necessary business functions and activities.
• We will not use or disclose your personal information for purposes unrelated to our business activities and the services we provide, unless we first obtain your consent.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out how we comply with our privacy obligations under the Privacy Act.

We are bound by the requirements of New Zealand privacy laws, which regulate how we may collect, store, use and disclose your personal information. Those laws also specify other requirements, such as how individuals may access, correct and delete information held about them.

When we say “personal information” we mean identifiable information about you, such as your name, email, address, telephone number, and so on. When we say “sensitive information” we mean a special category of personal information containing health information.

In this Privacy Policy “we“, “us” and “our” and “The Botanic” collectively refers to The Botanic Limited Partnership.

Your Consent

The Botanic offers an independent living community in New Zealand for retirement. Our business relies on the collection of personal information that is submitted by you, or with your authority, to enable us to provide accommodation and related services in our retirement village (“Services“).

By using our Services or providing your personal information to us, you consent to our collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information (and any sensitive information you provide) in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time, and will notify you of any changes by posting an updated version on our website or by sending you a notice via email. It is your responsibility to check this Privacy Policy periodically for changes, and to keep your email address current.

Your continued use of our Services following notification of any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree with any aspect of the updated Privacy Policy, you must immediately cease all use of our Services.

What information do we collect?

Information you provide to us directly: Our usual practice is to collect personal information directly from you, when you complete any form, including online forms, or otherwise register to use any of our Services, or provide any other information in connection with your use of our Services. A few examples include:

• Personal details: your given name(s) and photographs of you for the purposes of identifying you.
• Demographic information: gender; date of birth; age; title; spoken language(s).
• Your nominated representative(s): the given name(s) and contact details of your family members or nominated representatives.
• Health information: information about your health (including your medical history), and information about any disabilities you have (or have had).
• Consent records: records of any consent you may have given and the subject matter of that consent.
• Personal care and welfare: copies of any enduring powers of attorney in relation to personal care and welfare and/or property that you have executed and not revoked at the time of your admission, together with relevant contact details of the appointed attorneys.

Sensitive information you provide: We may collect or obtain sensitive information (such as health information) directly from you or from relevant agencies, in particular any health agencies that possess information relating to your physical and mental health.

Information we get from third parties: We collect or obtain personal information from authorised third parties (e.g. health agencies, credit reference agencies, law enforcement agencies). This includes information such as information relating to your physical and mental health, public information, competency or medical tests, or background checks such as with a credit agency, referee or other source in order to check, exchange or provide information in relation to you.

Information we collect automatically: We may collect personal information about you automatically when you visit our website or use our Services, like your IP address and device type. Some of this information may be collected using cookies and similar tracking technologies.

Information we create in the performance of the Services: We may also create or obtain personal information, such as evaluative records about your interactions with us, and any interactions we have with your nominated representatives. Evaluative information may be confidential to us.

Information you make public: We may collect or obtain your personal information that you manifestly choose to make public, including via online channels such as social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook etc.).

You can always choose not to provide your personal information to The Botanic, but it may mean that we are unable to provide you with the Services.

How is your personal information processed?

Where we collect personal information or sensitive information, we will only process it:

• to perform a contract with you; or
• where we have legitimate interests to process the personal information or sensitive information and these interests are not overridden by your rights; or
• in accordance with a legal obligation; or
• where we have your consent.

The Botanic collects your personal information so that we can provide you with the Services and any related services you may request. In doing so, The Botanic may use the personal information we have collected from you for purposes related to the Services including:

• to process and administer the Services, and to help us develop, improve, manage, administer and facilitate our Services and business operations;
• to contract with authorised individuals (such as your nominated representatives);
• to process your personal information for The Botanic’s internal business purposes;
• to verify your identity and application/admission details;
• to contact any credit agency, referee or other source in order to check, exchange or provide information in relation to you;
• for general internal purposes (such as record keeping, database management, training, billing);
• to assist with the resolution of any issues relating to you or the Services;
• in order to check your continued suitability to occupy the Residential Units and for Village administration purposes;
• to comply with all laws and regulations in all applicable jurisdictions; and
• to communicate with you, your family members and your nominated representatives.

