A Start in Life (“The Charity”) is a Public Benevolent Institution assisting financially disadvantaged children and youth.

Every donor, supporter, volunteer and client is important to us and we are committed to accountability and transparency, especially in regard to respecting and safeguarding your privacy and confidentiality.

The Charity strives to maintain the highest possible standards and complies with the Privacy Act and the National Privacy Principles. A copy of the National Privacy Principles may be viewed at www.privacy.gov.au/publications/npps01.html

Communication with donors, supporters, clients, or volunteers can take quite different forms, and the information collected and how The Charity uses it may differ.

The Privacy Act regulates the handling of personal information and this privacy statement outlines how The Charity collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information about donors and supporters.

Donors and supporters are essential to the continued work of A Start in Life and it’s programs and The Charity recognises the trust you place in us through your dealings with us. The Charity endeavours to maintain that trust and our staff will strive to protect information about you.

Your rights to privacy are protected by law and the Privacy Act and general law place strict requirements on how any information you provide is treated and kept confidential.

Your Personal Information:
A Start in Life only collects information about you that is necessary for us to properly conduct our services, and includes:

  • Your name, address and contact details;
  • Donation history;
  • Credit Card or Bank Account details, where you donate using a credit card, or request regular donation transactions via a credit card or Bank Account;
  • Any communications you have with us, such as special requests, or requests for information.
This information is collected from sources, such as:
  • Appeal letters and coupons;
  • Information brochures and coupons;
  • Website inquiry, donation, event entry forms, raffle tickets;
  • Telephone inquiries;
  • Advertisement response forms;
  • Rented or loaned mailing lists. If The Charity does rent mailing lists to acquire new donors it is only through reputable mailing list companies who are also bound by the Act and who are members of the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA). No record is kept by The Charity of any information from those lists, such information remaining the property of the company renting out the list.

The information we collect is used to:

  • process donations and pledges;
  • issue receipts;
  • provide information requested about our work;
  • supply newsletters or information bulletins;
  • respond to your comments or enquiries;
  • appeal for support for continuing our work;
  • confidential research on supporter attitudes and requirements, or welfare related issues.

If you choose not to receive any further communications from A Start in Life or to alter the frequency and type of communications you receive, please contact us by phone on (02) 9264 3017, fax on (02) 9267 2870, or email on communications@astartinlife.org.au.

Disclosure

The Charity does not sell, rent, swap or lend its lists or give away any personal information about donors or supporters for use by third parties.

Should personal information need to be supplied to contractors, such as mailing houses for the processing and distribution of appeal letters and newsletters, it is done on a strictly confidential basis and such organisations must agree to uphold our obligations under the Privacy Act.

The Charity will only ever pass on donor or supporter personal information if we have their consent or we are required by law to do so.

Retention & Security

The Charity only retains information about you that is necessary to properly conduct its services, and endeavours to ensure that all information retained is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

The Charity makes every effort to ensure that your information is stored securely, both in electronic and physical forms and that only authorised persons in The Charity who require access to the information have access to it. Credit Card details are encrypted as required by PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

Access

You may request access to your information at any time and ascertain what information is held about you. If there is an error in the information The Charity holds about you, please notify our Privacy Officer who will ensure the information is corrected as soon as possible. You will be asked for verification of your identity when you request access to your information.