inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence is committed to the protection of personal and sensitive information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and relevant State and Territory based laws.
We recognise the importance of privacy and confidentiality when providing culturally safe and individually-focused family violence services, including but not limited to case management, perpetrator intervention and legal services.
inTouch will prioritise our client and service user’s privacy and personal information, except in the instances where:
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether that information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.
Sensitive information is a type of personal information that is afforded a higher level of protection by privacy laws. It includes health, genetic and biometric information as well as information about race or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of political, professional or trade associations or trade unions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or practices and criminal record. (source: Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) s 6(1) as cited https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/guidance-and-advice)
Health information is information collected by inTouch in the course of providing a service to an individual which relates to any information or opinion about their:
References to personal information made by inTouch may refer to personal, sensitive and health information.
The type of personal information we collect and hold may vary depending on the nature of our interactions with you. inTouch will only collect and hold information that is reasonably necessary and relevant to our scope of services and performance of function in providing relevant family violence support, recovery, training and advice where you have consented or as otherwise permitted under relevant legislation.
inTouch seeks will collect personal information directly from the individual concerned wherever it is reasonably possible to do so.
In the event that inTouch collects sensitive information about an individual this will, wherever practical and possible, be undertaken with the individual’s consent.
inTouch will never disclose personal information without consent from the individual unless they are required to by law or under a duty of care.
Personal information can only be disclosed for the particular purpose for which it was collected (known as the ‘primary purpose’) unless certain legislative exceptions apply.
Personal information can be disclosed for secondary or other purposes where inTouch have consent to do so, where it is reasonably expected to be disclosed for a related purpose, where required or authorised by law or a Court/Tribunal order, where reasonably necessary for enforcement purposes conducted by or on behalf of an enforcement body, or where ‘permitted general situations’ or ‘permitted health situations’ exist.
Any personal information provided to inTouch through any means including by phone, in person and via email on webform will be used solely for the purpose intended.
inTouch supports the right of an individual to raise any concerns about privacy, or the way inTouch manages their personal information.
Any individual has the right to make a complaint if they believe there has been a breach of their privacy or that inTouch have not managed their personal information in the right way or according to relevant legislation.
All complaints regarding privacy can be submitted in writing to inTouch’s Chief Operations Officer- coo@intouch.org.au
In circumstances where an individual is not satisfied with how inTouch have handled their complaint, they may contact the following external organisations:
Individuals have a right to access the personal information that inTouch holds about them.
Requests made by individuals to access their personal information held by inTouch will generally be granted, unless certain (limited) circumstances apply. Those circumstances may include where it is reasonably determined that granting access would pose a serious threat to the life, health or safety of an individual or to public health or safety, where granting access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals, where the request is frivolous or vexatious, or where legal proceedings are underway.
inTouch will endeavour to maintain a secure system for storing personal information and health information. Technological and operational policies and procedures are in place to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised modification or disclosure.
inTouch will securely dispose of personal information and health information where it is no longer necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the information was collected or as required by law.
inTouch do not collect personal information when individuals simply browse the inTouch website, however, we may collect personal information volunteered via online forms or email.
When an individual accesses inTouch’s website, a set of de-identified data may be collected for usage reports. This information may be:
inTouch does not identify users or their browsing activities except, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect server logs.
Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your computer’s hard disk for record keeping purposes.
Most web browsers are set to accept cookies however, individuals who do not wish to receive any cookies may set their browser to refuse them. In some instances, this will mean that they will not be able to take full advantage of parts of the website that provides improved service.
When an individual closes their browser the session cookie set by inTouch’s website is destroyed and no personal information is maintained which might identify an individual should they visit the website at a later date.
Individuals who choose to join inTouch’s email lists, complete online forms or lodge enquiries, complaints or feedback will have their contact details stored on secure databases.
