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Privacy

The Grassland Society of Southern Australia Inc (GSSA) is committed to protecting the privacy of our members and the confidentiality of personal information provided to us. We endorse the Australian Privacy Principles as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and have adopted them in our management of personal information.

This policy sets out how we collect and use personal information that is provided to us and specifically deals with:

  • Collection of personal information
  • Use and disclosure of personal information
  • Updating personal information
  • The right to check personal information held by GSSA
  • Confidentiality and security of personal information
  • Contact and complaints

We may update or change this policy to take into account changes to operations and practices and to ensure that the policy remains appropriate and relevant and complies with legislated privacy principles. When we do so, we will publish the current policy on our website. Please check our website to review this policy regularly.

If you have any suggestions or concerns that are not addressed in this Privacy Policy, please contact our Office as set out below. 

1. Collection of personal information

We receive:

  • information including name, address, telephone, email and facsimile contact details from members and non-members on membership applications, membership renewal forms, newsletter subscriptions and event registrations;
  • information from browsers when you visit our website such as your server address, domain name, date and time of your visit, the pages visited, the page you came from, the type of browser, and selected information for statistical purposes;
  • information when you contact us in person or via the telephone, send us a fax or email or attend our functions, conferences, workshops, or seminars;
  • financial information about individuals purchasing GSSA products and services. This includes credit card details and/or bank account details;
  • information on non-members from a wide range of personal contacts and referrals; and
  • personal information when you request services from us or register for workshops, seminars, conferences or other GSSA events.

If you send us an email, that address will be recorded automatically by our email system for the purpose of replying to your email. However for normal communication with you, we will use the email address you provide in your membership application/renewal, unless you request us to use a different email address.

In accordance with our email policy, any emails you send will be automatically scanned which may result in your email or attachments being blocked. Our IT administrators may have access to your emails to authorise the content for security purposes only and not thereafter.

The GSSA website can be used anonymously. We do not collect identifiable personal information about you if you only browse the site. We do analyse non-identifiable web site traffic data to improve our services and we may use session-based cookies for the purpose of improving your experience of the website. We do not use cookies as the basis for direct marketing.

We collect personal information if you enter any personal information into the website, complete a membership form, attend an event, complete a survey or supply personal details through any form of correspondence in order to receive information.

 

2. Use and disclosure of personal information

Members

Personal information collected by us is essential to our organisational activities, and we maintain and use personal information in written and/or electronic form in order to provide you with information, products and services that will be of professional benefit.

We hold, use and disclose your personal information for the purposes disclosed at the time of collection, or as otherwise set out in this Privacy Policy. We will not use or disclose your personal information for any other purpose without first seeking your consent, unless authorised or required by law. Generally we will only use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:

  • performing our role as a professional body, including the provision of membership services, and compilation of member statistics;
  • managing membership and membership renewals;
  • fulfilling subscription requests and member services;
  • registrations for events;
  • assessing eligibility for membership;
  • delivering conferences, workshops or seminars;
  • notifying GSSA members via regular mail or email, about important professional news, including products, services and announcements; and
  • supporting peer-to-peer networking.

We may disclose personal information that we collect about members or non-members to organisations that perform services on our behalf in connection with maintaining or servicing our membership or processing requests for products or services, including event managers, sponsors, news aggregators, news providers and researchers.

We do not share or sell membership information or personal information acquired from members. Any external organisations wishing to make contact with GSSA members are advised that they are only able to make contact with GESSA members through advertising, sponsorship and other partnerships.

Where your personal information is disclosed, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is protected and handled in accordance with legal requirements and as described in this Privacy Policy.

If you do not wish your personal information to be disclosed or used in accordance with this Privacy Policy, we will use reasonable efforts to accommodate your request (unless required by law). However, if we comply with your request, it may not be possible for us to provide you with some or all of GSSA's services and products.

Non-members

We collect and maintain personal information about non-members for the purpose of providing information about membership, services and products. We maintain and use this information in written and/or electronic form.

If we are advised that a non-member does not want us to provide them with information about membership, services and products, we will comply with their request.

 

3. Updating personal information

We endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. You may update your personal information held by us directly online or by contacting us.

You may opt out of any further contact from us at any time. However, it may then not be possible for us to provide you with some or all of GSSA’s services and products.

 

4. The right to check personal information held by GSSA

In accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to access any personal information which we hold about you, and to ask us to correct any errors or delete such information.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, we may require evidence of your identity before we can give you access to information about you or change it. We may deny your access where exempted by law, or if your request is frivolous or vexatious.

To access any information we hold about you, please contact the GSSA Office at office@grasslands.org.au or 1300 137 550.

 

5. Confidentiality and security of personal information

All our data is stored in written and/or electronic form and we maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. We restrict access to personal information about members and non-members to those employees and third party providers who need to know that information to deliver our products and services efficiently and effectively. We are committed to ensuring that any personal information you provide to us remains confidential and secure.

We cannot guarantee that the internet or emailing is a secure means of submitting personal information. From time to time, personal information may be held in the cloud or overseas databases in countries such as Australia, the United States or the UK. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is protected and handled in accordance with legal requirements and as described in this Privacy Policy.

We will destroy or permanently de-identify your information when it is no longer needed for the purpose for which we collected it, or when we are required by law to do so.

 

6. Contact and complaints

In the event that you have a question, concern or complaint regarding the way in which we handle your personal information, you should contact the GSSA Office at office@grasslands.org.au or 1300 137 550.

You are entitled to make an anonymous complaint or inquiry in relation this Privacy Policy, the Australian Privacy Principles or your privacy rights. However, we may require you to identify yourself if required by law or if it is impracticable for us to deal with your matter otherwise.

We will acknowledge receipt of any complaint within five business days and will endeavour to provide you with a written response within 28 days of receipt of your written query. There may be instances where this is not possible due to the contents of the complaint. In such circumstances, we will respond to your complaint in a reasonable and practical time. You may wish to contact the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

We are unable to assist you with a privacy complaint involving another GSSA member. If you have a privacy complaint about another member, you should take up your complaint directly with the member concerned.

For information on privacy and the Privacy Act (including the Australian Privacy Principles), refer to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website: www.oaic.gov.au.