Magnolia Health is a not-for-profit incorporated association which provides services to those diagnosed with endometriosis, their family and carers.
The purpose of this policy is to provide clear guidelines on the collection, access and use of the personal information we collect and applies to all persons involved in the collection and use of data by Magnolia Health including its committee, volunteers and where applicable, employees.
We are governed by the ACNC and take care to comply with the Governance Standards required of charities. We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your personal information. The APPs can be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au. Magnolia Health will only disclose your personal information where you consent to the use or disclosure of such information and when required or authorised by law.
Magnolia Health is committed to the responsible, honest and ethical management of the information we obtain and will comply with the APP requirements where possible, even though some exemptions may apply.
Our Privacy Policy explains the details of the personal, sensitive and health Information we may collect, hold, use and disclose when you interact with our services.
Magnolia Health respects your privacy and is committed to protection of any information you provide to us or we collect on you and to being transparent with you with respect to your information. Our privacy policy applies to the gathering of information from volunteers, board members, members, contractors, suppliers, clients, employees, donors and sponsors of Magnolia Health and any others who may make contact with us. Information may be in electronic or paper form and includes information gathered from our website, electronically, in writing or person and/or over the phone. When providing your personal, sensitive or health information you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Policy, relevant Acts or other applicable laws of Australia.
Types of Information
Personal information: Information about an individual such as contact details including name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, signature, police checks, blue cards, pensioner or concession details, Medicare, Veteran’s Affairs and health fund details, emergency contacts and gifts and donation amounts.
This also includes credit card numbers, bank account details and business details in order to process payments, fees for services, payments for products and donations.
Sensitive information: Is a subset of Personal Information, attracting a higher level of protection under the Act. It includes health, genetic and biometric information as well
as information about race or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of political parties, sexual orientation and criminal record.
Health information: Is information about an individual’s physical or mental health or disability, health preferences including future provision of health services and use of health services. In order to provide appropriate support to its clients, Magnolia Health will ask their consent to collect and maintain health information such as health status, diagnosis, test results and cancer treatment as well as contact details of treating doctors. Health and other sensitive information is collected in accordance with rules established by professional health bodies that deal with obligations of professional confidentiality which bind the organisation.
Why We Collect Information
We only collect Personal and other sensitive Information necessary for our functions and activities so we can provide you with the most appropriate services. It is your decision as to what information you provide, however, we may be limited in the services we can provide for you if you choose not to provide certain information. All information we obtain is held securely.
Magnolia Health collects and stores information and data to provide effective services to our members or other persons, maintain our membership lists and manage our sponsors, co-ordinate volunteers, send newsletters or event notifications or as supporting evidence for grants or fundraising exercises.
What Information we Collect
Personal information that may identify you will not be collected when visiting our website although you might choose to provide your Personal Information when you complete an online form or make an enquiry via the ‘contact us’ page. Our websites take every precaution to protect Personal Information collected and measures are in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of this information.
To help us keep our websites working optimally, our sites may collect statistics about visits, such as how many people visit our sites, the user’s IP address, which pages people visit, the domains our visitors come from and which browsers they use. This information will not be used to identify you.
Cookies: Our websites may collect ‘cookies’ when you access them. Cookies identify your IP address and browser type, but not your Personal Information. Whilst cookies enable better website functionality, you can choose to reject them if you wish.
Third Party Links: Our websites may contain links to other websites that are not ours. These sites are not subject to our privacy policy, and we are not responsible for the content of these websites or the privacy practices of these sites.
Law Enforcement: It is also important to know that we may, at times, be obliged by law to allow law enforcement agencies and other government agencies with relevant authority, to inspect our IP logs.
How We Collect Your Information
Generally Personal, Sensitive and Health Information is collected directly from you via phone, mail, email, application forms or when a complaint is lodged with us. Personal information is also collected from the website if you fill in a contact form, make an online donation, register for an event or send an email.
We endeavour to gain your consent, whether expressed or implied, prior to obtaining your Personal Information. Once you have provided your consent, you are able to withdraw it at any time by contacting us, although we may not be able to provide you with the services you require, should this occur.
If you choose, you can deal with us anonymously or use a pseudonym (as long as that does not contravene legal requirements) although your personal details may be required so that we can provide you with the best service.
You may access your personal information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it by contacting us at any time. In order to protect your personal information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.
Security of Information
Your personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Access to information is limited to those who require access to carry out their role.
When your personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your personal information.
However, most of the personal information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions or concerns about Personal Information Privacy or you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Act at any time, please get in touch. We take your privacy very seriously, so we are always ready to listen. If you are not happy with the way we collect, use, and hold or disclose your information you are welcome to lodge a complaint.
References
Australian Government. Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Privacy Act 1988 (legislation.gov.au) Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission – Managing People’s Information and Data.
Australian Government – Guide to developing an APP privacy policy – (oaic.gov.au)
