Privacy policy

Personal information will generally be collected directly from you through the use of any of our standard forms, over the internet, via email, or through a telephone conversation with you. We may also collect personal information about you from third parties (for instance, medical professionals or a service delivery partner). In these cases, we take reasonable steps to notify you of the collection of personal information at the time or shortly after collection.

There may, however, be some instances where personal information about you will be collected indirectly because it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect personal information directly from you. We usually notify you in advance, or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable after the information has been collected.

The personal information that we collect and hold about you depends on your interaction with us.

Generally, we collect, use and hold your personal information for the purposes of:

• providing a range of social and support services to you or someone else you know,
• including but not limited to child care, community, disability, relationship services, and pastoral ministries;
• providing volunteering and student placement opportunities which support the delivery and promotion of our services;
• promoting our services by providing you with information about other services we offer that may be of interest to you;
• providing you with newsletters and information which may contain fundraising opportunities;
• providing you with the opportunity to meet other people and attend events and functions;
• facilitating our internal business operations, including the fulfilment of any legal requirements;
• analysing the delivery of our services and the on-going planning, staffing and monitoring and review of those services; and
• maintaining our relationship with you.

You may at any time opt out of receiving direct marketing correspondence by contacting us using the details below, or by opting out using the process set out in the marketing material.

If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you, or someone else you know, with the services you (or they) are seeking.

If you access our website, we may collect additional personal information about you in the form of your IP address or domain name.

Our website uses cookies. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and to prepare customised web pages for them. Cookies do not identify you personally, but they may link back to a database record about you. We use cookies to monitor usage of our website and to create a personal record of when you visit our website and what pages you view so that we may serve you more effectively.

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and any linked websites are not subject to our privacy policies or procedures.

You have the option to withhold personal information or use an alias when engaging with us.

In the majority of situations, this may result in a reduced capacity for us to provide services to you. In other situations such as completing surveys and evaluation forms, making donations, general enquiries or feedback, it is reasonable to remain anonymous.

Generally, we only use and disclose personal information about you for the purposes for which it was collected (set out above), for purposes related to our functions or activities or as required by law. We only use and disclose sensitive information with your consent. We may disclose personal information about you to:

• • Our related entities to facilitate our and their internal business processes;
    Commonwealth and state departments/agencies which provide funding for our
    services;
  • Government inquiries (for instance Royal Commissions);
  • Third party service providers, who assist us in operating our business (including
    information technology service providers), and these service providers may not be required to comply with our privacy policy. These service providers may be based overseas or use overseas infrastructure (including servers) in North America;
  • Service delivery partners who work with us to deliver wrap-around or case-managed services to our clients;
  • Contractors who manage some of the services we offer;
  • Health and allied health professionals who provide specialist information to support the delivery of our services to clients;
  • Regulatory and Statutory bodies that monitor safety matters relating to workplaces; and the safety of children and people with a disability;
  • An Agency or enforcement body for the purposes of protecting a child from the risk of physical or psychological harm; to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to life, health or property or a person; and/or if matters are disclosed relating to serious criminal activity that have, or are likely to occur;
  • A court as required by a warrant, order or notice;
  • Quality Assurance bodies for the purpose of monitoring service delivery standards;
  • ‘Substitute decision makers’ or ‘responsible persons’ where a client is incapable of giving or communicating consent;
  • Professional advisors including members of relevant councils;
  • Referees of volunteers when determining the suitability of applicants; and
  • Our related entities and other organisations with whom we have affiliations so that those organisations may provide you with information about services and various promotions.

In some circumstances, the law may permit or require us to use or disclose personal information for other purposes (for instance, where you would reasonably expect us to and the purpose is related to the purpose of collection).

We are not likely to disclose your personal information overseas. However, in cases where information is required to be disclosed overseas to fulfil our functions or activities and provide services to you, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the third party uses your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy and the Privacy Act.

We store your personal information in different ways including in paper and electronic form. The security of your personal information is important to us. We take reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is stored safely to protect it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, interference, or disclosure, including electronic and physical security measures including:

• Locked storage of paper records;
• Use of document shredding and security bins;
• Authentication and password controls for electronic records;
• Use of our managed devices and services (e.g. iPads, laptops, email) for transfer of personal information.

Regular audit and risk assessments are conducted to ensure the appropriate availability,
integrity and confidentiality of personal information managed through our systems and
programs.

You may request access to personal information we hold about you, by making a written request. We will respond to your requests within a reasonable period (for instance, 30 calendar days) and you may be required to verify your identity. We may charge you a reasonable fee for processing your request (but not for making a request for access).

We may decline a request for access to personal information in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act, and if we do, we will provide you with a written notice that sets out the reasons for the refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons).

If, upon receiving access to your personal information, or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date. You are also encouraged to provide updated personal information to us as it changes.

If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will provide you with a written notice that sets out the reasons for our refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons) and provide you with a statement regarding the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act, Australian Privacy Principles, or a privacy code that applies to us, please contact us using the details below and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you.

If you are not satisfied with the response that you have received from us you can complain directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

If you have any queries or concerns about our privacy policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact our Centacare Privacy Officer at:
Email address: [email protected]
Telephone: 1300 CENTACARE (1300 236 822)
Post: GPO Box 282, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001

For people with disability receiving supports or services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) who wish to make a complaint about a breach of privacy, please contact the NDIS Commission Feedback and Complaints team using the following contact details:
Email address: [email protected]
Telephone: 1800 035 544
Post: NDIS Commission Feedback, PO Box 210, Penrith, NSW, 2750.

For more information about privacy in general, you can visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au