ppPrivacy Policy

Last updated: January 2019

Kkkids First Australia (trading name of Children’s Protection Society Inc.) respects your privacy. Kids First is bound by the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act), Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (the Health Records Act) and other applicable laws that protect your privacy. Kids First will handle personal information in accordance with those laws and this Privacy Statement.

This Privacy Statement describes how Kids First handles your personal information. Kids First may modify or update this Privacy Statement from time to time. Kids First encourages you to check this website periodically to ensure that you have read Kids First's current Privacy Statement.

In this Privacy Statement:

personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable; and
sensitive information is a type of personal information which is defined in the Privacy Act, and includes information about a person's health, their racial or ethnic origin, and their criminal record.
Need more information?

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or would like more information about how Kids First handles your personal information, you can contact Kids First's Privacy Officer. You can also contact Kids First's Privacy Officer to:

request a hard copy of this Privacy Statement;
request access to the information Kids First holds about you;
ask Kids First to correct the information it holds about you; or
make a complaint about how Kids First has handled your information.
More information about how to seek access to or correction of your information, and how to make a complaint, is included below.

Contact us

Kids First Privacy Officer's contact details are:

Phone: 9450 0900

Email: privacy@kidsfirstaustralia.org.au

Mail: Kids First Australia, 273 Settlement Road, Thomastown VIC 3074

What personal information does Kids First collect and why?

Personal information about clients including individuals who may become clients

Kids First collects personal information (including sensitive information) about individuals so that Kids First can provide programs and services (such as counselling and support) to those individuals as clients.

In order to provide programs or services to clients, Kids First usually collects personal information about the client (such as name, sex, age and contact details) and sensitive information (such as information about racial or ethnic identity or health).

Kids First may collect that information (including sensitive information) either directly from the client or indirectly from a person who has referred the client to Kids First (a referrer). Kids First usually collects personal information from referrers when it is impractical for Kids First to collect that information directly from clients or individuals who may become clients (for instance, vulnerable children, youths and families).

Kids First may also obtain personal information about clients from other sources. For instance, we might obtain information about an individual from an alternative source if the individual has given consent for us to collect that information from that source. Kids First may also collect information from an alternative source where it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect the information from the individual including, for example, because the individual has a mental or physical condition which prevents the individual from giving personal information directly to Kids First.

When information is collected from an alternative source, Kids First will take reasonable steps to inform the client that it has collected the information.

Personal information about referrers

Kids First collects personal information about referrers for the purpose of handling the referral, maintaining client records and contacting the referrer, when necessary, for further information about the referral. Kids First may collect and hold the referrer's name, professional role and agency (where applicable), and contact details. Kids First will collect this information from the referrer.

In accordance with the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), Kids First will not disclose the identity of a referrer to a client, unless the referrer gives their consent for Kids First to do so.

Personal information about Donors

Kids First collects personal information from donors for the purpose of processing donations. Kids First may collect a donor's name and contact details (such as a mailing address or email address). Kids First collects this information from donors when they make a donation.

Processing enquiries and complaints

Kids First may collect personal information about a person who makes an enquiry or complaint, so that Kids First can assist the individual with their enquiry or consider his or her complaint. In those circumstances, Kids First is likely to collect personal information such as the individual's name and contact details.

General business operations

Kids First collects personal information about individuals who volunteer with, are contracted to, or are employed by Kids First. Kids First also collects personal information about students who are placed with Kids First for training or education purposes. This information may include the individual's name, contact details, and other information necessary for Kids First to conduct business and maintain:

an employment relationship with its employees; or
its engagement with students, contractors and volunteers.
This Privacy Statement may not apply to acts or practices in relation to employee records of Kids First's current and former employees, where those acts or practices are subject to the employee records exemption in the Privacy Act.

This Privacy Statement will apply to information held about Kids First's volunteers and contractors.

How does Kids First use and disclose personal information?

Kids First generally uses personal information for the purpose for which it was collected: to provide you with services, to process your donation, or to respond to your enquiry or complaint.

If Kids First already holds information about you, Kids First may link or combine any new or additional information about you to ensure that the information we hold is up to date and to ensure that we provide you with the best programs and services.

Kids First works in conjunction with different community-based groups in order to provide an integrated and tailored approach to serving its clients. Because of this, Kids First may disclose your personal information to another community group in order to process your request for assistance or to refer you to another community-based agency that can better meet a particular need. As part of this process, Kids First will usually explain to you the reasons why it is sharing your information with another community based agency.

Because Kids First offers programs and services to families, we collect personal information about children that may be accessed by parents or carers on the child's behalf. There is more information below about how to access information held by Kids First.

