Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in New Zealand?
In 2026, New Zealand scores 48 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 55th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 46th to 82nd allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is control over who sees it (47 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is one record across your care (40 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country).
New Zealanders get records free from public agencies, but the national shared record is not live and a 2025 portal hack exposed nearly 100,000 patients.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
48/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 46th to 82nd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 55 out of 100 in New Zealand; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The health privacy code gives a right to your records within 20 working days, free from public agencies. The national My Health Record shows only immunisations, COVID-19 results and some identity details; fuller views sit in private GP portals. Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in New Zealand?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in New Zealand. Control over who sees it scores 47 out of 100 in New Zealand; the typical country scores 30. Today choices are narrow: people can restrict their national immunisation record, and some regional shared records allow opt-out. The national Shared Digital Health Record, with opt-out, item blocking and access summaries, has not started sharing. Source: Health New Zealand, August 7, 2026, and the other sources below.
How does New Zealand compare?
In 2026, New Zealand scores 48 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Tonga (46 out of 100), Nauru (42 out of 100) and Vanuatu (34 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Tonga, Nauru, Vanuatu and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
55
45 · 28 · 45
Control over who sees it20%
47
42 · 35 · 32
Privacy and security15%
50
45 · 38 · 45
One record across your care15%
40
58 · 65 · 22
Protection from sale and ads10%
52
40 · 40 · 35
Doctors see it when treating you10%
40
60 · 68 · 18
Your say over research use5%
50
46 · 50 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
40
20 · 20 · 22
Black dot: New Zealand. Hollow dots: Tonga, Nauru, Vanuatu (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: New Zealand 48 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would New Zealand need to change to score higher?
New Zealand sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (47 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and one record across your care (40 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Which laws give health record rights in New Zealand?
Privacy Act 2020: General privacy law; breach notification, compliance notices, fines up to $10,000 for failing to notify.
Health Information Privacy Code 2020: Health-specific rules on collection, security, access, charges and disclosure for health agencies and insurers.
Health Information Privacy Code 2020 Amendment No 2 (2026): Adds rule 3A: tell people when health data is collected from someone else. In force 1 May 2026.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
37.7 2024 · 19th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
131 2024 · 7th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
17.5% 2023 · 24th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"radiology reports (hospital imaging and private reports copied to the system)"
Real cases
June 16, 2025 · Office of the Privacy Commissioner (New Zealand), Case Note 329225 [2025] NZ Priv Cmr 1 Agency mailed a person's health information to the wrong house
September 23, 2026 · Stuff Portal and Health NZ ordered to fix security after 99,416 patients' data exposed
In 2026, New Zealand scored 48 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 55th of 198 countries and territories (could be 46th to 82nd), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/new-zealand/
The 22 sources for New Zealand
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Ask for your information”
Office of the Privacy Commissioner (regulator) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/new-zealand/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
