Your role in data and information is often as the ‘collector’. You ask questions, fill out assessments or forms, gather everything that’s needed, and make sure it is recorded and stored where it needs to be.
You may collect specific pieces of data (names, dates of birth, income, address, and so on), or you may collect stories, the things that people tell you about their circumstances or experiences.
You can also have a strong role as an advisor or advocate, and in helping others understand the context of the data or information and the circumstances of the person that it is about.
Apply DPUP to your role
Depending on what you do in your role, these tools can help you apply DPUP in your work.
Understand how DPUP relates to frontline work
This 2-page DPUP summary outlines how you can support the respectful, trusted and transparent use of people’s information.
Using DPUP involves engaging with the 5 Principles. These are examples of how you might apply the Principles when your role involves working directly with service users or community groups in frontline service delivery.
He Tāngata
Focus on improving people’s lives — individuals, families, whānau, iwi and communities.
This Principle is upheld when you:
are clear how sharing this information will benefit this person, family or whānau or community
feel confident that you can describe real examples of these benefits
put safety first and share information when it will protect people from harm (the Privacy Act 2020 allows this)
feel confident, safe and able to ask others (or access useful explanations) when you’d like to know more about what the information you collect is used for, so that you can share that information with service users.
Respect and uphold the mana and dignity of the people, whānau, communities or groups who share their data and information.
This Principle is upheld when you:
complete forms, assessments or records together with service users, making sure what you record is relevant, accurate and factual
empower service users to share their own story or perspective, alongside your professional view
incorporate different cultural or identity-based worldviews or preferences into the information recorded about people (for example, using a person’s chosen pronoun, or including concepts from te ao Māori)
have a good feel for how much each service user wants to understand, and does understand, about what happens with their information.
Empower people’s choices and enable access to and oversight of their data and information.
This Principle is upheld when you:
provide service users with copies of notes, assessments or forms completed about them
help people understand why their information is being collected (if you are collecting any from them), and how it will be used
support them to understand what choices they have and enable them to make those choices
share service users’ views of the information held about them with other professionals when that's important to them
learn about specific responsibilities for vulnerable groups you work with and how to uphold their data and information rights (for example, children, or people with dementia).
Act as a steward in a way that people understand and trust.
This Principle is upheld when you:
recognise the trust that people place in you, which comes with an obligation to care for and respect the information they have shared
tell service users why the information is needed, what happens with it and how sharing the information will help them or others
find it easy to understand and follow your agency’s rules around keeping data and information secure
understand to your own satisfaction the potential value of the information you collect, when it might be used in a non-personal form (for example, to develop new insights that may improve outcomes).
Work as equals to create and share valuable knowledge.
This Principle is upheld when you:
balance protecting service users’ privacy with the need to share information with other frontline professionals, so they can provide support as well
know which people and organisations might use the information you collect and why, and that there are ways to contribute your ideas or thoughts about those uses.
This 1-page tool outlines how DPUP, the Privacy Act 2020, the Oranga Tamariki Information Sharing Provisions and the Family Violence Information Sharing Rules work together.