Kids First may also disclose personal information to government departments who fund Kids First programs for the purposes of audit or review and to monitor Kids First' compliance with standards set by those departments. That information is usually aggregated and de-identified.

When Kids First collects personal information, it may sometimes also use that information to collect and collate data for research, continuous improvement, or social advocacy purposes. That information is usually aggregated and de-identified.

Kids First may also disclose information to a government agency when required to do so by law (for example, to abide by laws governing the mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse).

Direct marketing

From time to time, Kids First may contact Kids First's supporters (including donors, referrers and volunteers) about Kids First's activities and to provide supporters with Kids First's newsletters, reports, invitations and requests for support. You can ask Kids First not to send you this information by contacting Kids First's Privacy Officer using the contact details set out above.

Overseas disclosure

Kids First does not disclose your personal information to recipients located outside of Australia.

Storage and security of information

Kids First takes reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure.

Personal information from clients is stored in a secure manner onsite. Hard-copy files are kept in a locked file room and electronic files are password protected. The file room and electronic files can only be accessed by Kids First employees and those of Kids First's contractors who need to access those files (for example, by a Kids First employee who is responsible for responding to a request from a client for access to his or her client file). We train our employees and contractors to protect your privacy and we monitor when they access your information. All Kids First employees and contractors who have direct contact with children are required to undergo both a police check as well as a Working With Children check before they work with Kids First.

Some personal information may also be stored offsite with a third-party storage provider. Kids First will take reasonable steps to ensure that the third-party storage provider will deal with such personal information in a way that is consistent with the Privacy Act.

In order to continue to provide services, Kids First may engage third-party contractors or consultants to undergo tasks and activities that involve accessing clients' personal information (for instance, data analysis consultants who assist Kids First to monitor and improve its services). Kids First will take steps to ensure that any such third-parties comply with the Privacy Act. For instance, Kids First will only allow consultants, contractors or students to access your personal information if they sign a declaration form that clearly outlines their responsibilities when accessing your information.

Information collected from donors on the Kids First website will be used for processing payment through a bank-approved payment gateway with an approved SSL certificate. SSL (secure socket layer) allows data to be encrypted and sent in a secure manner between two destinations—for example, between Kids First and your bank when you make a donation online.

Links to other websites

The Kids First website contains links to other websites. The privacy policies that apply to those websites may be substantially different from this Privacy Statement, so Kids First advises that you read them before using those websites. Kids First is not liable for any use, content or privacy practices of those websites.

Anonymity

If lawful and practicable, Kids First will give you the option to deal with Kids First without identifying yourself, or by using an alias.

Accessing and correcting personal information

How can I access personal information that Kids First has about me?

You have the right to request access to personal information that Kids First holds about you.

Sometimes, it may not be possible for Kids First to provide you with all of your personal information, or an exemption under the Privacy Act or Health Records Act may apply. For example, Kids First may not provide access to personal information if disclosing that information would create a threat to the health or safety of someone else. Where Kids First does not provide access to personal information held about you, Kids First will usually tell you why.

When you request access to personal information, Kids First may need to verify your identity before we can provide you with that information. In most circumstances, you may be required to provide a certified copy of proof of identity, such as a driver's licence, birth certificate or passport.

Kids First will not charge you to submit a request to access your personal information but it may charge a reasonable fee to provide you with that information (for example, photocopy fees for large quantities of documents).

You can request access to your personal information by contacting Kids First's Privacy Officer using the contact details set out above.

How can I correct personal information that Kids First has about me?

You have the right to request that Kids First corrects any inaccurate personal information that Kids First holds about you.

If you think that any personal information that Kids First holds about you is inaccurate, you can contact Kids First's Privacy Officer using the contact details set out above. Kids First will take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is corrected within a reasonable period of time. If we decide not to correct your personal information, we will tell you why in writing (unless it is unreasonable to do so), and let you know about the mechanisms available to complain about the refusal.

When you request to correct personal information, Kids First may need to verify your identity before we can correct that information.

Making a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint about the way that Kids First has handled your personal information (including if you believe that your privacy has been interfered with under the Privacy Act), you can make a complaint by writing to Kids First's Privacy Officer using the contact details set out above.

If you are making a complaint, please include your current contact details including your email address, name, address and telephone number, and clearly describe the complaint. Kids First will investigate your complaint and respond within a reasonable period of time.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (commonly known as the Privacy Commissioner) who may investigate the matter and make their own determination. The Privacy Commissioner's email address is enquiries@oaic.gov.au.

You can also complain about Kids First's handling of your health records by contacting the Health Services Commissioner. You can visit http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hsc/patient/complaint.htm for further information about your rights to complain to the Health Services Commissioner.

Last Updated: December 2020

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