By using the Services, you consent to your personal information and sensitive information being collected, stored, used and disclosed in this way and for any other use you authorise. The Botanic will only use your personal information for purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or with your consent.

In what very limited circumstances might we disclose your personal information?

Your personal information will not be sold, traded, rented or otherwise provided to others without your consent.

We will only disclose your personal information outside The Botanic Limited Partnership if it is necessary and appropriate to facilitate the purpose for which your personal information was collected pursuant to this Privacy Policy, including the provision of the Services, or a directly related purpose. This may include, for example, disclosure of personal information to:

• verify your identity and application/admission details;
• contact any credit agency, referee or other source in order to check, exchange or provide information in relation to you;
• any person properly appointed to audit our Services;
• third party service providers, including any sub-contractors, to enable us to provide our Services; and
• your family members and nominated representatives.

We will not otherwise disclose your personal information unless we believe on reasonable grounds that you have provided your authorisation. However, you should be aware that we may be required to disclose your personal information without your consent in order to comply with any court orders, subpoenas or other legal process or investigation including by tax authorities, if such disclosure is required by law. Where possible and appropriate, we will notify you if we are required by law to disclose your personal information.

Storage and security

We are committed to protecting the security of your personal information and we take all reasonable precautions to protect it from unauthorised or accidental access, disclosure, alteration, loss or destruction, together a “privacy breach“.

The Botanic implements and maintains security measures that are designed to provide reasonable protection against privacy breaches.

If your personal information is subject to a privacy breach, we will notify you if we reasonably believe that the privacy breach has caused serious harm or is likely to do so.

What about links to other websites?

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not under our control. These websites may use cookies. It is the responsibility of those third parties to collect appropriate consents from you in order to permit their own cookies (to the extent this is required by law) and to inform you about the cookies they use. You should check the privacy policy on all third party websites to ensure you are comfortable with third party cookies.

We have no responsibility for linked websites, and provide them solely for your information and convenience. We specifically disclaim responsibility for their content, privacy practices and terms of use, and we make no endorsements, representations or warranties about their accuracy, content or thoroughness. Your disclosure of personal information to third party websites is at your own risk.

Email, text and telephone communications

We are committed to full compliance with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.

By subscribing to emails and/or text communications, or otherwise providing your email address and/or mobile number, you consent to receiving emails and/or texts (as the case may be) which promote and market our products and services, or the products and services of others, from time to time.

You can unsubscribe from our email communications and/or text communications at any time by following the unsubscribe link in the communication or emailing info@thebotanic.co.nz and requesting to be removed from The Botanic’s marketing list.

Once you have unsubscribed from the email or text communications, you will be removed from the corresponding marketing list as soon as is reasonably practicable. 

How you can access or correct your personal information

It is your responsibility to ensure that the personal information you provide is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

You may request access to the information we hold about you, or request that we update or correct any personal information we hold about you, or ask us to restrict or cease processing your personal information or even delete your personal information, by setting out your request in writing and sending it to us at privacy@thebotanic.co.nz

We will review your request as soon as reasonably practicable to comply with our legal obligations. If we are unable to give you access to the information you have requested, we will give you reasons for this decision when we respond to your request. 

Retention

The length of time we keep your personal information depends on what it is and whether we have an ongoing business need to retain it (for example, to provide you with a service you’ve requested or to comply with applicable legal requirements such as money laundering and financial reporting legislation).

We’ll retain your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you and for a period of time afterwards where we have an ongoing business need to retain it, in accordance with our internal retention policies and practices. Following that period, we’ll make sure it’s deleted or anonymised. Otherwise, as a general rule, we only keep your personal information for as long as we require it for the purposes of providing you with our Services. 

Privacy officer

We take your concerns seriously. If you have any concerns about privacy or the use or collection of your personal information by The Botanic please contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@thebotanic.co.nz and include the words ‘ATT: THE PRIVACY OFFICER’ or call us on 0508 BOTANIC.

We will respond as quickly as possible and handle all complaints in a way that is fair and consistent. However, if you remain dissatisfied, you can make a formal complaint with Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

This represents our Privacy Policy as at November 2020.