Pets Of The Homeless Australia is committed to treating the personal information we collect in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).
This Privacy Policy sets out how Pets Of The Homeless Australia handles personal information. It does not apply to personal information collected by Pets Of The Homeless Australia that is exempted under the Privacy Act. Pets Of The Homeless Australia may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect its current privacy practices.
Definitions
In this Privacy Policy,
‘Pets Of The Homeless Australia’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ mean the organisation carrying on business under the name Pets Of The Homeless;
‘Personal information’ means any information or opinion about a natural person (whether or not true) which is reasonably identifiable;
‘Sensitive information’ means (without limitation) information about an individual’s race, political opinions, religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union, sexual preference, criminal record, or health, genetic or biometric information, including “sensitive information” as defined in the Privacy Act 1988.
Personal information we collect
The main types of personal information we collect include names, emails, contact numbers and address details. In order to provide our services, we may also collect other personal information such as your company and title, or days you are available to volunteer with us.
Where we collect, use and disclose sensitive information about you, we will only do so where it is reasonably necessary to conduct our business and either:
- we have obtained your consent; or
- it is permitted by law.
How we collect personal information
Generally we collect your personal information from you directly (for example, when we deal with you in person or over the phone, when you send us correspondence or when you subscribe electronically to our publications), although sometimes it may be necessary for us to collect your personal information from a third party. For example, we will need to collect your personal information if you are requesting assistance via a case manager or social worker. We may also collect personal information when you make a donation to us or you contact us through the registration process on our websites and social media accounts. We may also collect personal information about you from your use of our websites and information you provide to us through contact mailboxes or through the registration process on our websites, Twitter or Facebook. If you provide us with someone else’s personal information, you should only do so if you have their authority or consent to provide us with their personal information. If we receive your personal information from a third party we will contact you and make you aware of this Privacy Policy and how we obtained your personal information.
Use of personal information
Pets Of The Homeless Australia collects personal information for a number of purposes including:
- to request donation of goods or services
- to respond to requests for assistance from social service agencies
- to maintain contact with our volunteers
- for administrative purposes
- for purposes of organising collections of donations
- for the engagement of service providers, contractors or suppliers relating to the operation of our organisation, or
- for data collection and program evaluation purposes
Pets Of The Homeless Australia may also use your personal information for the purpose of emailing you our newsletters or posting you a thank-you note.
If you make a donation of money or goods in kind we may add you to our email distribution list, so that you receive updates and reports on the impact of your giving and other opportunities to support our cause. If you are a recipient of assistance rendered to you by Pets Of The Homeless Australia your details will not be added to our email distribution list.
If you do not want to receive any communication from us, you can contact us as detailed below or use the unsubscribe function on electronic communications. If you do not provide us with the personal information we have requested, we may not be able to complete or fulfil the purpose for which such information was collected, including providing assistance required.
Disclosure of personal information
Pets Of The Homeless Australia will not disclose your personal information to third parties unless:
- it is permitted by law, or
- you consent.
If we do disclose personal information to third parties, we will do so in accordance with the purpose for which the personal information was collected, or a related or ancillary purpose. The types of third parties we may disclose your personal information to include:
- our service providers
- our community agencies and goods recipients
- other Pets Of the Homeless Australia volunteers , or
- if you are an employee/volunteer, a contractor or supplier of services to a client, then we may disclose your personal information as part of providing services to that client.
We do not disclose personal information to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to send marketing material to you. However, we may share de-identified or aggregated information to third parties for research, grants applications or promotional purposes.
Overseas disclosure
We will not disclose personal information received by us to overseas recipients unless it is required and in accordance with our Disclosure of Personal Information clause above.
Security and retention of personal information
We take reasonable steps to protect any personal information that we hold from misuse and loss. We also take reasonable steps to protect it from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. The security measures we take include physical security measures, and technology security measures (including restriction of access, firewalls, the use of encryption, passwords and digital certificates). The personal information you provide to us will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected, as required by law or in accordance with our documentation retention policies.
Privacy on our websites
Cookies: “Cookies” (i.e. small text files placed on your computer when you first visit the site) are used on some Pets Of The Homeless websites. Most browsers now recognise when a cookie is offered and permit you to refuse or accept it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer, your company’s technology help desk or your internet service provider. Cookies are primarily used to enhance your online experience. If you visit our websites to read or download information, such as news stories or articles, much of the information we do collect is statistical only (e.g., the domain from which you access the internet, the date and time you access our site, and the internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site) and not personally identifiable. We use this information about the number of visitors and their use of the sites in aggregate form to make our sites more useful and attractive to you.
Your choices: You have several choices regarding your use of Pets Of The Homeless Australia’s websites. In general, you are not required to provide personal information when you visit our websites. However, if you apply to receive information about our services, events and subscriber updates or wish to volunteer, we may require you to provide certain personal information to enable us to fulfil your request.
Links to third party websites
Pets Of The Homeless Australia websites may contain links to third party websites, including sites maintained by businesses who provide us with financial support and donations for goods-in-kind. Those other websites are not subject to our privacy policies and procedures. You will need to review those websites directly to view a copy of their privacy policies. Pets Of The Homeless Australia does not endorse, approve or recommend the services or products provided on those third party websites.
Children
We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy, especially in an online environment. In particular, our websites are not intentionally designed for or directed at children under the age of 13. It is our policy to never knowingly collect or maintain information about anyone under the age of 13.
Gaining access to personal information we hold
You may request access to the personal information we hold about you by writing to Pets Of The Homeless Australia. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time. If we determine that it is not lawful or not required by law to provide you with access to the personal information we hold, we will provide you with a written response outlining the reasons for refusing your request.
Keeping personal information current
If you believe that any personal information Pets Of The Homeless Australia has collected about you is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date, please contact us and we will take reasonable steps to correct it in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act.
If you wish to have your personal information deleted please contact us and we will delete that information wherever practicable.
How to contact us
If you would like to access your personal information, have a query in relation to this Privacy Policy or would like to make a complaint about Pets Of The Homeless Australia’s handling of your personal information, please contact: hello@petsofthehomeless.org.au and we will get back to you within a reasonable time period.
