Privacy Commissioner John Edwards has announced that a "Right to Know Day" will take place on Thursday, 12 May 2016.

He says it is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the legal right New Zealanders have to see their own information that agencies hold.

"For example, if a business has a customer's contact details, that customer has the right to see those details."

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner will mark Right to Know Day by releasing an online tool called AboutMe.

It says this tool makes it easier for individuals to ask agencies for their personal information by helping to draft a template email with all the details agencies need to respond to information requests.

"AboutMe will help agencies by standardising requests for personal information and ensuring that they include all the relevant detail. This will be particularly useful for small to medium sized agencies that do not receive many information requests."

Mr Edwards says roughly 60% of complaints his office receives each year have to do with access to personal information, and they hop to reduce that number by making people aware of this component of the Privacy Act and making it easier for them to assert their right to see their own information.