Privacy Policy
Australasian Housing Institute Privacy Policy
Issued 7 March 2003
A. Introduction
The Australasian Housing Institute is an organisation that is,
by nature, personal information-intensive. It relies on comprehensive
and accurate personal information about its members and other people
with whom we deal. We have robust systems and procedures in place
to protect your privacy whenever we collect, store, use or disclose
your personal information. If you do not wish us to disclose information
about you to third parties, you must inform us and we will take
immediate steps to implement your request.
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B. What kind of personal information does the
Institute collect?
The type of information the Institute collects and holds includes
(but is not limited to) personal information, including sensitive
information, about:
- Members' official and preferred names, titles, postnominals,
personal awards, private and business address details, telephone
and facsimile contact details both private and business, e-mail
addresses, date of birth, gender.
- Members' qualifications, education and academic history, work
experience and skills, occupation, employer information, insurance
details, areas of practice, areas of interest, details of disciplinary
action.
- Membership of other associations.
- Financial details including credit card numbers, bank account
information, financial status of membership, and subscriptions
to the Institute's publications.
- Assessment records created when a member applies for a certain
membership grade. This can include Curriculum Vitaes (CVs), referees'
reports etc.
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C. How we collect your personal information
The Institute collects most personal information direct from you
- for example, when you fill in an application form for membership,
renewal forms etc. Information may also be collected direct from
you when you deal with us personally, over the telephone, send a
letter, or visit the web site. Information is also collected from
you when you participate in an Institute survey. There may be occasions
when a third party provides information about you, such as when
you are nominated for an honour or award, or when a complaint is
made against you.
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D. How we use your personal information
The Institute will use personal information it collects for the
primary purpose for which it is collected and for such other secondary
purposes that are related to the primary purpose and are reasonably
expected, or for which consent has been given. The Institute will
use your personal information to provide you with a particular product
or service and to contact you about matters pertaining to membership
of the Institution.
This includes (but is not limited to) the following:
- Assessing membership applications.
- Processing payments of applications.
- Making decisions relating to nomination or election to a position
on the Board and/or Committees.
- Providing membership services such as publications, newsletters
(by post or email) and other member benefits.
- Inviting you to partake in Institute events, seminars, professional
development activities and networking activities.
- Contacting board and committee members to distribute agendas
and minutes.
We may use your personal information for purposes related or ancillary
to the main reason we collect it, such as:
- Internal accounting and administration.
- Regulatory reporting and compliance.
- Helping us to identify and inform you about other services that
may be of benefit to you.
In the event of a complaint against you we use personal information
provided to us to investigate the complaint in accordance with the
procedures set down in the Institute's policies and guidelines for
handling complaints against members.
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E. Disclosure of your personal information
he Institute may disclose personal information, including sensitive
information, held about an individual to:
- A membership committee/ board or panel to assess applications
and disciplinary action.
- Members authorised to vote on candidates elected to office
bearing positions judging committees for awards and honours.
- Members on the same Committee or group.
The Institute may contract out some of our functions and activities.
For example, we may disclose information to allow printing of renewal
invoices, membership cards, and arrears notices. We may also provide
names and addresses to a mailing house to mail information to you.
In these situations, we prohibit the third parties from using personal
information about you except for the specific purpose for which
we supply it.
The Institute makes certain registers and lists publicly available.
For instance, if you are recorded on a register or other listing,
such as the Consultants' Register, or if you are an office bearer
on the Board or committee, we disclose personal information such
as name and contact details through various means, either through
publications, websites or verbally to members of the public.
The Institute discloses to the public that you are a member of
the Institute unless you have advised us that you do not want this
information released.
The Institute treats all personal information held about you as
confidential. This applies except where disclosure of your personal
information is compelled by law, in the public interest, or with
your consent.
In the event of a complaint, disclosure of personal information
is restricted to those authorised under the Institute's policies
and guidelines for handling complaints against members.
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F. Accuracy of your personal information
If we have accurate personal information about you, it enables
us to provide you with the best possible service. We take reasonable
steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete
and up to date whenever we collect or use it. If you find that current
personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete
or out of date please contact us immediately. Alternatively, you
may correct this yourself through the Members Only area on the Institute's
website.
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G. Access to your personal information
You may access limited personal information through our secure
Members Only area on the Institute's website. Alternatively, on
request, we provide you with information about you which is readily
accessible and which may lawfully be provided. Your request to provide
information will be dealt with in a reasonable time and we may charge
you an administration fee for retrieving and sending the information
to you.
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H. Security of your personal information
The Institute protects any personal information that we hold about
you from misuse and loss. We protect your privacy by restricting
access to your personal information to those staff or authorised
office bearers who need it, either to process information or to
provide you with the services you have asked for. Our staff are
responsible for handling personal information in accordance with
the Privacy Act. Your personal information may be stored in hardcopy
documents, as electronic data, or in the Institute's software or
systems. We maintain physical security over our paper and electronic
data stores and premises. We also maintain computer and network
security. For example, we use firewalls (security measures for the
Internet) and other security systems such as user identifiers and
passwords to control access to computer systems. The Institute will
keep your information for as long as it is needed to provide you
with the products and services you have requested from us. We will
take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal
information when we no longer need it.
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I. Resolving your concerns
If you believe that the privacy of your personal information has
been compromised, you are entitled to complain. If you have a complaint,
contact the area where you believe the breach has occurred. If your
complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, forward a written
complaint to:
The Chief Executive
Australasian Housing Institute
PO Box 6100, Phillip ACT 2606
A written complaint must include a return address, and identify
the conduct that is the basis for the complaint. There are no fees
for lodging a complaint.
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J. Your consent
If you have not already done so, please tell us if you DO NOT wish
the Institute to disclose:
- That you are a member of the Institute.
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