Northern Territory Privacy Policy
1. Purpose
St Vincent de Paul Society – Northern Territory (the Society) recognises its legal and moral obligation to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of any personal information it may obtain or data it may collect, to assist it with the effective management of the Society, Programs and its Good Works.
The Society will ensure the privacy and confidentiality of personal information by complying with robust procedures, set down by the Society, in compliance with Australian Law.
2. Privacy Laws
The Society is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and other laws which protect the privacy of individuals. We will sometimes handle personal information by relying on exemptions under these laws, including the exemptions in the Privacy Act applies to not-for-profit organisations. Any permitted handling under such exemptions will take precedence over this Privacy Policy.
The Society is also bound by other laws such as the Charities Act 2013 (Cth) and the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) which may impact aspects of the Society’s collection and handling of personal information.
3. Definition of Personal Information
The Society may collect personal information from Conference Members, Volunteers, Staff, Companions, or people who make enquiries about Society programs or Good Works; or make an application for a staff or volunteer position.
Personal information is defined as information or an opinion about an identified individual, or a reasonably identifiable individual:
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whether information or opinion is true or not; and
- whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not
A number of different types of information are explicitly recognised as constituting personal information under the Privacy Act. Types of Personal Information, that will be bound by different standards of security and storage are sensitive information, health information, credit information, employee record information, and tax file number information. The Society is bound by the requirements related to each type of personal information that it may collect.
Sensitive Information is defined in the Privacy Act to mean information or an opinion about an individual:
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Racial or ethnic origin
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Political opinions
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Memberships of a political association
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Religious beliefs or affiliations
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Philosophical beliefs
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Membership of a professional or trade association
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Membership of a trade union
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Sexual preferences or practices
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Criminal record
Health and/or genetic information is similarly considered Sensitive Information.
4. Collection of Personal Information
The Society collects and retains personal information. Some examples of this collection are:
- People's name, contact details, identification information, title as well as any personal information provided in forms and documents you submit to us (whether electronically or otherwise)
- We record details of our interactions with companions, including any contact we have with companions in person, by email, online, or on the telephone
- From our donors, we may collect credit cards or other financial details
- The Society may monitor and record communications with us (including by email and telephone), and we may operate video and audio surveillance devices on our premises for security, dispute resolution, and training purposes.
- Where practical, the Society will collect personal information directly from a person, but we may also collect personal information from third parties including other not-for-profit organisations, government agencies (e.g. the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) for police checks containing criminal history information), information service providers or public sources.
- When the Society collects sensitive information from people, such as health information or religious association, we will do so only with their consent. This information will be provided voluntarily, or where otherwise authorised by law. Consent for the Society to retain this information can be withdrawn at any time.
5. Use of Personal Information
The Society uses the information, that we collect, and may at times where appropriate disclose personal information to provide, administer, improve and personalise our services and goods, process donations and payments, identify individuals, maintain and update our records, assess applications for support or assistance, provide support and assistance to those in need, assess employee or volunteer applications, conduct surveys, and research, protect our lawful interests and respond to queries or concerns.
We may also collect, use and disclose personal information in connection with lawful information requests from courts, government agencies, and lawyers and in connection with suspected fraud, misconduct, or unlawful activity.
Donors, mailing list registrants, ‘Vinnies’ shoppers, or volunteers, the Society may use their personal information to provide ongoing promotional materials and marketing communications about our events, products, services, and fundraising initiatives by telephone, email, online, or by other means (unless you opt-out or we are subject to legal restrictions).
We may exchange information with St Vincent de Paul Societies located in other States and Territories, including the National Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and with other not-for- profit organisations and service providers, including government agencies, who may provide assistance or assist us with archival, auditing, accounting, legal, business, banking, payment, delivery, data processing, storage and analysis, research, investigation, website or technology services.
With informed consent, the Society may apply for a police check with an organisation such as SafeNT (or other entity), for which we will submit your name and other identifying details or documents. As an accredited body with the ACNC, we are authorised to submit applications for police checks in accordance with ACNC procedures.
6. Storage of Personal Information
The Society handles personal information electronically and in hard copy form, both at our premises and with the assistance of our service providers. In either case, a range of measures is implemented to protect the security of that personal information.
In addition to our obligations under privacy laws, we are subject to further government security restrictions with regard to the handling of police checks. We are also required to take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information where it is no longer needed for a permitted purpose.
The Society Website www.vinnies.org.au (the Website) and Society email may record information such as the date and time our Website is accessed, the pages accessed and any information downloaded. This information is used for statistical, reporting and website administration, and maintenance purposes.
The Society website may use ‘cookies’ from time to time. A cookie is a piece of information that allows our system to identify and interact more effectively with a device. When we send emails or other electronic messages, we may record when the message is opened and if particular links are clicked on from such a message. Our website may contain links to other sites. The Society is not responsible for the privacy practices or policies of those sites.
7. Access to Personal Information
The Society must allow access to information stored about an individual. Personal information about an individual may be updated or corrected by contacting the Society and submitting a request to do so. The Society will always seek to verify an individual’s identity, prior to allowing any access, updating, or withdrawal of consent for the storage of information.
If the Society denies any request for access or correction, we will provide our reasons.
8. Privacy Complaints
Privacy is important to the Society, and the Society will always do its best to resolve any privacy concerns internally. The Society receives complaints regarding Privacy internally by submission of a complaint to the Society Privacy Officer privacyofficer@svdpqld.org.au
Individuals may wish to make a complaint about a suspected or actual breach of Privacy externally to the Officer of the Australian Information Commissioner oaic.gov.au and on 1300 363 992.
The Society will publish and update this policy on its website (www.vinnies.org.au) and make hard copies available on request.
9. Related Legislation/Standards
The Privacy Act 1988 No.119, 1988 as in Force 17 June 2021
Australian Privacy Principles and Guidelines
Authorisation
Approved by: Northern Territory Council
Owner: CEO
Review
Responsibility: CEO
Time of Review: Annually
Version - Amendments
Version No. - V-001
Issue / Re-issue Date - 22 April 2022
Nature of Amendment - Original