We respect your privacy.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and rights when it comes to your personal information.
Your information is yours.
Our privacy policy outlines how we collect and manage your personal information, including information collected through our programs and services, website or through our representatives.
Our privacy policy outlines how your privacy and confidentiality is managed and maintained.
This policy applies to all people engaged by Uniting, across the activities, programs and services delivered in Victoria and Tasmania.
This Policy does not apply to:
- The personal information of our employees*; or
- The handling of personal information by our related entities.
*Employee files are exempt from the privacy laws for information that is directly related to the employment relationship. However, Uniting follows the APPs when providing information about its employees to third parties, noting that this approach is considered best practice for employers. Uniting is required under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to provide employee information to a Fair Work Inspector and some government agencies have powers to request information from employers.
In this Policy, personal information means any information or opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not. In general terms, personal information is any information that can be used to personally identify you, either on its own (e.g., your name) or when combined with other information reasonably available to us (e.g., we cannot identify you from your date of birth alone, however, as we can link this to your name in our databases, it is your personal information).
Some of the personal information we may need to collect about you may include sensitive information, which is a special category of personal information that is given extra protection under privacy laws. Sensitive information includes information about your health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation or practices, criminal history, genetic information, biometric templates, and biometric information (e.g., features of your face). Sensitive information can include photographs or videos where a person’s identity is clear or can reasonably be worked out from the photo/video.
Uniting only collects information that is relevant, reasonable, and lawful for our purposes or functions. The types of personal information we collect and hold about you depends on the dealings you have with us. This generally includes your full name and contact details (street address, email address and phone number) and may include other types of information listed in Appendix 1. Wherever reasonable and appropriate we will ask for your consent to collect personal information about you.
We may collect personal information from or about you in different ways, including:
- through your access and use of our website;
- during conversations and via correspondence between you and our representatives;
- from your carer or authorised representative;
- at point of engagement with, or as part of access processes for, services or programs;
- when you complete an application or purchase order;
- when you register for our conferences, events, or courses and when you participate in our activities;
- from your employer or educational institution;
- when you complete our forms for the provision of services;
- when you complete a survey or make a donation;
- from your referees and recruiters;
- from our service providers;
- from other charities (if the other charity has obtained your consent to disclose your personal information to us); and
- through CCTV surveillance at our premises.
Where practicable and lawful, you may interact with us without identifying yourself (including by using a pseudonym). For example, if you contact us with a general question we will not record your name unless we need it to adequately handle your question. In addition, you can visit our website without providing any personal information.
If you choose not to identify yourself, we may be limited in our ability to respond to your query or provide you with the services or assistance you require.
When you visit our website, we may also use ‘cookies’ or other similar tracking technologies that help us track your website usage and remember your preferences. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, mobile phone, or other device. They enable us to recognise you or your device(s) across different websites, services and/or browsing sessions, for example, so that we can greet you each time you visit our website without bothering you with a request to register. You can disable cookies through your internet browser but our website may not work as intended for you if you do so.
Whilst we do not use browsing information to identify you personally, we may record certain information about your use of our website, such as which pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, search engine referrals, and the internet protocol address assigned to your computer.
We collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
- providing services to you and sending communications requested by you;
- conducting service processing functions, which may include providing personal information to our various organisations, contractors, service providers or other third parties and establishing and maintaining your involvement with us;
- facilitating and managing your purchase from, or donation of goods to, one of our stores;
- answering enquiries and providing information or advice, including about existing and new services;
- processing and responding to any complaint made by you;
- accessing the performance of our website, tracking use of any services we offer and improving the operation of our website;
- updating your personal information held by us, our related bodies, contractors, or service providers and keeping your contact details up to date;
- processing your job, volunteer or contract position application and managing your volunteer or contract placement with us;
- registering you for events, conferences, courses and activities;
- direct promotion of services and keeping you informed of new developments we believe may be of interest to you or conducting fundraising campaigns;
- dealing with third parties where we have retained those third parties to assist us to undertake our activities and provide the services you have requested, such as catering and event coordinators, promotions companies, transport providers, health care providers, website hosts and IT consultants, and our professional advisers such as consultants, lawyers and accountants;
- dealing with different parts of our organisation to enable the development and promotion of other community-based activities and services;
- safeguarding users of our services and programs;
- complying with any law, rule, regulation, lawful and binding determination, decision, or direction of a regulator, or in co-operation with any governmental authority of any country.
