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Privacy Policy

Ability First Group Privacy Policy

 

This Privacy Policy sets out how the Ability First Group including Ability First – Australia Limited (ACN 103
184 550) (Ability First), Ability Round Table Pty Ltd (ACN 605 013 821) (Ability Round Table) and
Cerebral Palsy Australia (ACN 143 864 733) (CPA) (together the Ability First Group, we or us) manage
Personal Information, including in relation to the Ability Forum, and our websites located at
www.abilityfirstaustralia.org.au, www.abilityforum.org.au, www.abilityroundtable.org and
www.cpaustralia.com.au (our websites).

The Ability First Group operate a not-for-profit alliance of Australian disability service providers and is
committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles
(APPs) (set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act), and any other applicable privacy laws when handling
Personal Information (including Sensitive Information). We take the protection of Personal Information
seriously.

Personal Information means any information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who
is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not and whether recorded in material form or not.
Sensitive Information includes any information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin,
political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical
beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual
orientation or practices, or criminal record. Sensitive Information also includes health information and
biometric information.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Information, including any Sensitive Information, that Ability
First Group may collect, use and disclose, whether that information is manually or digitally processed.
Ability First Group recommends that you keep this Privacy Policy for future reference.

You are not required to provide your Personal Information to us. However, if you do not provide us with all
the information we request, we may not be able to provide our goods or services to you, or respond to
any queries you may have.

1. Types of Personal Information

The types of Personal Information we collect about you may include name, postal address, telephone
number, email address, date of birth, employment details, types of disability-related services used and
your views and experiences of such services, payment details provided as part of a payment or donation
process.The Ability First Group will not actively seek to collect your Sensitive Information (for example health
information, or information about racial or ethnic origin, or criminal record) unless it becomes necessary
for our business purposes and you consent to the collection of your Sensitive Information. If the Ability
First Group does collect your Sensitive Information, it will do so in accordance with the APPs.
We may also collect aggregated information which tells us about visitors to our websites, but not the
identity of those visitors. This information is used by us to help administer and improve our websites.

2. Collection of Personal Information

The Ability First Group may collect and store your Personal Information when you:

  • communicate with us;
  • fill out an Ability First Group form, register to become a member of Ability Forum, or become a
  • member in our member portal;
  • redeem your points;
  • make a payment or a donation;
  • share a story with us;
  • subscribe to one of our newsletters or mailing lists; or
  • complete an online survey or mobile poll, however, your participation in surveys, forums and mobile polls is voluntary.

At registration we ask members to provide Personal Information. This information is used for targeting
purposes, so the member will receive appropriate online research invitations.

We collect Personal Information for the purpose of the general management and conduct of our business
and complying with our legal obligations.

We may also collect Personal Information for related purposes that would be reasonably expected by
you.

3. Use and disclosure of Personal Information

The Ability First Group may disclose your Personal Information for the purpose for which it was collected
or for a related purpose, with your consent, or if we are permitted or required to do so by law.

All data collected from surveys, forums and mobile polls is stored on a separate platform (managed by a
third party) and can be accessed via a login by the Ability First Group.

The Personal Information we collect about you is not shared with any unaffiliated third party, unless it is
necessary to respond to your questions, provide the service you have requested, perform operational,
administrative and other related functions on our behalf (including technology and business service
providers) or to comply with our legal obligations. We will never sell your Personal Information to any third
party not affiliated with the Ability First Group without your prior consent, except in connection with the
sale, merger, in whole or part, of the Ability First Group, its assets or the division responsible with such
services.

Any Personal Information that you transmit or include within our online forums is confidential and cannot
be viewed and used by others.

We will not use your Personal Information to send direct marketing communications to you, and we do not
trade or commodify the Personal Information we collect. We also do not disclose your Personal
Information to people who are located outside Australia.

4. Data Security and Integrity

The Ability First Group utilises reasonable and appropriate protections to ensure that the Personal
Information we collect and hold is not misused, lost, accessed, modified or disclosed without proper
authorisation. Data provided upon registration and from surveys is encrypted and password-protected.
Access to Personal Information stored on the Ability First Group servers is restricted to those employees,
clients or contractors who require such access to perform a legitimate business purpose relating to the
Services, maintenance, internal security or other related issues.

