Privacy Policy

Introduction

Geelong Sustainability (GS) recognises the importance of protecting the privacy and the rights of individuals in relation to their personal information. This document is our privacy policy and it explains how we collect and manage personal information.

We respect everyone’s rights to privacy as detailed in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and we comply with the Act’s requirements in respect of the collection, management and disclosure of personal information.

‍

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a framework for Geelong Sustainability in dealing with privacy considerations.

‍

Policy

Personal information

In general terms, personal information is any information that can be used to personally identify an individual. This may include name, address, telephone number, email address and profession or occupation. If the information we collect personally identifies you, or you are reasonably identifiable from it, the information will be considered personal information.

The personal information GS collects and holds

GS may collect the following types of personal information:

  • name
  • mailing or street address
  • email address
  • telephone number
  • age or birth date
  • profession, occupation or job title
  • details of the products and services you have purchased from us or which you have enquired about, together with any additional information necessary to deliver those products and services and to respond to your enquiries
  • any additional related information that you provide to us directly through our websites or indirectly through use of our websites or online presence, through our representatives or otherwise; and
  • information you provide to us through our service centre, customer surveys or visits by our representatives from time to time.

We may also collect some information that is not personal information because it does not identify you or anyone else. For example, we may collect anonymous answers to surveys or aggregated information about how users use our website.

How GS collects personal information

GS collects personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. When collecting personal information,  we may collect in ways including:

  • through your access and use of our website
  • during conversations between you and our representatives
  • when you attend one of our events or activities; or
  • when you complete an application or purchase order.

‍

Cookies

In some cases GS may also collect personal information through the use of cookies. When you access our website, we may send a “cookie” (which is a small summary file containing a unique ID number) to your computer. This enables us to recognise your computer and greet you each time you visit our website without bothering you with a request to register. It also enables us to keep track of products or services you view so that, if you consent, we can send you news about those products or services. We also use cookies to measure traffic patterns, to determine which areas of our website have been visited and to measure transaction patterns in the aggregate. We use this to research our users’ habits so that we can improve our online products and services. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can set your browser so that your computer does not accept them.

We may log IP addresses (that is, the electronic addresses of computers connected to the internet) to analyse trends, administer the website, track user movements, and gather broad demographic information.

‍

‍

If GS can’t collect personal information

If you do not provide us with the personal information described above, some or all of the following may happen:

  • we may not be able to provide the requested products or services to you, either to the same standard or at all
  • we may not be able to provide you with information about products and services that you may want, including information about discounts, sales or special promotions
  • we may be unable to tailor the content of our websites to your preferences and your experience of our websites may not be as enjoyable or useful.

‍

Why GS collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information

GS collects personal information so that we can perform our business activities and functions and to provide the best possible quality of customer service.

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:

  • to provide products and services to you and to send communications requested by you
  • to answer enquiries and provide information or advice about existing and new products or services
  • to provide you with access to protected areas of our website
  • to assess the performance of the website and to improve its operation
  • to conduct business processing functions including providing personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors, service providers or other third parties
  • for the administrative, marketing (including direct marketing), planning, product or service development, quality control and research purposes of Geelong Sustainability, its related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers
  • to provide your updated personal information to our related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers
  • to update our records and keep your contact details up to date
  • to process and respond to any complaint made by you; and
  • to comply with any law, rule, regulation, lawful and binding determination, decision or direction of a regulator, or in cooperation with any governmental authority of any country.

Your personal information will not be shared, sold, rented or disclosed other than as described in this Privacy Policy.

‍

‍

To whom GS may disclose personal information

GS may disclose your personal information to:

  • our employees, related bodies corporate, contractors or service providers for the purposes of operation of our website or our business, fulfilling requests by you, and to otherwise provide products and services to you including, without limitation, web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, 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 business, marketing, and related purposes; and
  • any organisation for any authorised purpose with your express consent.

We may combine or share any information that we collect from you with information collected by any of our related bodies corporate (within Australia).

‍

‍

Direct marketing materials

GS may send you direct marketing communications and information about products and services that we consider may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, SMS, fax and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws. You consent to us sending you those direct marketing communications by any of those methods. If you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so. In addition, at any time you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us (see the details below) or by using opt-out facilities provided in the marketing communications and we will then ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list.

GS does not provide your personal information to other organisations for the purposes of direct marketing.

‍

‍

Accessing and correcting personal information

You may request access to any personal information GS holds about you at any time by contacting us (see the details below). Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will try to provide you with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to you). We may charge you a fee to cover our administrative and other reasonable costs in providing the information to you.

We will not charge for simply making the request and will not charge for making any corrections to your personal information.

There may be instances where we cannot grant you access to the personal information we hold. For example, we may need to refuse access if granting access would interfere with the privacy of others or if it would result in a breach of confidentiality. If that happens, we will give you written reasons for any refusal.

If you believe that personal information GS holds about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request us to amend it.

Complaining about a breach of privacy

If you believe that your privacy has been breached, please contact the GS Secretary using the contact information below and provide details of the incident so that we can investigate it.

We request that complaints about breaches of privacy be made in writing, so we can be sure about the details of the complaint. We will attempt to confirm as appropriate and necessary with you your understanding of the conduct relevant to the complaint and what you expect as an outcome. We will inform you whether we will conduct an investigation, the name, title, and contact details of the investigating officer and the estimated completion date for the investigation process.

After we have completed our enquiries, we will contact you, usually in writing, to advise the outcome and invite a response to our conclusions about the complaint. If we receive a response from you, we will assess it and advise if we have changed our view.

‍

‍

Disclosing personal information outside Australia

GS may disclose personal information to our third party suppliers and service providers located overseas for some of the purposes listed above.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipients of personal information do not breach the privacy obligations relating to personal information.

We may disclose personal information to entities located outside of Australia, including the following:

  • our data hosting and other IT service providers, located in the US or Europe
  • cloud service providers who may store data in other overseas locations.

‍

Security

GS takes reasonable steps to ensure personal information is protected from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We may hold your information in either electronic or hard copy form. Personal information is destroyed or de-identified when no longer needed.

As our website is linked to the internet, and the internet is inherently insecure, we cannot provide any assurance regarding the security of transmission of information you communicate to us online. We also cannot guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the internet. Accordingly, any personal information or other information which you transmit to us online is transmitted at your own risk.

‍

‍

Links

Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party website. Third party websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices.

‍

‍

Contacting us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, any concerns or a complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy or a possible breach of your privacy, please use the contact link on our website or contact our Secretary using the details set out below.

We will treat your requests or complaints confidentially. Our representative will contact you within a reasonable time after receipt of your complaint to discuss your concerns and outline options regarding how they may be resolved. We will aim to ensure that your complaint is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

‍

‍

Changes to our privacy policy

We may change this privacy policy from time to time. Any updated versions of this privacy policy will be posted on our website. Please review it regularly.

This privacy policy was last updated on 11 June 2021.

‍

‍

Authorisation

Vivienne Burke
Secretary
Geelong Sustainability Group Inc
PO Box 258 Geelong Vic 3220
info@geelongsustainability.org.au

‍