Privacy Policy

We understand privacy is important to people and Lifeline Albury Wodonga is committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles contained within.

Privacy Statement

Lifeline Albury Wodonga provides crisis support and suicide prevention services, corporate and community education and operates retail stores in Albury and Wodonga. We understand privacy is important to people and Lifeline Albury Wodonga is committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles contained within. This privacy policy explains how Lifeline Albury Wodonga deals with personal information collected as part of carrying out our services. In this policy the term “personal information” has the same meaning as defined in the Act “information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of database) whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion”. In general terms, it is any information that can be used to personally identify you. In this policy, “we” refers to Lifeline Albury Wodonga and “you” refers to an individual about whom we may have collected personal information.

Collection, use and disclosure of personal information
We will only collect personal information from you necessary for or directly related to our functions and activities. For example, we may collect and use personal information from you in order to:
• provide you with crisis support or suicide prevention services,
• take a donation from you,
• give you information or send you publications or resources,
• manage your employment with us if you are an employee,
• assess and register you as a volunteer, or
• engage emergency services or refer you to other service providers.
The types of information we generally collect includes your name, date of birth, address and other contact details such as telephone numbers and email address. Wherever possible, we will collect your personal information directly from you, rather than from another person. Your personal information will not be shared or disclosed for any other purposes than outlined in this policy without first seeking your consent, unless authorised or required by law.
 
How do we collect personal information?
We may collect your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impractical to do so. Other ways we may collect information includes;
• through your access and use of our website;
• during conversations and via correspondence between you and our representatives;
• when you complete an employment or volunteer application form;
• when you register for our training or appointment;
• when you complete a survey or make a donation.
In some circumstances we may collect information from a third party if it is necessary for a specific purpose such a referral to emergency services, credit reporting agencies, law enforcement agencies and other government entities that assist us in achieving our objectives.
How do we hold personal information?We hold personal information in paper-based and electronic records. The information is securely stored on our premises using physical security (locked cabinets and physical access restrictions) and electronic record access is via password protection and backed up daily.
 
Anonymity
We generally provide individuals with the option of not identifying themselves when contacting us or participating in activities or obtaining services or assistance from us unless we are authorised by law not to do or it is impracticable for us to deal with individuals who have not identified themselves or have used a pseudonym. If we do not have your personal information, then we may be limited in our ability to provide you with the services or assistance or advise you of information relating to our operations and activities we carry out.

Dealing with unsolicited personal information
We may receive unsolicited personal information about you from a third party. If we do get personal information in these circumstances, we must determine whether we could have lawfully collected the information. If we could not, we will destroy the information or de-identify it.

Direct marketing
We do not provide your personal information to other organisations for the purposes of direct marketing. We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our activities and services that we consider may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms including mail, fax and email in accordance with application laws and your preference for a method of communication. At any time, you may opt out of receiving marketing communications and we will endeavour to remove your name from our mailing list.

Disclosure of personal information overseas
We do not disclose personal information to overseas recipients. Adoption use and disclosure of Government related identifiers. We do not use Commonwealth government identifiers as its own identifier of individuals such as Medicare numbers or drivers licence numbers. We will only use or disclose such identifiers in circumstances permitted by the Privacy Act.

Quality of personal information
We will take steps to ensure that the personal information we collect is accurate, up to date and complete. These steps include maintaining and updating personal information when we are advised by individuals that their personal information has changed, and at other times as necessary.

Cookies
It is our usual practice to collect information about all visitors to our online services and resources using “cookies”. Cookies are text files that a website can transfer to your computer when you access information on that site. Cookies allow websites to recognise you as you browse their website. We use Google Analytics to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information for the purpose of providing statisticalreporting. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers located outside of Australia. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google. If you are logged in to our website, information about your user account is not linked to data recorded by Google Analytics and is not provided to Google.Information gathered using Google Analytics and other tools includes:
• the number of visitors to our website
• how visitors arrive at our website, for example, did they type the address in directly,
• follow a link from another webpage, or arrive via a search engine?
• web chat
• the number of times each page is viewed and for how long
• time and date of visit
• geographical location of the visitor
• information about what browser was used to view our website and the operating
• system of the computer
• information about whether the browser supports Java and Flash
• the speed of the user’s internet connection.
You can opt out of the collection of information via Google Analytics by downloading the Google Analytics Opt-out browser add on. You can also disable cookies in your internet browser. Doing so will not affect most of our website, but some functions may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

Security of personal information
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse. These steps include background checks, password protection for accessing our electronic IT systems, securing paper files in locked cabinets and physical access restrictions. Staff access to information is based on the “need to know” principle. We also regularly engage independent information security experts to review and test our systems and processes. When no longer required, personal information is destroyed or deleted in a secure manner.

Access and Correction of personal information
You may ask us for access to your personal information or to change it at any time. All requests must be in writing and forwarded to our contact details. Proof of identity will be required to enable access to your personal information.All requests will be considered carefully and if we decline your request, we will give you a written reason for any refusal.

Retention of personal information
We will retain personal information in accordance with our documentation retention policies. When personal information is no longer required, we will either destroy or de-identify it.

Notifiable Data Breaches
If we determine that personal information has been accessed without permission, acquired, used or disclosed in a manner which compromises the security of the personal information, we will assess the risk to affected parties. If we determine that a breach causes serious harm to an individual, we will notify all affected parties (including the individuals to whom the data pertains and the Australian Information Commissioner). The notification will provide recommendations about the steps individuals should take in response to the breach.

Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may change this privacy policy from time to time as new laws and regulations are introduced.

Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, any concerns or complaint about the way we have handled your personal information, please refer to the contact details below:
Chief Executive Officer
Lifeline Albury Wodonga
P.O Box 16,
Albury NSW 2640
Email: admin.aw@lifeline.org.au
Phone: 02 60 211 077