Mary’s House Services is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its clients, staff and partners.

Our Privacy Officer’s contact details are provided below. The Privacy Officer is the first point of contact for privacy complaints or queries.

Our Full Privacy Policy is provided at the bottom of this webpage, after the Summary.

The meaning of “personal information”

“Personal information” means information that can be used to identify someone.

Personal information collected and held by Mary’s House Services

To provide domestic and family violence services, to raise funds to run our services, and to employ staff, Mary’s House Services needs to collect personal information. Some information collected may be sensitive information such as information about health, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or a criminal record.

A list of the types of personal information collected by Mary’s House Services is available in the below full version of this policy and collections statement.

How Mary’s House Services collects and holds personal information

Mary’s House Services may collect personal information:

• through individuals’ access and use of the Mary’s House Services website and via third party software on other websites used by Mary’s House Services
• during conversations with individuals, or
• when individuals complete forms which are then provided to Mary’s House Services

Mary’s House Services may also collect personal information from third parties including:

• law enforcement agencies
• government departments
• non-government organisations that refer individuals to Mary’s House Services
• other service providers

When interviewing clients or discussing private matters, including matters related to employment or staff relationships, in person or on the telephone, Mary’s House Services staff and volunteers will take reasonable steps to provide privacy.

Website use

Other websites
The Mary’s House Services website may contain links to other websites, including social media sites where Mary’s House Services may have a profile. Mary’s House Services is not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites that may be linked to.

Analytics and cookies
To improve visitors’ experience on the Mary’s House Services site, ‘cookies’ may be used. Individuals may refuse the use of cookies by choosing the appropriate settings on their browser.

The Mary’s House Services website uses Google Analytics, a service which sends website traffic data to Google servers in the United States.
Individuals can opt out of Google Analytics if they disable or refuse the cookie, disable JavaScript, or use the opt-out service provided by Google.

How Mary’s House Services stores, secures and handles personal information

How personal information is stored by Mary’s House Services depends on how the information was received and the purpose of the information. A list of the ways Mary’s House Services stores personal information is available in the below full version of this policy and collections statement.

When Mary’s House Services no longer needs to store personal information or is no longer required by law to store personal information, it will take all reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify that information.

What would happen if Mary’s House Services did not collect personal information

If individuals choose not to provide all the personal information that Mary’s House Services requests, it may limit how Mary’s House Services is able to interact with an individual and may prevent Mary’s House Services providing domestic and family violence services or may prevent Mary’s House Services being able to efficiently and effectively raise funds to support its work.

Why Mary’s House Services collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information

Mary’s House Services collects personal information so it can perform its service delivery activities and to provide quality services to its clients. A list of the purposes for which Mary’s House Services collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information is available in the below full version of this policy and collections statement.

To whom Mary’s House Services may disclose personal information

Mary’s House Services may disclose personal information as part of its service delivery and as part of its business functions to, for example:

• other service providers
• law enforcement agencies
• government departments
• non-government organisations
• to a mailing house

Mary’s House Services will never sell or license individuals’ personal information. Mary’s House Services will never disclose personal information to an overseas entity. Mary’s House Services does however use cloud-based software to store personal information, and in some instances, the server for that software may be located overseas.

Access and correction of personal information

Mary’s House Services will take all reasonable steps to keep personal information accurate and up to date. Individuals have the right to request access to their personal information and may Mary’s House Services to update or correct personal information.

Complaining about a breach of privacy

Mary’s House Services welcomes feedback about privacy issues and will respond to questions and complaints promptly. To make complaints or queries about privacy, individuals can contact the Mary’s House Services Privacy Officer using the details below. If Mary’s House Services takes more than 30 days to respond to a privacy complaint, or if someone is dissatisfied with the outcome, a complaint can be made to the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The OAIC can be contacted on 1300 363 992 or at www.oaic.gov.au.

Privacy Officer contact details

To contact our Privacy Officer, Ms Sahar Zaidi, please use the following details:
By email: saharz@maryshouse.org.au
By mail: Ms S Zaidi, Privacy Officer, Mary’s House Services, PO Box 84, St Leonards, NSW 1590

Mary’s House Services is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its clients, staff and partners.

Our Privacy Officer’s contact details are provided below. The Privacy Officer is the first point of contact for privacy complaints or queries.

Our Full Privacy Policy is provided at the bottom of this webpage, after the Summary.

The meaning of “personal information”

“Personal information” means information that can be used to identify someone.

Personal information collected and held by Mary’s House Services

To provide domestic and family violence services, to raise funds to run our services, and to employ staff, Mary’s House Services needs to collect personal information. Some information collected may be sensitive information such as information about health, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or a criminal record.

A list of the types of personal information collected by Mary’s House Services is available in the full version of this policy and collections statement. (hyperlink to full version on site)

How Mary’s House Services collects and holds personal information

Mary’s House Services may collect personal information:

• through individuals’ access and use of the Mary’s House Services website and via third party software on other websites used by Mary’s House Services
• during conversations with individuals, or
• when individuals complete forms which are then provided to Mary’s House Services

Mary’s House Services may also collect personal information from third parties including:

• law enforcement agencies
• government departments
• non-government organisations that refer individuals to Mary’s House Services
• other service providers

When interviewing clients or discussing private matters, including matters related to employment or staff relationships, in person or on the telephone, Mary’s House Services staff and volunteers will take reasonable steps to provide privacy.

Website use

Other websites
The Mary’s House Services website may contain links to other websites, including social media sites where Mary’s House Services may have a profile. Mary’s House Services is not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites that may be linked to.

