Privacy Policy

At The van Diemen Project, we take privacy seriously. We only ask you for the data we need to deliver a service to you. Sometimes, our funding bodies may ask for data that we need to collect on their behalf.

We make several promises to you in regard to any data you provide us:

All of your data is stored in Australia.
We keep your data only for the length time needed to fulfill our legal and contractual obligations.
If you provide information to us in paper form, we will scan the information and save it safely.
After scanning your information, we will either give you information back to you, or we will shred the information you have provided.
Our staff who have access to your data are all security screened and hold current Working with Vulnerable People clearances, or the equivalent within the state that they reside.
We do not employ people outside of Australia who can have access to any of your data.
We will answer any query you may have in relation to your data, or any other matter, honestly and promptly.

Scope

This Privacy Policy explains how The van Diemen Project (ABN 84 640 028 986) collects, uses, discloses and otherwise handles personal information and your rights in relation to the personal information we hold about you, in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (“the APP’s”).

We aim to be open and transparent in how we manage personal information. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or feedback on how we might improve it, please contact us on the details below. You can also request a hard copy of this policy using the details below.

Contacting Us

Privacy Officer
The van Diemen Project
Mail: PO Box 801 Launceston Tasmania 7250
Email: info@vdp.com.au
Telephone: 03 6349 1919
Website: www.vdp.com.au

Collection of Personal Information

What is personal information?

‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

We collect and hold a range of personal information necessary to carry out our activities and functions. The kinds of personal information that we collect and hold about you will depend upon the nature of our relationship with you.

The personal information we typically collect includes:

Personal details including, as your name, address, phone, email and other relevant information required to provide a service to you.
Your image (photos and video recordings), only when permission is given by adults for this purpose.

For our employees and volunteers, we may collect additional relevant information including:

Information contained in resumes.
Educational details, academic and other transcripts, employment history, skills and background checks.
References from past employers and referees.
Information collected during the interview or assessment process; and
Personal information required to make payments, such as bank account details, tax file number and superannuation details.

If you are an employee, contractor or representative of an organisation that we deal with, we may also collect:

Your job title or details of your role within the organisation.
Your contact details at the organisation (such as your office phone number or email address).
Your working with children’s check (or the equivalent in your area).
Any other information necessary to manage and administer our relationship with you as a representative of your organisation or institution.

What is sensitive information?

Some personal information, such as information relating to racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or affiliations, health information (including mental health information and information about a disability), genetic information and whether you have a criminal record is sensitive and requires a higher level of protection.

We will only collect sensitive information if it is essential to delivering work and if we have your consent and the collection is reasonably necessary for us to carry out one or more of our functions or activities.

What kinds of sensitive information do we collect and hold?

For our employees, contractors and volunteers, we may collect sensitive information such as:

Criminal record and
Health information (such as medical history, dietary requirements, allergies, medication requirements, medical diagnoses, medical plans (such as for asthma, epilepsy or anaphylaxis), your Medicare number, health care card details, private health insurance details and ambulance membership.

What if you don’t provide us with your personal information?

In some circumstances, we allow individuals the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with us (for example, when viewing our website or making general phone queries). The nature of the business carried on by The van Diemen Project means that, generally, it is not possible for us to deal with individuals or organisations in an anonymous way.

How we collect personal information?

We usually collect personal information directly from you. We may also collect personal information from others if you are under the age of 18, only with expressed permission for that purpose.

We will usually collect personal information from you when you:

Access and use any of our websites or social media platforms.
Communicate with us through correspondence, email, chat or other online forms.
Register for any of our programs, events or workshops.
If you provide us with your business card at an event or otherwise provide your personal information to us in person.
Participate in research or evaluation discussions that we run.

Sometimes we will collect personal information about you from a third party, these third parties may include:

Your employer or another representative of your organisation.
Research organisations.
Service providers.
Government agencies.
Law enforcement bodies.
Publicly available records.
Recruitment agencies.
Social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram).

How we hold personal information?

We hold personal information in electronic form, and take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We may hold your information in either electronic or hard copy form. When we no longer need your personal information, we will either securely destroy it, or irreversibly anonymise the data (and we may further retain and use the anonymised information).

We store electronic records within our own secure network and through third-party data storage providers that are based in Australia and the data is only stored within Australia.

Personal information within our network is password protected and access is appropriately limited.

Our third-party data storage providers are required to protect personal information in accordance with applicable laws and take appropriate technical and organisational measures against the unauthorised or unlawful use of personal information or its accidental loss, destruction or damage.

