Volunteer Support Force Ltd ACN 651 240 989 (referred to in this document as VSF, we, us or our) is committed to protecting the personal information it collects from members and other individuals. The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) govern how we manage your personal information. In addition, if you are resident in New South Wales, Victoria, or the Australian Capital Territory, the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), the Heath Records Act 2001 (Vic), or the Health Records (Privacy & Access) Act 1997 (ACT) (as applicable) may apply to health information we collect and hold about you.
Types of information collected
We may collect and hold personal information about you (that is, information that can identify you) that is relevant to our functions and activities. The kinds of information we typically collect you depends on our relationship with you. For all individuals we deal with, we may collect your name and other information relevant to providing you with the information, goods and services you, or someone else on your behalf is seeking. If you use our website, we may collect your IP address, browser type, date and time of visit, and geographic location.
If you are a member, we will also collect your contact details, emergency contact details, information on your ADF status or relationship to the ADF, information on ADF service (if applicable), information on your membership to and role with other veteran support organisations and associations, information on your skillsets and passions (if you want to volunteer those to assist VSF and the VSF community), and other information relevant to providing you with the services you are, or someone else you know is, seeking.
During the provision of certain support services to you, you may disclose to us and we may collect sensitive information about you, including information about your health, religious and political beliefs or affiliations, and racial or ethnic origin. We are not otherwise likely to collect sensitive information about you unless you consent to the collection and it is reasonably necessary for the performance of our functions and activities, or otherwise required or authorised by law. Consent may be implied in the circumstances existing at the time of collection (such as if you voluntarily disclose sensitive information to us).
Method of collection
We will generally collect personal information directly from you through a variety of avenues, including via our membership and other standard forms, registration and attendance at our events, via emails and other communications, phone, our surveys (where applicable), our website and social media accounts, and in person.
There may be occasions where personal information about you will be collected from third parties, such as where third parties are acting on your behalf to obtain information for you. If we can, we will notify you about this collection in advance, or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable after the information has been collected.
If we receive unsolicited information about you that we did not request and which is not directly related to our functions or activities, we may be required to destroy or de-identify that information, providing it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
Purpose of collection
The personal information we collect and hold about you depends on your interaction with us. Generally, we collect, use and hold your personal information if it is reasonably necessary for or related to the performance of our functions and activities, and for the purposes of:
If you would like to access any information or services on an anonymous basis or using a pseudonym, please tells us. If this is possible and lawful, we will take reasonable steps to comply with your request. However, if you choose not to provide us with your personal information, or it’s incomplete or inaccurate, we may not be able to provide you (or someone else acting on your behalf) with the information or services you are seeking.
You may choose to disclose your personal information to other individuals when participating in online forums and physical or online events. While we request that all individuals respect the privacy of others and not disclose information received during those activities, individuals who are not our workers are not bound to comply with our privacy policy. You should not share any personal information online if you are not comfortable with it being made public.
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and linked websites are not subject to our privacy policies and procedures.
Our website uses cookies. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and to prepare customised web pages for them. Cookies do not identify you personally, but they may link back to a database record about you. We use cookies to monitor usage of our website and to create a personal record of when you visit our website and what pages you view so that we may serve you more effectively.
Generally, we only use or disclose personal information about you for the purposes for which it was collected (as set out above). We may disclose personal information about you to:
We may expand or reduce our business and this may involve the sale and/or transfer of control of all or part of our business. Personal information, where it is relevant to any part of the business for sale and/or transfer, may be disclosed to a proposed new owner or newly controlling entity for due diligence purposes, and upon completion of a sale or transfer, will be transferred to the new owner or newly controlling party to be used for the purposes for which it was provided.
Sensitive information (including health information) is only used and disclosed for the purposes for which it was collected, unless your further consent is obtained, or otherwise as permitted or required by law. If we use your sensitive information for internal research or statistical purposes, we will de-identify the information first.
We are likely to disclose personal information about you overseas to third party service providers who assist us in operating our business and carrying out the purposes set out above. For example, Microsoft, Google Analytics, and Glue Up (our CRM provider) who are located in the United States of America.
We store your personal information in different ways, including in paper and in electronic form. The security of your personal information is important to us. We take reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is stored safely to protect it from interference, misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including electronic and physical security measures.
Personal information collected is hosted on third party data servers which may be located outside of Australia. We take reasonable steps to ensure any third party data storage suppliers we partner with have appropriate cyber and physical security controls in place.
Where personal information held is no longer necessary for our operations, we delete information or permanently de-identify it, subject to specific laws in respect of data retention.
You may access the personal information we hold about you by making a written request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. We may charge you a reasonable fee for processing your request (but not for making the request for access). For security reasons, you will be required to put your request in writing and provide proof of your identity.
We may decline a request for access to personal information in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act, and if we do, we will give you a written notice that sets out the reasons for the refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.
It is essential that the information contained in our records is accurate, complete, and up to date, having regard to the purposes for which it was collected. If, upon receiving access to your personal information or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will give you a written notice that sets out our reasons for our refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.
If you have any queries or concerns about our privacy policy or the way we handle your personal information, or you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act, the APPs, or a privacy code that applies to us, please contact us using the details below and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you.
Street address : Suite 6, 18 Napier Close Deakin ACT 2600
Email address : privacy@vsf.org.au
Telephone : 1300 151 927
Website : https://heston-russell.myshopify.com
If after this process you are not satisfied with our response, you can submit a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner, Australia. To lodge a complaint, visit the ‘Complaints’ section of the Information Commissioner’s website, located at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints, to obtain the relevant complaint forms, or contact the Information Commissioner’s office.
For more information about privacy in general, you can visit the Office of the Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au.
We reserve the right to review, amend, and/or update this policy from time to time. If further privacy legislation and/or self-regulatory codes are introduced, or our privacy policy is updated, we will summarise any substantial modifications or enhancements in this section.