Out for Australia Privacy Policy
Out for Australia values your privacy. Read our privacy policy to learn more about how we use and disclose personal information in accordance with our policy and the law.
1. Introduction
1.1 Out for Australia (OFA) takes the privacy of personal information collected from individuals very seriously and will only use and disclose personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy (Policy) and as permitted by law.
1.2 This Policy applies to the personal information which is collected via the OFA website from online users or otherwise from Mentoring Program Participants in relation to the mentoring program.
1.3 This Policy outlines how OFA handles personal information, including how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, and how individuals may access and correct personal information OFA holds about them.
1.4 This Policy explains what personal information we collect, the purposes for which we collect personal information, how personal information is used and disclosed, and how an individual can find out what information OFA holds about them.
2. Definitions
(a) Online users refers to anyone that accesses the OFA website.
(b) Mentoring Program Participants includes both mentors and mentees participating in any OFA mentoring program.
(c) Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not.(d) Sensitive information includes personal information about an individual’s sexual orientation or practices, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or affiliations, political opinions or membership of a political association, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association or trade union, criminal record, health information about an individual, genetic information, certain biometric information and biometric templates.
3. Overview of OFA's programs and services
3.1 OFA's mission is to provide visible role models, mentors, and other support to aspiring LGBTQIA+ professionals and to strengthen the sense of community among professionals and students. To achieve this, OFA runs:
(a) the Mentoring Program, which provides LGBTQIA+ mentees information, support networks and formal one-on-one LGBTQIA+ mentors drawn from various professional backgrounds;
(b) the Events Program, which brings together youth and professionals (both LGBTQIA+ and non-LGBTQIA+) in a range of safe and inclusive forums to provide networking and other opportunities to share experiences, exchange advice and strengthen the sense of community amongst LGBTQIA+ youth, LGBTQIA+ professionals and broader professional community; and(c) the Outreach Program, which facilitates OFA's outreach efforts and increases the general community's awareness about the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ Youth and LGBTQIA+ professionals as a result of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, with a particular focus on raising awareness about Out for Australia and LGBTQIA+ issues in universities.
3.2 In carrying out the above, OFA engages volunteers and employees and receives donations, funding and support from members of the community and corporations.
4. Why OFA collects your personal information
4.1 OFA aims to ensure that all participants in OFA programs are given the best experience possible. For instance, we need to ensure that our mentors and mentees are matched with people that have the best fit in skill sets and goals. Likewise, being able to determine the demographic breakdown of event attendees helps us to shape our future events. If we do not collect your personal information, we may not be able to ensure the OFA programs provide you with an optimal experience.
5. Information OFA collects and holds
5.1 The main types of information OFA collects and holds includes:
(a) contact details (such as name, address, email, phone numbers);
(b) date of birth and gender;
(c) sexual orientation;
(d) intersex status;
(e) disability;
(f) gender;
(g) educational background;
(h) occupation;
(i) areas of interest;
(j) information on personal issues and experiences;
(k) membership of professional or trade associations;
(l) donation history;
(m) complaint details; and
(n) if you are an OFA volunteer: details of current/previous employment, skills and experience, qualifications and references.
5.2 Given the nature of the organisation, OFA will often need to collect and use sensitive information, such as your sexual orientation, intersex status or gender. OFA will only collect this with your consent.
5.3 The Australian Privacy Principles have several rules about the way in which sensitive information can be used. As a policy, OFA will only use or disclose sensitive information for the purposes for which it was collected, or for a secondary purpose which you would reasonably expect and which is directly related to the primary purpose, unless you give us your consent.
5.4 We typically hold the personal and sensitive information we collect on electronic databases.
6. How we collect personal information
6.1 OFA will always try to collect your personal information directly from you where this is reasonable and practical, such as through mentoring program applications, your registration to attend an OFA event or by email or telephone correspondence.
6.2 From time to time, we may collect personal information from other external sources, such as people authorised by you (guardians or parents, lawyers etc.).
7. Disclosure of personal information
7.1 From time to time OFA may share personal information within OFA. For instance, we may share personal information internally as part of our mentor program or in organising events.
7.2 We may also share some of your personal information with third parties. Such instances include when we provide the list of names of attendees to our event host partners. However, as part of OFA policy, we will not normally send other information, such as your email address, age, sexual orientation or gender identity to event host partners.
7.3 We may also disclose your personal information to other third parties such as:(a) our professional advisors; and(b) referees and OFA volunteers, and candidates for OFA volunteer positions.
7.4 OFA does not, as a matter of course, share personal information with entities located overseas. If, in a particular case, we are likely to disclose personal information to overseas recipients, we will take reasonable steps to inform you of this either at or before (or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable after) the time we collect your personal information.
7.5 Personal information which you provide via Mentorloop will be stored and processed by Mentorloop, and may be shared with OFA program coordinators, for the purposes of providing you with information or assistance you have requested, for reporting and analytical purposes to improve and understand the program, for purposes related to the above and OFA's other programs, and otherwise with your consent or as required or authorised by law. Whilst OFA does not expect to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients, Mentorloop may process your personal information in other countries where mentioned in its privacy policy (https://mentorloop.com/privacy/).
8. Access and Correction
8.1 You can request access to the personal information we hold about you, or request that we change that personal information by contacting our Privacy Officer. For security reasons, you may be required to provide proof of your identity to ensure that personal information is provided only to the correct individuals and that the privacy of others is not undermined.
8.2 We will take all reasonable steps to respond to your request within 14 days of your request, subject to paragraph 8.3.
8.3 Under the Privacy Act, we can refuse to give access in certain circumstances. If we deny access to information we will provide you with our reasons for denying access.
8.4 In accordance with the Privacy Act, we may also in some cases charge you a reasonable fee for access to personal information we hold about you.
9. Protection of your personal information
9.1 OFA may hold your personal information in a combination of electronic and hard copy files.
9.2 OFA takes reasonable steps to protect the personal and sensitive information we hold against misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. These steps include instructing our volunteers who handle personal information to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals
9.3 Furthermore, only authorised personnel are permitted to access these details.
9.4 When the personal information is no longer required for any of the purposes for which we can use it for, it will be destroyed in a secure manner, de-identified or deleted, except to the extent we are required to hold copies in accordance with our legal obligations.
10. Complaint Process
10.1 If you wish to make a complaint about OFA's privacy practices or our handling of your personal information please contact our Administration Officer at the details below. This could include matters such as how your information is collected or stored, how your information is used or disclosed or how access is provided to your personal and sensitive information.
10.2 We aim to achieve an effective resolution of your complaint within a reasonable timeframe, usually 30 days or as soon as is practicable.
10.3 Once the complaint has been made, we will try to resolve the matter in a number of ways such as:
(a) Asking for further information,
(b) Investigating the issues, or
(c) Discussing of options for resolution
10.4 If your complaint is found to be substantiated, you will be informed and appropriate steps will be taken to resolve the complaint, address your concerns and prevent the problem from recurring.
10.5 If you are not satisfied with the outcome at the conclusion of the complaint, you can take your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
11. Contact us
11.1 You can contact us to:
(a) seek more information about the Policy, or request a hard copy version of it; (b) request to stop receiving direct marketing material; (c) ask about accessing your personal information or seek its updating or correction; or(d) make a complaint about OFA's privacy practices.
11.2 Email us at: admin@outforaustralia.org