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Spark Transparency Reports
We greatly value the trust New Zealanders place in Spark and we work hard to protect your personal information and keep it private.
Like all New Zealand organisations, including telecommunications companies, there are times when we need to assist the New Zealand government and law enforcement agencies. Sometimes, this means sharing customer information with them. This assistance is provided for specific reasons. For example, to help agencies carry out their statutory duties, investigate crimes and fraud or find missing persons.
Sharing information with government agencies is not something we do lightly. We take a strict approach to how we assess and manage these requests to protect the privacy of our customers. For example, we only voluntarily share your personal information if you’ve said we can or in exceptional circumstances such as where there’s an immediate threat to public health, safety or lives. Other than that, we only share personal information with government agencies when we’re legally compelled to.
We want to be open and upfront about this process. That’s why we publish these reports.
If you have questions about these reports, please email privacy@spark.co.nz
What’s included in these reports
These reports cover requests by New Zealand government agencies, and other agencies, for Spark customers’ personal information. They also show instances where we provided all, some or none of the information requested and the agencies that most of the requests came from.
Information provided can include SIM and device information, call logs, text logs and content, browsing information, voicemail, account notes and billing information. It can also include location information from cell towers.
What’s not included
The reports don’t include requests made under the Intelligence and Security Act 2017. The reports also exclude instances where information has been shared with emergency services providers through the Police TESA database or the Emergency Caller Location Information (ECLI) initiative.
How we manage information requests from agencies
Our specialist Call Investigations Centre (CIC) manages requests for personal information from the New Zealand government and other agencies, excluding requests made under the Intelligence and Security Act 2017.
When they receive a request, the CIC check whether it has been made according to the relevant legal process. For example, some types of requests can only be made by certain people, certain agencies or using certain forms. Some requests require a New Zealand court order. We only voluntarily share your personal information if you’ve said we can or in exceptional circumstances such as where there’s an immediate threat to public health, safety or lives. Other than that, we only share personal information with agencies when the law says we have to and the correct processes have been followed.
Our CIC team works with Spark’s legal and privacy teams to ensure we’re doing what we need to under law, while maintaining high standards for protecting our customers’ privacy.
When we provide all, some or none of the information.
When we have the information requested, and there’s no doubt that we legally must provide it, then we’ll fulfil the request.
Where we supply either none of the information, or only some of it, this may be because we don’t have the information requested, or because we don’t have enough information from the government agency to identify the customer with confidence. Occasionally, we challenge a request because we don’t believe there’s a reasonable legal basis for it.
Reports by half-year
2024: January - June
Spark received 1536 requests from 16 agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1143
- Some requested information supplied: 326
- No information supplied: 67
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1150
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 175
2023: July - December
1 July 2023 – 31 December 2023
Spark received 1581 requests from 14 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1175
- Some requested information supplied: 336
- No information supplied: 70
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1108
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 157
- New Zealand Customs Service Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa: 103
These figures include two formal notices from the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) under the Commerce Act 1986. These notices legally compelled Spark to provide the NZCC with information about our broadband customer base as of 30 June 2023 for its Rural Connectivity Study.
The information included every broadband customer’s connection location, plan, whether they also have a Spark landline and/or mobile plan, and the amount of data and voice minutes they used each month for the twelve months ending 30 June 2023.
2023: January - June
Spark received 2420 requests from more than 12 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1982
- Some requested information supplied: 348
- No information supplied: 90
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1372
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 275
- New Zealand Customs Service Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa: 106
2022: July - December
Spark received 1837 requests from more than 12 agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1101
- Some requested information supplied: 321
- No information supplied: 415
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1245
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 391
2022: January - June
Spark received 1682 requests from more than 12 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1070
- Some requested information supplied: 324
- No information supplied: 288
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1138
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 412
2021: July - December
Spark received 1549 requests from more than 11 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1130
- Some requested information supplied: 170
- No information supplied: 249
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1139
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 218
2021: January - June
Spark received 2003 requests from more than 11 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1256
- Some requested information supplied: 342
- No information supplied: 405
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1444
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 290
- Inland Revenue Te Tari Tāke: 104
2020: July - December
Spark received 2298 requests from more than 11 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1477
- Some requested information supplied: 414
- No information supplied: 407
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1770
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 300
- Inland Revenue Te Tari Tāke: 100
2020: January - June
Spark received 1972 requests from more than 11 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1244
- Some requested information supplied: 431
- No information supplied: 297
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1590
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 229
2019: July - December
Spark received 1907 requests from more than 11 government agencies.
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1177
- Some requested information supplied: 441
- No information supplied: 289
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1474
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 200
- New Zealand Customs Service Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa: 129
2019: January - June
Spark received 1936-1945 requests from more than 12 government agencies.*
These resulted in:
- All requested information supplied: 1200-1209*
- Some requested information supplied: 402
- No information supplied: 334
Of the total requests made, most came from:
- New Zealand Police Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa: 1393
- Coronial Services Pūrongo o te Ao Kakarauri: 228
- New Zealand Customs Service Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa: 100
*In the first half of 2019 this data was recorded in a different system. Because of this, the total count is recorded as a range rather than an exact count for this period.