We may disclose your personal information to the following:
- various like-minded and trusted organisations, contractors or service providers for the purposes of our operations or operation of our website, fulfilling requests by you, and to otherwise provide services to you (e.g., mailing houses, couriers, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisors such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants;
- suppliers and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships, for operations, marketing, and related purposes;
- where relevant our support agencies in order to provide you with assistance;
- other entities authorised at law to share information such as for the purposes of assessing or managing the risk of family violence; and
- otherwise with your consent.
Some of the organisations to whom we disclose your personal information (see Section 3.6 of this Policy) may be located overseas.
In general, we will not disclose personal information overseas unless we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient will protect your personal information and handle it in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. This may include entering into contractual arrangements with the recipient or ensuring they are already subject to laws that are equivalent to the Australian Privacy Principles that you can enforce.
We may, with consent where required, use your personal information to identify a product or service that you may be interested in and to contact you from time to time (whether by email, SMS or mail) to tell you about products, services, news, deals and special offers that we believe may be of interest to you.
You can opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications from us at any time by selecting the opt-out option in our marketing communications or by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information in Section 3.14 of this Policy.
We may share personal information we receive from donors and supporters to collaborate with other like-minded and trusted organisations and reach more people in the community. We may share information with third parties such as:
- contractors or external agencies that we engage for services (e.g., mailing houses or technology service providers)
- regulatory bodies, government agencies or law enforcement bodies.
- other charities so that they may contact you about their initiatives.
You can opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications from us at any time by using the opt-out facility in our marketing communications by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information in Section 3.14 of this Policy.
We store your personal information in hard copy and/or electronically. Electronic information is stored with a third-party storage provider. We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.
We only keep your personal information for as long as it is required for a purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) or as otherwise required by applicable law or authority. If we no longer need to hold your personal information for any reason and are no longer required by law to keep it, we will take reasonable steps to de-identify or destroy that information. These steps may vary depending on the nature of the information, the way it was collected, and how it is stored.
You may request access to your personal information at any time by completing our Privacy – Request to access personal information Form, which is available at and returning it to our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out in the form. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. Subject to any applicable exceptions or requirements, we will provide you with access to the personal information you request within a reasonable time. If we decide to refuse your request, in most circumstances we will tell you why in writing and how to complain.
We may charge you a fee to cover our reasonable administrative and other costs (such as photocopying or time spent on redaction) in providing the information to you. If we estimate those fees to be greater than $100, we will provide you with an estimate of fees and seek your agreement to those fees prior to commencing work on providing the information.
For further information about how to access your personal information, including circumstances when we may not provide you access to your information in whole or in part, please see our Privacy – Request to access personal information Form.
If you consider that we have breached your privacy, or you are not happy with the way we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact information in Section 3.14 of this Policy.
We will respond to you within a reasonable period of time to acknowledge your complaint and inform you of the next steps we will take in dealing with your complaint.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via the OAIC website, www.oaic.gov.au. If there are other government agencies we consider you can complain to, based on the nature of your complaint, we will inform you of this at the time we respond to your complaint.
If you have a question or comment regarding this Policy or wish to make a complaint or exercise your privacy rights, please contact our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer
Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania) Limited
Level 4, 130 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic 3000
Tel: (03) 9192 8100 Email: [email protected]
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (Privacy Act 1988, Schedule 1) (the APPs)
- Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)and the Information Privacy Principles (the IPPs)
- Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and Health Privacy Principles (the HPPs)
- Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
- Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic)
- Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic)
- Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic)
- Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme 2017
- Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme 2017
- Child Information Sharing Scheme 2017
- Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 (NT)
- Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 (Cth)
- Archives Act 1983 (Cth)
- Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)
- Commissioner for Children and Young People Act 2016 (Tas)
- Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth)
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
- Freedom of Information Act 1980 (Vic)
- Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW)
- Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)
- Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld)
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022(Vic)
- Right to Information Act 2009 (Tasmania)
- Personal Information Protection Act 2004 (Tas)
- Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012
- Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017
- Children Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2018 No.11 (Vic) which outlines exceptions to the collection of information requirements contained in the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)
- Family Violence Protection (Information Sharing) Amendment Act 2017 No.23 (Vic) and Family Violence Protection (Information Sharing) Regulations 2018 No.14 (Vic) which amends a range of legislation in regard to information sharing for family violence assessment and protection purposes.
- Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
Privacy statement
The privacy statements below sets out how we collect and use the information for our program and service users, customers, volunteers and supporters.
Uniting (Victoria Tasmania) Limited (Uniting) is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your personal information.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act), the Health Privacy Principles contained in the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 (Tas), and the Mental Health & Wellbeing Act 2002 (Vic) which govern how organisations may collect, use, disclose and store personal information, and how individuals may access, and correct personal information held about them.
A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
This Privacy Statement supports Uniting’s Privacy Policy, available on our website.
Personal information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual.
We collect personal information from our employees and volunteers, our consumers (including their families and carers), and other stakeholders of Uniting.
Examples of personal information we collect includes your full name and contact details:
- Street address
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
As a consumer, program participant or carer, we may collect details such as your health information, family history and details of the services you have enquired about.
As a donor or supporter, we may need to collect details such as your name, postal address, email address, phone number, date of birth, gender, income, occupation, and your employer details.
As a valued financial supporter of our fundraising activities, we may also need to collect your bank account or credit card details.
As a customer at one of our many stores or social enterprises, we may need to collect your name and contact details at the time of purchase or in connection with your donation of goods.
Uniting collects personal information in a number of different ways, for example when you contact us, through forms, telephone, through our website and from third parties.
Your personal information will only be used for the purpose(s) for which it was collected and be directly related to the provision of Uniting services and activities and is collected by lawful and fair means.
We may also use your personal information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure.
When we collect personal information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.
Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record, or health information.
Sensitive information will be used by us only
- For the primary purpose for which it was obtained
- For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
- With your consent, or where required or authorised by law.
Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your personal information directly from you and with your consent. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.
We may collect, use, and disclose information that we have received through our marketing activities for purposes to process and record donations, provide receipts, contact you about our activities, and to provide you with our newsletters, reports, invitations, and requests for support. We may contact you using a number of different mediums for example by phone, mail, email, social media, SMS etc.
You will be offered the opportunity to ‘opt out’ if you do not wish to receive this information. You can also contact us on (03) 9192 8100 if you prefer not to receive future communication from us.
Your personal information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:
- Trusted and like-minded third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure
- Where required or authorised by law.
Your personal information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.
When your personal information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your personal information.
You may access the personal information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your personal information, please contact us in writing (details of which are set out below).
Uniting will not charge any fee for your access request but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your personal information.
In order to protect your personal information, we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
It is an important to us that your personal information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete, and up to date.
If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.
If you believe your privacy has been breached or you have a complaint about how Uniting has handled your personal information, you have a right to make a complaint.
If you have a complaint about Uniting’s privacy practices or our handling of your personal and sensitive information please contact our Privacy Officer in writing (details below).
We will not normally adopt as our own, an identifier of an individual that has been assigned by other organisations. We will not disclose an identifier assigned to an individual unless the disclosure is permitted under the Privacy Legislation.
Where lawful and practicable, Uniting will take all reasonable steps to comply with a request to access our services on an anonymous basis or using a pseudonym.
If we are otherwise required to send information overseas we will take measures to protect your personal information, by either ensuring that the destination country has similar protections in relation to privacy or that we enter into contractual arrangements with the recipient of your personal information that safeguards your privacy.
The Uniting Privacy Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.
If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact Uniting’s Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer
Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania) Limited
Level 4, 130 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic 3000
Tel: (03) 9192 8100
Email: [email protected]
For information about privacy generally, or if your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or via oaic.gov.au
- Health Complaints Commissioner on 1300 582 113 or via hcc.vic.gov.au
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