Who we are

The Member Ship (“we”, “us”) provides an online membership management platform used by clubs, charities, and other not-for-profit organisations (“Organisations”) in New Zealand. Organisations use our platform to manage their own members’ details, renewals, and communications.

This policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information, in line with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

Two roles, worth understanding

• Organisations collect and control their members’ information - they decide what to collect and how to use it (e.g. for membership admin, events, newsletters). They are responsible for telling their members why they’re collecting it.
• We are the platform that stores and processes that information on the Organisation’s behalf. We don’t decide what data is collected or how it’s used - we provide the tool and keep the data safe.

If you’re a member of an Organisation and have questions about how your data is used, your first point of contact should be that Organisation. If your question is about how the platform itself works or is secured, contact us.

What information we hold

Typically: name, email, phone, postal address, and other details an Organisation asks its members to provide during sign-up (e.g. date of birth, emergency contact, membership category). Some Organisations may collect more sensitive information depending on their purpose - this is up to them.

We also collect basic account and usage information from Organisation administrators (login details, activity logs) to run the platform securely.

Where your data is stored

All member data is stored on servers located in New Zealand.

Who can see the data

• Administrators of the relevant Organisation can access their own members’ data. Administrators from other Organisations cannot see it.
• Our own staff can access data only when necessary - for support requests, troubleshooting, or maintaining the platform - and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• We do not sell member data, and we do not share it with third parties for marketing purposes.
• We may use trusted service providers (e.g. for hosting, email delivery, payment processing) who only handle data as needed to provide those services, under contract.
• We may disclose information if required by law (e.g. a court order).

How we protect it

We use industry-standard security measures - encrypted connections, access controls, and regular backups - to protect data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. No system is 100% secure, but we work to keep risks as low as reasonably possible.

How long we keep it

We keep member data for as long as the Organisation’s account is active, plus a reasonable period afterwards in case it’s needed (e.g. for legal or accounting reasons). Organisations can request deletion of their data at any time, subject to any legal retention requirements.

Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, individuals have the right to: - Ask what personal information is held about them - Ask for it to be corrected if it’s wrong - Ask questions about how it’s being used

To exercise these rights, contact the relevant Organisation first, as they control the data. If you’re not sure who to contact, or your query relates to the platform itself, email us at info@themembership.co.nz.

If you’re unhappy with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).

Usage tracking

We use our own internal analytics tool to monitor how the platform is used (e.g. page visits, feature usage, error rates). This helps us understand what’s working, fix problems, and improve the platform. This data is used for internal purposes only and is not shared with or sold to third parties.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website, with the date it was last updated.

Contact us

The Member Ship Email: info@themembership.co.nz