Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 October 2026

Levin Uniting Church ("we", "us" and "our") is a church and community centre at 87 Oxford Street, Levin. This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, how we use it, where it is stored, and the rights you have under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

The short version: we only collect what we need to reply to you. We don't use analytics or advertising trackers, we don't sell personal information, and we don't use it for marketing.

What we collect and why

Contact form

When you send us a message through the contact form, including a venue hire or booking enquiry, we collect your name, your email address, the subject (optional) and your message, along with the date and time it was sent.

Your message is saved in the website's database so our office team can read it and reply. You receive an automatic email confirming it arrived, which includes a copy of your message. Members of our team who have chosen to be notified about new messages also receive a copy by email.

Website team accounts

Members of our team who look after the website have an admin account. For these we hold their name, username, email address, phone number (optional) and a password, which is stored as a one-way hash so no one can read it.

Photos and names on the website

Our website includes photos of church and community life, and sometimes the names of people involved in our programmes. If you appear on the website and would like a photo or your name removed, contact us and we will take it down.

Server logs

Like most web servers, the server behind this website keeps standard access logs: IP address, browser type, pages requested and the time of each request. These are used only for security and troubleshooting, and are kept for a limited time before being overwritten.

Cookies

We don't give visitors to the public website any cookies, and we don't use analytics or advertising cookies.

  • Strictly necessary (website team only): when a team member signs in to the website admin, a session cookie called luc_session keeps them signed in. It is marked httpOnly (scripts in the page cannot read it), is sent only over HTTPS, and expires after 24 hours. It is only set when someone signs in.

Content from Google

  • Fonts: the website's fonts are loaded from Google Fonts. To show them, your browser connects to Google's servers, which receive your IP address and browser details. Google states that Google Fonts does not set cookies.

  • Map: the Contact page shows an embedded Google Map. When that page loads, Google receives information about your visit (such as your IP address and browser) and may set its own cookies. Google's Privacy Policy applies to the map.

How we use your information

  • To reply to your message or enquiry, including venue hire and booking enquiries.

  • To provide pastoral care or other support you have asked us for.

  • To keep the website secure and working properly.

We don't sell or rent personal information, and we don't share it with anyone except the service providers listed below, or where the law requires us to. Using the contact form does not add you to any mailing list.

Where your information is stored and who else handles it

The website and its database run on Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers, which are located outside New Zealand. The following providers handle some information on our behalf:

  • Stravia Marketing (New Zealand) builds, hosts and maintains this website for us. They access the website's systems only to look after them.

  • Amazon Web Services (hosting and email delivery). The confirmation and notification emails, including your name, email address and message, pass through AWS on their way to the recipient. AWS is a US company operating data centres around the world.

  • Google (US-based), for the fonts and the map described above.

Sending information overseas. Under information privacy principle 12 of the Privacy Act 2020, we may only send your personal information overseas if we are satisfied it will be protected to a standard comparable to New Zealand law. AWS and Google are each bound by contract and by their own published privacy commitments to keep the information they handle secure and to use it only to provide their service.

Backups. Members of our team with permission can download a backup of the website's content and database, which includes contact form messages. Backups are kept securely and only for as long as they are needed.

How we keep it secure

The website is served over HTTPS. Admin passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text, the admin session cookie cannot be read by scripts, and each team member can only reach the parts of the admin they need. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information and will tell you if there is a privacy breach that is likely to cause you serious harm, as the Privacy Act requires.

How long we keep it

  • Contact form messages: kept while we need them to reply to you or follow up, then deleted. You can ask us to delete your message at any time.

  • Website team accounts: kept while the person helps look after the website, then removed.

  • Admin sessions: expire after 24 hours.

  • Server logs: kept for a limited time, then overwritten.

Your rights under the Privacy Act 2020

You have the right to:

  • ask whether we hold any personal information about you;

  • ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;

  • ask us to correct anything that is wrong or out of date;

  • ask us to delete your information, which we will do unless we need to keep it for a legal reason.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our privacy officer at office@levinuniting.org.nz or on (06) 368 9392. We will respond within 20 working days, and there is no charge.

Complaints

If you think we have handled your information in a way that breaches the Privacy Act 2020, please contact us first so we can put it right. You can also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz or on 0800 803 909.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we add a new feature to the website or change a service provider. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email office@levinuniting.org.nz, call (06) 368 9392, or visit us at 87 Oxford Street, Levin 5510.