If you request records about yourself, those records may also contain information about other people.
Because the Privacy Act generally does not apply to deceased people, the organisation you are requesting records from (the record holder) does not have to — but may still choose to — redact information about other people from your copy of your records if those people are deceased.
Redacting information means removing it or covering it up. Learn more about redactions. However, the record holder might redact sensitive information (for example, about mental illness the deceased experienced).
You can also try to request records about whānau who have died. But if they died a long time ago, or if you are requesting health records, you may receive less information or none at all.
Records about a person who has been deceased for a long time may no longer exist. For example, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora allows mental health records to be destroyed after 25 years of no changes to a patient’s records, or 10 years after the patient has died.
Learn more about what you might receive from a records request.
The record holder will ask you for information before giving you access to the records.
Some organisations will ask you to show them documents that prove:
For example, a death certificate can be proof that the person is deceased, and a birth certificate can be proof that the deceased person is your child or your parent.
Find out how to order a birth, death or marriage certificate.
Some organisations will ask you to show them documents that prove you are acting as the deceased person’s representative:
To find out what information an organisation will ask for when you make a records request about a person who has died, you can:
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