AdviceFinder is a directory for licensed financial advisers in New Zealand. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and what your rights are under the Privacy Act 2020.
We've written this in plain English because we think privacy policies should be readable. If something isn't clear, email us at privacy@advicefinder.co.nz.
Who we are
AdviceFinder is operated by Jacques van Heerden, based in New Zealand. When this policy refers to “we”, “us”, or “AdviceFinder”, it means Jacques van Heerden trading as AdviceFinder.
Contact: privacy@advicefinder.co.nz
Information we collect
We collect different types of information depending on who you are and how you interact with AdviceFinder.
If you're a financial adviser
Information collected from the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR)
The FSPR is a public register maintained by the Companies Office. We collect the following information from the FSPR about licensed financial advisers:
- Full legal name and any trading name
- FSP registration number
- Registration date and status (Registered, Deregistered, Suspended, or Pending)
- Business address and region
- Financial service type and service start date
- Financial Advice Provider (FAP) engagement details
- Disputes resolution scheme membership
This information is collected from a third party (the FSPR) rather than from you directly. Under Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A) of the Privacy Act 2020, we are required to be transparent about this.
Why we collect it from the FSPR: To verify adviser credentials and populate the AdviceFinder directory with accurate, FSPR-sourced information.
The public register basis: The FSPR is a publicly available register. Under IPP3A(4)(b), notification is not strictly required where information is publicly available. However, we disclose this collection here in the interests of transparency, and we give every adviser the ability to claim their profile and control how it appears.
If you claim your profile, you are made aware of the FSPR data we hold and given the opportunity to review and add to it. From the point of claiming, you are in control of your profile.
Information you provide directly when claiming your profile:
- Your name and professional title
- Contact details (email, phone)
- Bio and professional summary
- Profile photo (if you choose to upload one)
- Fee structure, consultation type, and client types
- Website and LinkedIn links
- Qualifications
Information generated through your use of AdviceFinder:
- Review request records (client name and email — you provide these, we use them only to send the review request)
- Review statistics and ratings
- Profile view counts (anonymised)
- Dashboard activity
If you're a consumer visiting the directory
If you sign up to be notified (via our early access form):
- Your email address
- Your region (optional)
If you submit an enquiry through an adviser's profile:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your message
This enquiry is passed directly to the adviser. We retain a copy in our database to track whether it was followed up.
Technical information:
- Standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited, time of visit)
- We use Vercel for hosting, which retains standard access logs
We do not use tracking cookies for advertising. We do not share your browsing data with third parties for marketing.
If you leave a review
- Your name (displayed as first name and last initial, e.g. “Sarah L.”)
- Your email address (not publicly displayed — used to verify the client relationship and send confirmation)
- Your review content, star rating, and the date advice was received
- Benchmarking responses (kept private — never published in a form that identifies you)
Why we use your information
| Information | Purpose |
|---|---|
| FSPR adviser data | Populate and verify the directory; show consumers accurate, current adviser credentials |
| Claimed profile data | Display the adviser's profile; enable adviser dashboard features |
| Review data | Display confirmed reviews on adviser profiles; calculate adviser rankings |
| Consumer enquiries | Connect consumers with advisers |
| Email signups | Notify you when advisers in your region go live |
| Technical logs | Security, debugging, and platform performance |
We use your information only for the purposes it was collected for. We do not sell personal information to third parties.
Who we share your information with
We do not sell or share personal information with third parties for their own purposes.
We use a small number of trusted service providers who process data on our behalf:
| Provider | What they do | Where they're based |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database and authentication | USA (AWS infrastructure) |
| Vercel | Website hosting and delivery | USA |
| Resend | Transactional email delivery | USA |
Each of these providers processes personal information only on our instructions and under data processing terms consistent with the Privacy Act 2020.
Sending data overseas: Some of this processing occurs outside New Zealand. Under Privacy Principle 12, we take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients protect your information in a way that is comparable to the Privacy Act 2020. Supabase, Vercel, and Resend all maintain internationally recognised security standards.
We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law, or to prevent or investigate fraud or unlawful activity.
How long we keep your information
| Information | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Claimed adviser profiles | For as long as the adviser has an active or inactive profile on AdviceFinder |
| Reviews | Indefinitely — reviews belong to the adviser's professional record |
| Consumer enquiries | 24 months from submission |
| Email signups | Until you unsubscribe |
| FSPR-sourced data | Updated monthly when new FSPR data is available; historical records retained |
| Technical logs | 90 days |
Your rights
Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:
Access your information — You can ask us what personal information we hold about you. We will respond within 20 working days.
Correct your information— If information we hold about you is wrong, you can ask us to correct it. If you're a claimed adviser, you can update most of your profile information directly from your dashboard.
Raise a concern— If you believe we've breached your privacy, contact us first at privacy@advicefinder.co.nz. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.
Adviser profile data specifically
If you are a financial adviser and we hold a profile for you based on FSPR data, you have the right to:
- Claim your profile — at advicefinder.co.nz/for-advisers/join — and take control of how your profile appears
- Request corrections— if FSPR data we've displayed is inaccurate, contact us and we will investigate
- Request removal — if your FSP registration has been deregistered and you believe your profile should be removed, contact us. We will review requests case by case
We do not remove profiles solely because an adviser prefers not to appear in the directory — the FSPR is a public register and the information is publicly available. However, we take correction requests seriously and will act on genuine errors.
Security
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access. These include:
- Supabase Row Level Security (RLS) on all database tables
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS throughout)
- Role-based access controls for admin functions
- No passwords or payment card numbers stored directly by AdviceFinder
No system is completely secure. If we become aware of a privacy breach that is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as required by the Privacy Act 2020.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll update the “last updated” date at the top and, where changes are material, notify active advisers by email.
Contact us
Privacy enquiries: privacy@advicefinder.co.nz
General: hello@advicefinder.co.nz
Website: advicefinder.co.nz