Under U.S. privacy laws, HIPAA protections extend past death.  The same does not appear to be true in New Zealand, however, as this report by NZCity suggests:

The Privacy Commission is sympathising with the family of 103-year-old Myra Letts who claim her privacy was breached when a photo was taken of her in a rest home but they may not have a case.

MidCentral DHB terminated the contract of Rose A Lea rest home in Palmerston North after receiving photographs of Mrs Letts tied to a bed with a sheet. Mrs Letts’ family has contacted a lawyer, claiming the photos were taken without their permission and were a breach of privacy.

[...]

…. she says if the photos were released after Mrs Letts had died then there could be difficulties because privacy laws only cover people who are alive.

Read more on NZCity.

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