Your privacy is important to us.
This statement outlines Harbour City Harvest Church’s (the church’s) policy on how the church uses and manages personal information provided to or collected by it.
The church is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act and is compliant with the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012.
The church may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology, changes to the church’s operations and practices and to make sure it remains appropriate to the changing legal environment.
What kind of personal information does the church collect and how does the church collect it?
The type of information the church collects and holds includes (but is not limited to) personal information, including sensitive information, about: Names, Addresses, Date of birth, Digital photo, Occupation, Relationship status
Personal Information you provide:
The church will generally collect personal information held about an individual by way of phone calls, forms, meetings etc. You do have the right to seek to deal with us anonymously or using a pseudonym, but in almost every circumstance it will not be practicable for us to deal with you or provide any services to you except for the most general responses to general enquiries, unless you identify yourself.
Personal Information provided by other people:
In some circumstances the church may be provided with personal information about an individual from a third party.
In relation to employee records:
Under the Privacy Act the Australian Privacy Principles do not apply to an employee record. As a result, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the church’s treatment of an employee record, where the treatment is directly related to a current or former employment relationship between the church and employee.
How will the church use the personal information you provide?
The church will use personal information it collects from you for the primary purpose of collection, and for such other secondary purposes that are related to the primary purpose of collection and reasonably expected, or to which you have consented.
In relation to direct marketing, the church will use your personal information for direct marketing where you have provided that information, and you are likely to expect direct marketing: only then you will be sent direct marketing containing an opt out. If we use your personal information obtained from elsewhere we will still send you direct marketing information where you have consented and which will also contain an opt out. We will always obtain your consent to use sensitive information as the basis for any of our direct marketing.
We may use video surveillance for security purposes and the footage will be used only by the church and by the providers of our security services for security purposes. Surveillance videos are not used by the church for other purposes and the footage is not publicly available. Surveillance cameras are not located in any bathrooms or change room facilities.
Job applicants, staff members and contractors:
In relation to personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors, the church’s primary purpose of collection is to assess and (if successful) to engage the applicant, staff member or contractor, as the case may be.
The purposes for which the church uses personal information of job applicants, staff members and contractors include: for insurance purposes; for security purposes; to satisfy the church’s legal obligations.
Where the church receives unsolicited job applications these will usually be dealt with in accordance with the unsolicited personal information requirements of the Privacy Act.
Volunteers:
The church also obtains personal information about volunteers who assist the church in its functions or conduct associated activities, such as to enable the church and the volunteers to work together.
Marketing and fundraising:
The church treats marketing and seeking donations for the future growth and development of the church as important. Personal information held by the church may be disclosed to an organisation that assists in the church’s fundraising, for example, the church’s affiliate organisations.
Who might the church disclose personal information to?
The church may disclose personal information, including sensitive information, held about an individual to:
- government departments;
- people providing services to the church; and
- anyone you authorise the church to disclose information to.
Sending information overseas:
The church will not send personal information about an individual outside Australia without:
- obtaining the consent of the individual (in some cases this consent will be implied); or
- otherwise complying with the Australian Privacy Principles or other applicable privacy legislation.
We do not use overseas providers of IT services including servers and cloud services.
How does the church treat sensitive information?
In referring to ‘sensitive information’, the church means:
“information relating to a person’s racial ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, sexual preferences or criminal record, that is also personal information; and health information about an individual”.
Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was provided or a directly related secondary purpose, unless you agree otherwise, or the use or disclosure of the sensitive information is allowed by law.
Management and security of personal information
The church’s staff is required to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals.
The church has in place steps to protect the personal information the church holds from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, interference or disclosure by use of various methods including locked storage of paper records and password-protected access rights to computerised records.
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Updating personal information
The church endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete and up-to-date. A person may seek to update their personal information held by the church by contacting the Secretary of the church at any time.
The Australian Privacy Principles and the Health Privacy Principles require the church not to store personal information longer than necessary. In particular, the Health Privacy Principles impose certain obligations about the length of time health records must be stored.
You have the right to check what personal information the church holds about you.
Under the Commonwealth Privacy Act and the Health Records Act, an individual has the right to obtain access to any personal information which the church holds about them and to advise the church of any perceived inaccuracy. There are some exceptions to this right set out in the applicable legislation. To make a request to access any information the church holds about you, please contact the Secretary in writing.
The church may require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require. Although no fee will be charged for accessing your personal information or making a correction, the church may charge a fee to retrieve and copy any material. The church If the information sought is extensive, the church will advise the likely cost in advance.
How long will the church keep my information?
Under our destruction and de-identification policies, your personal information that is no longer required will be de-identified or destroyed. In many circumstances, however it will be kept for marketing purposes, as you will have consented to that in writing with us.
Enquiries and privacy complaints
If you would like further information about the way the church manages the personal information it holds, please contact the Secretary. If you have any concerns, complaints or you think there has been a breach of privacy, then also please contact the Secretary who will first deal with you usually over the phone. If we then have not dealt satisfactorily with your concerns we will meet with you to discuss further. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint within 30 days from this meeting then you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner via:
- email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
- tel: 1300 363 992
- fax: +61 2 9284 9666
- By Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
- In Person: Level 3, 175 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000 (9am-5pm M-F)
37-47 St.Johns Road, Glebe NSW 2037