Mackenzie Elvin

Find out how your car licence plate can reveal your home address - and how to protect your privacy after April 2011.

"A new law will come into effect on 1 April 2011 that will better protect your personal information on the Motor Vehicle Register. Currently, the names and addresses held on the Motor Vehicle Register are publicly available to any person who provides the registration plate number of the vehicle and pays the prescribed fee. 

After 1 April names and addresses from the register will only be available for the purposes of:

• enforcement of the law
• maintenance of the security of New Zealand
• collection of charges imposed or authorised by an enactment
• the administration and development of transport law and policy

Anyone who wishes to obtain names and addresses held on the register outside of these purposes will have to make an Official Information Act request to the NZTA. When considering such a request the NZTA must weigh up the public interest in releasing the information sought against the privacy rights of the person concerned.

Alternatively any person may seek a special 'authorisation' from the Secretary for Transport. These third parties authorised by the Ministry of Transport will have access to your name and address details via your vehicle registration plates."

Prevent third party access to these details by going to the Ministry of Transport website and "opting out" (look for the green box on the far right of the page) 

Go to http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/registration-licensing/information.html

Thanks to the NZTA website for the above extract.