The Purposes for Which we Collect, Hold, Use and Disclose Personal Information

General purposes

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, related purposes, and other purposes including:

Maintaining, managing and developing our relationship with organisations, government entities, partners, sponsors and stakeholders.
Organising, marketing and running our programs, workshops and events (including competitions and promotions run by us).
To enable you to use our websites and social media channels.
Assessing and considering applications from prospective employees, contractors, volunteers and service providers.
Developing and managing relationships with our employees, contractors, volunteers and service providers.
Contracting out some of our functions to external service providers and suppliers (such as it, mailing and couriers, research, event management, accommodation, travel, professional advisors and recruitment); and
Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations.

Marketing purposes

We like to keep our supporters informed about the work we do. If you provide your contact details to us, we will add you to our mailing list and let you know about upcoming programs. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, email, social media content and SMS.

We will only send you these communications if you would reasonably expect to receive them or you have consented. You may opt out of receiving communications from us at any time by contacting us or by using the opt-out (unsubscribe) mechanism provided in the communication.

Research purposes

We conduct research into the impact of the work we do. We also evaluate our programs, events and workshops and publish the results. Sometimes we conduct research and evaluation ourselves and sometimes we engage professional research organisations to conduct it on our behalf.

If you provide personal information to us in connection with one of our programs, events or workshops, we may use that information in our research and evaluation. This includes publishing non-personally identifiable information and statistics about our research and evaluation of our programs, events or workshops.

If you provide your contact details to us, we may also contact you to ask you if you would like to participate in our research or evaluation surveys.

Who do we disclose your personal information to?

The nature of the services provided by The van Diemen Project means that it is often necessary for us to disclose your personal information to other parties. We will ordinarily let you know who we will disclose your personal information to, when we collect the information from you (unless there are practical reasons for not informing you).

Common third parties we might need to disclose your personal information to include:

To our employees, volunteers, contractors or service providers.
To police, fire, medical and other emergency personnel in the event of an emergency involving you.
To professional research bodies whom we have engaged to conduct research or evaluate one of our programs, events or workshops, only when we have expressed permission to do so.

Overseas disclosures of personal information

If you apply to us for employment and have lived or worked overseas, we may disclose your personal information to overseas recipients for the purposes of gathering information to assess your application. If you have previously worked for us, and provide our details to a prospective employer or recruitment agency located overseas, we may disclose your personal information to that entity to assist them to assess your application.

Aside from the purposes set out above, we will generally not disclose personal information to overseas recipients unless we have obtained your prior and explicit consent to do so.

Accessing and correcting the personal information we hold

You can request to access the personal information we hold about you. We will take reasonable steps to provide you with access to your personal information.

If you think any personal information, we hold about you is incorrect, you can request that we correct that information. We will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information if we are satisfied that it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

Requests to access and correct your information should be made by email, post or phone using the details provided under the ‘Contacting Us’ heading. Note that we will need to verify your identity before processing your request. We will endeavour to respond to your request within 30 days.

You can also request to have the personal information we hold about you deleted. We will take reasonable steps to do so.

How to Make a Complaint

If you have a complaint about how The van Diemen Project has collected or handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details provided under the heading ‘Contacting Us.’ At the beginning of this document.

Please include your name, an outline of your complaint and an email or postal address so that we can write back to you. We will treat your complaint confidentially and respond within a reasonable time.

If you are unhappy with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Additional Information for Residents of the European Union

If you are a resident of the European Union for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), then in addition to what is set out above, the following applies to you.

The van Diemen Project is a data controller for the purposes of the GDPR and by your consenting to this Privacy Policy The van Diemen Project is able to control your Personal Data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Our Contact details are set out under the heading ‘Contacting Us’.

In providing services to you, The van Diemen Project may make use of a number of automated processes using your personal information and your activity on our website as tracked by us, in order to provide more tailored and relevant services to you such as providing tailored content to you through email communication, and on the website.

In addition to your rights set out above, you may:

Withdraw your consent to The van Diemen Project’s use of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy by getting in contact with us and by opting out of our direct marketing by using the opt-out mechanism. The van Diemen Project will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is deleted.
Request that The van Diemen Project provides you with a copy of the personal information The van Diemen Project holds about you in a portable and machine readable form.
Request that The van Diemen Project erases the personal information it holds about you.

These rights are subject to certain exemptions to safeguard the public interest (e.g. the prevention or detection of crime) and our interests (e.g. the maintenance of legal privilege).

Should you have any concerns in relation to The van Diemen Project’s collection and/or processing of your personal information, then in addition to the process set out under the heading “How to make a complaint” you have the right to complain to a supervisory authority (within the meaning of the GDPR).

Changes to our Privacy Policy

From time to time, it may be necessary for us to review and revise our Privacy Policy.

We may notify you about changes to this Privacy Policy by posting an updated version on our website. We encourage you to check our website from time to time to ensure you are familiar with our latest Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy was last updated in August 2024.