Document how HR data is handled between you and your clients

You will usually need one when your consultancy handles personal information for a client as part of recruitment, people operations, payroll support, performance management, investigations, onboarding or similar HR services. In those arrangements, the contract often needs to spell out who is giving instructions, what categories of information are involved, what processing is permitted, and what safeguards are expected. It is particularly important where sensitive workforce information is being accessed by your team or by third-party tools used in delivering the service.

A privacy policy explains your external privacy position, usually to individuals such as candidates, employees or website users. A data processing agreement is different because it governs the contractual relationship between your consultancy and the client whose information you handle. It usually deals with operational matters such as instructions, confidentiality, subprocessors, security expectations, assistance with privacy requests, incident-related obligations and what happens to the data when the engagement ends. In short, one is outward-facing disclosure, while the other is a service contract between businesses.

It commonly covers the parties' roles, the categories of personal information involved, the permitted handling activities, confidentiality obligations, security-related commitments, use of third-party providers, assistance with access or correction requests, incident notification steps, audit or information rights, and deletion or return of data at the end of the engagement. For HR consultancies, it may also need to address candidate records, employee files, screening information, references, payroll-related data or internal people analytics. The legal position depends heavily on how the business handles information in practice.

We usually need a practical picture of your services and data flows. That may include what HR functions you perform, whether you act on client instructions, what types of employee or candidate information are involved, which software providers or subcontractors are used, whether information is stored or accessed outside New Zealand, and how long records are kept. The right approach depends on the working arrangement, documents and factual context, so the more accurately the arrangement is described, the more useful the agreement will be.

Often not. Generic templates can miss the specific issues that come up when a consultancy handles workforce information across recruitment, onboarding, investigations or advisory work. They may use broad language that does not match who actually gives instructions, what systems are involved, or whether data is shared with specialist providers. A template also may not line up with your client services agreement. This service You will get a clear view of the legal issues and the next steps that matter. or fix poor information-handling practices on its own.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the HR Data Processing Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.