The Office of the Privacy Commissioner, New Zealand has selected an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution from Objective Corporation (ASX: OCL) to underpin its role in promoting and protecting the privacy of New Zealand citizens.

An independent Crown entity, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has been in operation for 14 years promoting and protecting individuals’ privacy. The OPC acts as a public watchdog against intrusive behaviour – in both the public and private sectors, providing advice to Parliament and the New Zealand government on Privacy policy; it undertakes an active educational and advocacy role in promoting the understanding, acceptance and protection of individual privacy.

The OPC’s operations are highly information-intensive. Objective will support all work conducted by the OPC, in both their Wellington and Auckland locations. Objective will be the single, central information repository for the OPC, delivering improvements in searching, availability and sharing of information. It will also be used as an active case management tool supporting the Office’s investigations into breaches of privacy.

Mr Gary Bulog, General Manager, Office of the Privacy Commissioner said: “As an organisation that advocates and promotes the responsible use of information, it is important that the OPC is at the forefront of sound information management practices.”

Through public tender, the OPC sought a solution that would:

• enhance their ability to find information that existed within the
organisation;

• effectively retain information and knowledge gathered throughout
their many and varied processes and practices;

• break down information silos to share information throughout the
organisation - across teams, functions and locations;

• comply with the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records
Act 2005 requirements.

“We were looking for a solution that would capture and retain the information we use to make rulings and recommendations, to support effective and transparent decision-making. We knew this would also improve our responsiveness to enquiries and deliver flexibility in the way we work.

“What we didn’t anticipate at the beginning of the process was that a quality ECM solution could also deliver comprehensive case management, enabling us to replace an eight-year-old Complaints Management system,” said Mr Bulog.

One of the core functions of the OPC is to investigate complaints about breaches of privacy. OPC’s legally trained team undertake investigations that collect and generate an array of research documentation, correspondence, reports and supporting paperwork. Investigators will now use Objective as both the active case file and the repository for this information throughout the lifecycle of the investigation, through to resolution of the complaint.

OPC staff will then have access to all historic information, such as previous cases and precedents which will deliver efficiency improvements in resolving future complaints.

It will also assist the OPC comply with its recordkeeping obligations under the Public Records Act.

A complete view of case histories will provide the OPC with a wealth of knowledge for other critical functions such as developing Privacy policy and commenting on bills and legislation introduced into New Zealand Parliament.

The OPC anticipate Objective will provide a range of improvements and benefits throughout the organisation.

“Being able to access a complete view of information almost immediately will help us in many areas. For example, being able to respond quickly to media enquiries means we can be more effective in performing our role of educating the public on privacy issues.

“Having a single source for all information means existing multiple systems and information silos are eliminated, streamlining business processes and providing a sound foundation for sharing information across processes and teams of people regardless of their location,” said Mr Bulog.

The OPC chose Objective from a competitive field, based on two key decision criteria.

“Only two of the respondents demonstrated they were able to handle our case management requirement as part of their core document and records management capability.

“We were looking for rapid adoption of the new solution therefore the system needed to be easy to implement and easy to use. Objective was seen to be the easiest transition for our staff, requiring minimal change management,” said Mr Bulog.

Mr Tony Walls, CEO Objective Corporation said: “Objective is committed to ensuring that our local focus can provide customers with the expertise to optimise their ECM solutions to deliver outcomes specific to their businesses.

“We are delighted to be working with OPC, an organisation that uses ECM not only as a secure information repository, but also as an active business enhancement tool, such as case management,” said Mr Walls.

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About the Office of the Privacy Commissioner

The Privacy Commissioner's Office has a wide range of functions. All of the Privacy Commissioner's functions are listed in section 13 of the Privacy Act 1993, available at www.privacy.org.nz.
Key areas of work include:

• making public statements on matters affecting individual privacy
• investigating complaints about breaches of privacy
• running education seminars and workshops
• monitoring and examining the impact that technology has upon privacy
• developing codes of practice for specific industries or sectors
• examining new legislation for its possible impact on individual
privacy
• monitoring data matching programmes between government departments
• inquiring into any matter where it appears that individual privacy
may be affected.

Contact Information
Objective Corporation Limited
Ph: +61 2 9955 2288
Fax: +61 2 9955 5011
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.objective.com