Analytics and cookies
To improve visitors’ experience on the Mary’s House Services site, ‘cookies’ may be used. Individuals may refuse the use of cookies by choosing the appropriate settings on their browser.

The Mary’s House Services website uses Google Analytics, a service which sends website traffic data to Google servers in the United States.
Individuals can opt out of Google Analytics if they disable or refuse the cookie, disable JavaScript, or use the opt-out service provided by Google.

How Mary’s House Services stores, secures and handles personal information

How personal information is stored by Mary’s House Services depends on how the information was received and the purpose of the information. A list of the ways Mary’s House Services stores personal information is available in the full version of this policy and collections statement. (hyperlink to full version on site)

When Mary’s House Services no longer needs to store personal information or is no longer required by law to store personal information, it will take all reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify that information.

What would happen if Mary’s House Services did not collect personal information

If individuals choose not to provide all the personal information that Mary’s House Services requests, it may limit how Mary’s House Services is able to interact with an individual and may prevent Mary’s House Services providing domestic and family violence services or may prevent Mary’s House Services being able to efficiently and effectively raise funds to support its work.

Why Mary’s House Services collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information

Mary’s House Services collects personal information so it can perform its service delivery activities and to provide quality services to its clients. A list of the purposes for which Mary’s House Services collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information is available in the full version of this policy and collections statement. (hyperlink to full version on site)

To whom Mary’s House Services may disclose personal information

Mary’s House Services may disclose personal information as part of its service delivery and as part of its business functions to, for example:

• other service providers
• law enforcement agencies
• government departments
• non-government organisations
• to a mailing house

Mary’s House Services will never sell or license individuals’ personal information. Mary’s House Services will never disclose personal information to an overseas entity. Mary’s House Services does however use cloud-based software to store personal information, and in some instances, the server for that software may be located overseas.

Access and correction of personal information

Mary’s House Services will take all reasonable steps to keep personal information accurate and up to date. Individuals have the right to request access to their personal information and may Mary’s House Services to update or correct personal information.

Complaining about a breach of privacy

Mary’s House Services welcomes feedback about privacy issues and will respond to questions and complaints promptly. To make complaints or queries about privacy, individuals can contact the Mary’s House Services Privacy Officer using the details below. If Mary’s House Services takes more than 30 days to respond to a privacy complaint, or if someone is dissatisfied with the outcome, a complaint can be made to the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The OAIC can be contacted on 1300 363 992 or at www.oaic.gov.au.

Privacy Officer contact details
To contact our Privacy Officer, Ms Sahar Zaidi, please use the following details:
By email: saharz@maryshouse.org.au
By mail: Ms S Zaidi, Privacy Officer, Mary’s House Services, PO Box 84, St Leonards, NSW 1590

Personal information is information or an opinion about an individual or about an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

We collect and hold personal information if:

• it is reasonably necessary for us to have the information and
• it is for a lawful purpose directly related to one of our functions

We may collect the following types of personal information. Additional types of personal information may also be collected depending on the nature of our interactions with people – this is not an exhaustive list:

• Name
• Contact details
• Age or date of birth
• Nationality
• Race or ethnicity
• Language background
• Indigenous status
• Any Disability
• Employment status
• Income and Financial details
• Health status
• Religious beliefs
• Sexual orientation
• Information about general circumstances
• Information about a matter for which someone is seeking legal assistance
• People’s caring and support situation
• Information about any criminal record
• Additional information that is provided to us by referring organisations and considered necessary for us to provide a service
• Survey responses
• An organisation’s details and payment details if applicable if people attend a professional development or training program we host
• We also collect and hold personal information about staff, volunteers, job applicants, contractors and members including for example, a resume provided in the context of a job application

Some personal information such as information about a person’s health, religious beliefs and affiliations, ethnic or racial origin, sexual preferences and or practices or criminal record is sensitive and requires a higher level of protection under the Privacy Act. We may collect sensitive information when we have people’s consent or when the collection is required by law, and when collection is reasonably necessary for us to carry out one or more of our functions or activities.

We collect personal information in several ways, including:

• directly from people (e.g. when we meet them)
• through access and use of our website, third party websites (see further below) and cloud-based software, including when donation software is used and when people attend our events
• when forms are completed
• through communications with us such as by letter, email, social media or telephone
• when staff use our HR software
• from referring third parties such a hospital or doctor, the Department of Communities and Justice, the NSW Police and other non-government organisations that, with people’s consent, refer clients to us for assistance
• during a legal matter, for example from other parties in a dispute and from courts and tribunals
• from third party service providers such as companies that may assist us with salary packaging

We will take reasonable steps to provide people with access to their personal information.

We will also take reasonable steps to update or correct personal information if we are satisfied that it is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading. If we have provided personal information to third parties we will also inform them of the correction if we are asked to do so unless it is impractical or unlawful to do so. We are not able to insist that third parties correct people’s personal information.

If personal information requires correction, in the first instance, we ask that people contact the staff member with whom they have had contact. If someone is unable to have their personal information corrected by our staff contact or if they require access to detailed personal information about them that we may hold in our files, people are asked to contact our Privacy Officer whose details appear below. We may need to verify identity before actioning a request.

In some circumstances, we may refuse access to personal information such as where disclosure may unreasonably impact another individual or where authorised by law. If access is refused, we will provide written reasons for the refusal and information about how to make a complaint about the refusal.

We welcome feedback about privacy issues and will respond to questions and complaints promptly. To make a complaint or ask a question about how we have handled personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. If we take more than 30 days to respond to a complaint, or if someone is dissatisfied with the outcome, a complaint can be made to the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC ) who can be contacted on 1300 363 992 or at www.oaic.gov.au.

Sahar Zaidi, Operations Manager: 02 8937 2094