Privacy statement

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A Start in Life understands the importance of your right to privacy, and is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our supporters, students and their families.

This privacy policy outlines how we collect, handle and use your personal information. It also identifies how you can access and / or correct your details. Should this policy be revised, the amended policy will appear on our website and will take effect from the time it is published.

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What personal information will be collected?

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For Supporters

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• Your name

• Address and other contact details

• Organisation name and role (if applicable)

• Details of donation(s)

• Affiliations

 

 

For Students and Families

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• Address and other contact details

• Copies of relevant identification documents

• Details of family circumstances

• Income and assets

• Information from third parties such as your employer, financial institutions, government/semi-government institutions and utilities, medical service providers, welfare agencies, schools and tertiary institutions, that you have provided permission for us to contact

• Other documentary evidence of financial hardship

• Student updates, parent / carer feedback, and any interactions with us

• School, TAFE and university results

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How we use your personal information

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The information we collect is used:

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For Supporters

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• Process donations, bequests, pledges, sponsorships and issue receipts

• Respond to your comments or questions

• Seek your ongoing support

• Collate information for research and marketing purposes

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For Students and Families

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• Understand and assess your requirement for support

• Interact with you, your family or other persons you have provided approval for us to contact

• Make support payments to you or on your behalf

• Provide follow-up information about our education assistance programs

• Determine your educational progress or adjustment of your support

 

Where we collect your personal information for a specific purpose not outlined above, we will provide you with a collection notice explaining the primary purpose for which we are collecting that information.

 

Some student information may be shared with our supporters and public for the purposes of increasing support for the charity. Where the student is less than 18 years of age, the information provided will not identify the student in any way. Permission will generally be sought where the student is 18 years of age and the information would identify the student.

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Storage of your information

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A Start in Life takes steps to ensure your personal information is protected from interference, loss or unauthorised access.

Your personal details and information are only accessible by authorised A Start in Life personnel who are familiar with the A Start in Life Privacy Policy. Personal details and information are either:

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• Destroyed if no longer needed , and relevant regulations permit their destruction

• Stored securely in either paper or electronic form

 

All reasonable steps are taken to ensure the security of personal information by storing it in a secure environment. The charity’s electronic databases are secured by a firewall and anti-virus software to ensure, so far as practicable, that it is not accessed by unauthorised parties. However, because of the nature of the internet, security of personal information cannot be guaranteed.

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We will, through communication with you, request you inform A Start in Life of any changes / updates to your contact details and personal information.

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Disclosing your information

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In some cases, personal information (but never sensitive information) is supplied to, or collected by, contractors who perform services directly on our behalf (i.e. mailing houses that send our appeals). All third parties that receive your personal details from us are located in Australia and are therefore bound to keep your information confidential and not use it for unauthorised purposes.

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We do not pass on personal information to any other third parties (unless required by law) or publish them in our publications or on our website without explicit permission.

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Credit card security

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Donations you make to A Start in Life using our online donation form are secured through Ezidebit. Our donation page is encrypted, which means your personal information, including credit card details cannot be viewed by another party.

Should credit card details be provided either in writing or by phone, A Start in Life will take all reasonable steps to ensure the security of your personal information, including entering this information directly into systems where this information is encrypted.

 

Where your credit card is used for donation or sponsorship purposes, A Start in Life complies with the ‘Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards’ (PCI DSS). These standards regulate the way in which we are able to manage, use and store your credit card information, and require:

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• Information to be stored securely

• A secure network to be maintained

• Cardholder data to be protected and encrypted

• Up to date anti-virus software

• Limited and restricted access to credit card data

• Regular testing of networks

 

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To update, correct, delete or unsubscribe your information

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Under Australian privacy regulations, you have a right to know what information we hold about you. You are also entitled to see this information and / or request changes to your personal information and choose to unsubscribe or opt out from any of our communications / mailings.  

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We may ask you to cover the costs incurred in meeting your request to access your information. There may also be circumstances (as provided in the Australian Privacy Principles [Privacy Amendment Act 2012- Principle 12]) which would preclude us from meeting your request. Circumstances where data may be withheld, include but are not limited to:

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• Release of the data poses a serious threat to the safety of an individual

• Access to the data would impact the privacy of others

• Access to the data would be unlawful

• Access to the data would prejudice commercial negotiations, legal proceedings etc

 

Should this occur, we will provide you with reasons for this.

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Supporters also have the option to engage with A Start in Life using a pseudonym.

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If you have any corrections or concerns in relation to your personal information you can email us at communications@astartinlife.org.au or call us on (02) 9264 2017.

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