All Ability First Group employees and contractors, as a prerequisite for employment or engagement, are
required to sign a strict and detailed confidentiality agreement in relation to the Personal Information that
they will have access to.

If the Ability First Group holds Personal Information that is no longer needed for any purpose for which we
are permitted to use or disclose it, we will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to destroy or
permanently de-identify that Personal Information.

5. Children’s Privacy

The Ability First Group does not knowingly collect any information from any child under 15 years of age
without permission from his/her parents or legal guardian.

6. Correction of Personal Information

The Ability First Group takes reasonable steps to ensure that all Personal Information that it holds is
accurate, complete and up to date (having regard to the purpose it was collected for). To assist us, please
ensure that the information you provide to us is accurate, up-to-date, and complete.

You should promptly notify the Ability First Group’s Privacy Officer (details of which are listed below) if
any Personal Information that we hold about you is incorrect or out of date. The Ability First Group will
respond to such a request within a reasonable period of time and if satisfied that any Personal
Information we hold about that you is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, misleading or irrelevant (have
regard to the purpose for which it is held), we may take such steps (if any) as are reasonable in the
circumstances to correct that Personal Information.

The Ability First Group may, in certain circumstances, refuse a request to correct Personal Information. If
such a refusal is made, the Ability First Group will provide reasons for the refusal (except to the extent that
it would be unreasonable to do so). In addition to the exceptions set out in the APPs, the circumstances
where the Ability First Group may refuse a request to correct Personal Information include:

  • where the Ability First Group does not hold the information in question;
  • where the Ability First Group is satisfied that the information it holds is correct and up-to-date; and
  • where the steps required to correct the information are not reasonable in the circumstances.

7. Access to Personal Information

Individuals seeking access to their Personal Information should contact the Ability First Group’s Privacy
Officer (details of which are listed below) directly. The Ability First Group will process all requests for
access within a reasonable period of time, and subject to certain legal exceptions we will provide you with
access to any Personal Information held about that individual. If a legal exception applies and we decide
not to provide you with access to your Personal Information or limit the access we provide, we will provide
reasons for our decision.

8. Changes to Privacy Policy, Opt-Out Process

We will post any changes to this Privacy Policy on our websites. We reserve the right to change, modify,
add or remove portions from this Privacy Policy at any time. Your continued use of our service following
any changes to the Ability First Group’s Privacy Policy means you accept such changes.

You may at any time remove your Personal Information from our list of active users. All unsubscribe
requests should be sent to the relevant contact below:

and we will process your request within a reasonable time after receipt.
We are not responsible for removing your Personal Information from lists of any third party who has been
previously provided your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

9. Other websites

Our websites and email communications may contain links to other websites. We do not control these
websites or any of their content and if you visit these websites, they will be governed by their own terms
of use (including privacy policies).

10. Acquisition, Merger or Bankruptcy

In the event the Ability First Group or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries is acquired by another entity, or
merges with a third party, the successor entity will be bound to respect the provisions of this Privacy
Policy, with regard to any Personal Information in its possession prior to the acquisition or merger. In the
event of bankruptcy, applicable laws will apply.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may, from time to time, amend this Privacy Policy, in whole or part, in our sole discretion. Any
changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy
on our website. However, in any event, by continuing to access our services following any changes, you
will be deemed to have agreed to such changes. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy,
as amended from time to time, in whole or part, you must not access our services including our website.

12. Privacy Officer and Complaints

If you have any privacy enquiries, concerns or complaints relating to this Privacy Policy or practices, or
you wish to request the correction of, access to, or update any of the Personal Information the Ability First
Group holds about you, please contact the Ability First Group’s Privacy Officer as follows:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1800 771 663
Mail: The Privacy Officer
Ability First Australia Pty Ltd
Level 39, 259 George St
Sydney NSW 2000

If you are dissatisfied with our response, or we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your concern,
complaint or request you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(OAIC). To make a query concerning your privacy rights, or to lodge a complaint with the OAIC about
how we have handled your Personal Information, you can contact the OAIC’s hotline on 1300 363 992 or
at www.oaic.gov.au. The OAIC has the power to investigate the matter and make a determination.

Last updated: September 2020