Privacy Policy
MDT Driver Training Whanganui, New Zealand
Last updated: April 2026
A quick note from us
At MDT Driver Training, we genuinely care about looking after your personal information just as much as we care about looking after you on the road. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.
If anything in here isn’t clear, please feel free to get in touch, we’d rather you ask than wonder.
What information we collect
We only collect information we actually need to run our business and provide you with the best possible driving lessons. This includes:
Information you give us directly:
- Your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email
- Your current driver licence status (Learner, Restricted, Full, or Overseas)
- Emergency contact details
- Any medical conditions you disclose that may affect driving
- Payment details (for invoicing or booking)
- For clients under 18: parent or guardian contact details
- For organisation-funded bookings: the organisation or agency’s contact and billing details
Information collected during your lessons:
- Audio recordings of each driving lesson (with your written consent) used only to prepare your personalised written coaching report
- Written lesson notes and coaching reports
- Booking history and lesson progress
Information collected when you visit our website:
- Basic technical data such as your IP address and browser type
- Which pages you visit on our website and how often
- Cookies (see the Cookies section below)
How we use your information
We use your personal information to:
- Deliver your driving lessons and coaching reports
- Book, reschedule, or confirm your lessons
- Contact you about upcoming lessons, follow-ups, or important updates (by email, text, phone, or Facebook Messenger)
- Process payments and send invoices or receipts
- Respond to enquiries and requests
- Keep accurate records for our business and tax obligations
- Improve our services
We’ll never send you promotional or marketing messages unless you’ve specifically asked us to. If you do opt in, you can unsubscribe at any time by letting us know.
Lesson recordings
With your written consent (signed at your first lesson), we audio-record each driving lesson so we can prepare your personalised written coaching report afterwards.
You should know:
- Recordings are only accessed by Matthew and our admin team (that’s family-run, behind the scenes!) to prepare and send your written coaching report.
- Recordings are stored securely in a password-protected account.
- Recordings are automatically deleted within 90 days of the lesson.
- Recordings are never shared with third parties, used for marketing, or posted publicly.
- You can withdraw your consent to being recorded at any time, just let us know. This will not affect your ability to continue taking lessons.
You can read the full consent form at your first lesson, or ask us for a copy at any time.
Who we share your information with
Your information stays with us. We will never sell or rent your personal information. We only share information in these limited circumstances:
- Service providers we trust to help us run our business (see list below)
- Legal or regulatory bodies when required by law
- Insurance or emergency services in the event of an accident involving one of our vehicles
- The organisation funding your lessons (for ACC or organisation-funded clients) limited to booking, attendance and lesson progress
- Your parent or guardian (if you are under 18) limited to booking details and lesson reports
Third-party tools we use
To operate our business, we use trusted third-party services. Each of these has their own privacy policies and security standards:
- Amelia — online booking system
- Plaud — secure recording and transcription service for lesson audio
- Google (Gmail & Google Workspace) — email and document storage
- Facebook Messenger — client communication
- Kiwibank — bank account for receiving payments
- Hnry — our tax, invoicing, receiving payments and accounting service
- Our website host — for the mdtdrivertraining.co.nz website
We only share the minimum information needed for each service to work.
How we protect your information
We take reasonable steps to keep your information safe, including:
- Password-protected accounts and devices
- Secure cloud storage with reputable providers
- Limited access. Only Matthew and admin need it
- Regular review of our processes as technology changes
No system is ever 100% secure, but we genuinely do our best to keep your information protected.
How long we keep your information
- Lesson audio recordings: up to 90 days
- Written coaching reports: kept as part of your lesson history for as long as you remain a client, plus 7 years for tax and business records
- Booking and contact details: for as long as you remain a client, plus 7 years for tax and business records
- Website cookies and technical data: usually less than 12 months
If you would like us to delete your information earlier, just ask.
Your rights under the NZ Privacy Act 2020
You have the right to:
- Access any personal information we hold about you
- Correct any information that’s wrong or out of date
- Request deletion of your information (including lesson recordings)
- Withdraw consent at any time (such as consent to being recorded)
- Make a complaint if you’re not happy with how we’ve handled your information
To exercise any of these rights, just email us at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz or on 0800 803 909.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies, small files stored on your device, to help us understand how visitors use our site so we can keep improving it. We don’t use cookies for third-party advertising.
You can set your browser to reject cookies or warn you when a site is using them. Please note that turning cookies off may affect some features of our website.
Children and young people
We work with clients of all ages, including learners under 18. For clients under 18, we collect written consent from a parent or guardian before their first lesson. Parents and guardians can also request to see any information we hold about their child.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business or the law. The updated version will always be available on our website, with the “Last updated” date at the top. Significant changes will be communicated to current clients by email.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, or about how we handle your personal information, please reach out:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 027 368 5010
Website: mdtdrivertraining.co.nz
Thank you for trusting us with your information and your driving journey.
— The MDT Team
