| Privacy statement |
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Youth Off
The Streets Limited (YOUTH) is strongly committed to protecting
the privacy of its' members and their carers and families, employees,
volunteers, donors and all members of the public. YOUTH will
take reasonable steps to collect relevant information from individuals
in a lawful and fair manner.
This Policy has been developed
to address the Youth Off The Streets Ltd. compliance with the: |
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Commonwealth Privacy
Act 1998 |
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Privacy Amendment (Private Sector)
Act 2000; |
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The Privacy and Personal Information
Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and |
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Health Records Act 2001 |
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| This legislation
regulates the way private sector organisations can collect,
use, keep secure and disclose personal information. The Acts
give consumers the right to know why a private sector organisation
is collecting their personal information, what information is
collected, how it will be used and who has access to that information.
In addition, in respect to Sensitive Information, an individual's
consent will be sought, as required at law, prior to collection
of sensitive information, or in other special specified circumstances
e.g. relating to legal services provision and individual or
public health or safety. |
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| Summary
of privacy principles |
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| Collecting
Information (Principals 1-4) |
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| Principle
1: Purpose of Collection of Personal Information |
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Limits the information
which can be collected by YOUTH to that which is relevant
to a function or activity of YOUTH. The onus is placed
on the collector to justify why certain information is
being collected. |
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| Principle
2: Source of Personal Information |
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Ensures that the individual
maintains control over who their personal details are
given to by stating that information should only be collected
from the individual concerned (except in certain circumstances). |
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| Principle
3: Providing Notification when Personal Information is Collected |
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Ensures that individuals
are aware of what their information will be used for,
who will have access to it and their own rights of access.
This assists in achieving an appropriate level of openness
about how an individual's information is handled. |
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| Principle
4: Manner of Collection of Personal Information |
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Prevents undue pressure
or coercion being placed on the individual when information
is being collected, and ensures that staff are sensitive
to the particular circumstances when information is collected. |
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| Storage
and Security Issues (Principal 5) |
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| Principle
5: Storage, Security and Transmission of Personal Information |
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Prevents other individuals
and organisations from obtaining access to personal information
when they are not authorised to. Without adequate security
safeguards, there is the risk that personal information
could be misused or inappropriately disclosed. |
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| Openness,
Access and Correction Issues (Principles 6-8) |
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| Principle
6:Maintaining a Policy of Openness |
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Makes explicit the requirement
for personal information to be handled in an open and
accountable manner. |
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| Principle
7:Right of Access to Personal Information |
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Ensures that the individual
is able to find out what information YOUTH holds about
them. |
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| Principle
8: Correction and Accuracy of Personal Information |
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Permits individuals to
seek correction of information held about them where they
believe it is incorrect. There is an onus on YOUTH to
keep any information they hold up-to-date, accurate, complete
and not misleading. This ensures that all decisions are
based on information, which is both current and correct.
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| Use and
Disclosure of Personal Information (Principle 10) |
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| Principle
10: Limits on Use and Disclosure of Personal Information |
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Places limits on the
extent to which information can be used within YOUTH,
and also on the circumstances in which information can
be released to other organisations. |
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| Unique
Identifiers (Principle 11) |
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| Principle
11: Unique Identifiers |
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Provides guidance on
assigning and using unique identifiers to ensure they
are used in an appropriate manner. |
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| Conducting
Audits (Principle 12) |
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| Principle
12: Compliance Audits |
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Assesses the extent to
which the Department and the funded sector are complying
with the Information Privacy Principles. |
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| The
range of information we hold |
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| We hold in our
database limited personal information about individuals and
sensitive information about only a small proportion of them.
The information on individuals who fit into multiple categories
is cumulative but access is restricted to segments as required.
Broadly the information covers: |
|
| 1 |
Donors, contributors
and supporters: name and contact information to allow
us to identify and communicate with them, background information
that may allow us to develop closer ties with them and
the history of their dealings with us. |
| 2 |
Service users: where necessary we
hold name and contact information and the minimum sensitive
health information regarding their service to allow us
to assist them, often no sensitive data is recorded. Any
sensitive service data is available only to service professional
staff who need access to it for their work. |
| 3 |
Service providers: name and contact
information plus descriptive information necessary to
identify the service. In some cases a history of contact
is maintained. |
| 4 |
Staff: personal information required
by law or necessary to implement the contract of employment
and meet employment laws. |
| 5 |
Volunteers: personal information
needed to meet our legal obligations and to help us best
utilizes their skills. In some cases history of contact
is also maintained. |
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| Collecting
Information |
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The amount
of information we collect about you depends on your use of our
service. The only personal information we collect is what you
tell us about yourself, for instance through surveys, newsletter
registrations and donations.
We use this information for
research or to improve the services and performance. This information
does not identify you personally. This information is compiled
and analysed on an aggregated basis. We may share this aggregated
information with our sponsors and content providers to assist
them to understand our services. |
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| Use
and disclosure of Personal Information |
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| Information
specifically about your personal health is regarded as being
sensitive information. We will not pass on or disclose this
information to any third party for any purpose other than to
further our primary purpose. We
may use information gathered to further research or to compile
assist the analysis of statistics that are relevant to public
health, public safety, or the management, funding or monitoring
of YOUTH.
Any information gathered will not be made
available if non-identified, aggregate data is sufficient
for research purposes, and research will not be published
until it has had any identifying features removed. |
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| The information
if we consider it necessary to: |
| 1 |
implement our terms of
use; |
| 2 |
provide you with a service you have
requested; |
| 3 |
protect the rights or property of
the Association, any user of the Association or any member
of the public; or |
| 4 |
lessen or prevent a serious threat
to a person's life, health or safety. |
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| Information
Security |
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| YOUTH will take
all reasonable steps to keep any information we hold about you
secure, accurate and up to date. Your information is stored
on secure filing cabinet and sever that are protected in controlled
facilities. |
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| Access
or update your information |
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| If at any time
you want to know exactly what personal information is holding
about you, you may request details of that information by contacting
the Privacy Officer. |
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| Complaints
policy for breaches of privacy act |
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If an individual
believes YOUTH has interfered with their privacy they can complain
to the Privacy Commissioner. Advice about making a complaint
can be obtained from the Privacy Hotline 1300 363 992. For individuals
who are hearing or speech impaired contact can be made via TTY
1800 620 241.
When the Privacy Commissioner
receives a complaint the individual will in most cases be referred
back to YOUTH for a chance to resolve the complaint directly.
The complaint will be referred to the Chief Executive. |
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| Privacy
Officer Contact details |
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| For further information
in relation to this policy document do not hesitate to contact: |
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Privacy Officer
Youth Off The Streets Ltd.
74-98 Kenyons Road
Merrylands NSW 2160
Tel:
(02) 9721 5706
Fax:
(02) 9721 0695
Email:
humanresources@youthoffthestreets.com.au |
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Further information
on the Privacy Legislation is available on www.privacy.gov.au
or by contacting:
Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner
Level 8 Piccadilly Tower 133 Castlereagh Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 1042
Privacy
Hotline 1300 363 992
Fax
+61 2 9284 9666 |
