Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us
Act for Peace Limited (ABN 86 619 970 188) is the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia (“we”, “us” and “our”). Your privacy is very important to us and we are committed to using your personal information responsibly. We are guided by the Australian Privacy Principles, as well as the ACFID code of conduct.
 
This Privacy Policy helps you understand why and how we collect and use your personal and sensitive information, and what to do if you have questions, concerns or complaints. We may occasionally revise this policy by updating this page. The revised policy will take effect when it is posted on our website.
 
By making a donation, signing a petition or campaign action, registering for our email newsletter, visiting our website, applying for employment with us or otherwise providing us with your personal information, you consent to your personal information (including your sensitive information) being collected, used and disclosed as set out in this Privacy Policy.
 
Remember, you are in control of the personal information you have with us. You can choose what to provide to us (including being anonymous or using a pseudonym), and you can change or access these details at any time.
 
You can choose how you want to hear from us, opt out of future communications, or contact us with any queries, by:
  • emailing info@actforpeace.org.au;
  • calling 1800 025 101; or
  • writing to Act for Peace, Locked Bag Q199, QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING NSW 1230

Why do we collect your personal information?

We need to collect certain information to meet your expectations as a supporter; to process your donations, newsletter subscriptions, or change of details - and to tell you about our work. It is important that we tell you about how your support is making a difference to the communities we serve together. To help us communicate with you better we collect information about your history and engagement with Act for Peace, as well as details you may choose to provide about your values, interests and beliefs. We will use this information to encourage you to learn more about peace, justice and other issues you are passionate about and let you know about other opportunities to take action including through campaigns, appeals, events or volunteering. You can set your own preferences for how you will hear from us by contacting us using the contact details above.
 
You do not have to provide us with your personal information and it’s your choice how much information you provide. However if you do not provide us with your personal information, it will be difficult for us to contact you or fulfil a request. For example, we can’t give you a tax receipt, record your support for a petition or send you information about the work you are funding if we don’t have your name and address.
 
Where we collect your personal information for a specific purpose not outlined above, we will provide you with a collection notice which explains the primary purpose and any related secondary purposes for which we are collecting your personal information.

What information do we collect?

Below are some examples of what information we commonly collect:
  • personal details, like name, date of birth or gender
  • contact details, like your address, phone numbers and email address
  • payment information for donations, such as your bank account or credit card details
  • a history of your support for our work and interactions with act for peace, including donations, petitions and campaign actions, emails, and letters and phone calls
  • your communication preferences
  • details you may choose to provide about your values, interests and beliefs including your denomination or home parish (some of which is defined as sensitive information)
  • your interactions with Act for Peace-related websites
  • photos or stories about you if you have attended one of our events


How do we collect personal information?

In most cases, we’ll ask you for this information directly, for example when we ask you to complete a donation coupon, in a telephone conversation with you, when you sign a petition online, or in a survey.
 
However, some information is collected automatically (like online activity by visitors to our website) or from another source (like updating mailing addresses from Australia Post, information that is listed in public directories, obtaining details for potential future supporters from like-minded organisations or where we buy a marketing list you have agreed to be on). If someone makes a donation on your behalf, and asks that you receive information about their gift, we will collect the information they provide about you. We also collect information from third-party suppliers who fundraise for us, or organise workplace giving.


How do we use personal information?

We are committed to maintaining your privacy and we will only use your personal and sensitive information for the purpose for which it was provided to us, other related purposes or as permitted or required by law.
 
Such purposes include:
  • processing donations and issuing receipts
  • responding to your comments or questions
  • providing follow-up information about Act for Peace’s activities
  • supporter research
  • requesting financial, campaigning, volunteering or other support
  • measuring the level of support received and the effectiveness of our campaigns
  • providing you with marketing material such as our newsletter (unless you opt-out of receiving such information)
  • complying with our reporting obligations to the Australian Taxation Office and other government agencies
  • any other purposes identified at the time of collecting your information
 
If we also obtain your sensitive information, we will only use your sensitive information (such as your faith, values or opinions) for the purposes listed above, or other directly related purposes or purposes to which you otherwise consent.


Disclosure of personal information

We occasionally require external suppliers to assist us in our activities, for example when printing a large number of letters to our supporters, and if appropriate, we may provide your personal and sensitive information to third parties who provide services on our behalf (such as mail, database, telephone, IT, cloud storage, audit, payment processing and research services). While most of these suppliers are based in Australia, your personal information may be transferred to a destination outside Australia, including but not limited to Hong Kong.
 
In any case where we need to share your information with a third party, we’ll ensure this is done securely and only for the purposes outlined above. We have confidentiality agreements in place with many of our service providers and external agencies, and with staff and volunteers who handle personal information that we provide to them.
 
Importantly, we don’t rent, sell or exchange your information without your consent. We may provide your contact details to other like-minded organisations to contact you with information that may be of interest to you. Those organisations allow us to do the same and this way we can reach more people with vital information. If you would prefer not to receive communications from other organisations, please let us know using the contact details above.
 
Otherwise, we will only share your personal and sensitive information in accordance with your consent and instructions, as provided through the exclusions set out in the Australian Privacy Principles, or in accordance with the specific Privacy Notice provided to you by us at or near the time of collection of your personal and sensitive information.


How do we keep information secure?

We take commercially reasonable steps to keep your information safe (whether electronic or in hard copy) and to keep it up to date. For example, whenever we ask for your financial details online, we use security-encrypted response forms. Our employees and service providers are expected to keep personal and payment card information confidential and secure. We keep most of your personal information secure in our supporter database, and physical copies of your information, such as donation forms, are kept securely and destroyed if not needed. Your personal information will stay on the database indefinitely until you advise you would like it removed, unless we de-identify it or destroy it earlier in accordance with privacy law requirements. Staff and volunteers are required to sign our policies relating to privacy, and police checks are conducted for sensitive roles.

Online Activity and Social Media
Cookies
When you visit our website, we will collect and store your computer’s assigned IP address, the date and time of your visit, the information accessed and the referring page. We will also collect other non-identifying data for statistical purposes. This information is not linked to your personal information. Like many websites, our website may use ‘cookies’ from time to time. Cookies are small text files that the website transfers to your computer through your web browser to enable the website’s systems to recognise your computer. Cookies may also be used to record non-personal information such as the date, time or duration of your visit, or the pages accessed, for website administration, statistical and maintenance purposes. Any such information will be aggregated and not linked to particular individuals. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. Please note that some parts of the website may not function fully for users that disallow cookies.
 
Third party links
Our website contains hypertext links to other third party websites. Act for Peace is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites which will be governed by the privacy policy of third parties.
 
Social Media
You can also engage with Act for Peace through social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You can always control how you receive content through each website’s settings. 


Seeing and updating information

You may ask us to update, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you at any time. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect and hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, we rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information to help us maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date information. We will, on request, provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you unless otherwise required or permitted by law. We will notify you of the basis for any denial of access to your personal information. If you wish to have your personal information deleted, we will take reasonable steps to delete it unless we need to keep it for legal, auditing or internal risk management reasons. To request access to your personal information, or if you wish to update or correct your personal information, please contact us using the contact details provided above.
 

Opting out of direct marketing communications

Where we use your personal information to send you marketing and promotional information by post, email or telephone, we will provide you with an opportunity to opt-out of receiving such information. By electing not to opt-out, we will assume we have your implied consent to receive similar information and communications in the future. We will always ensure that our opt-out notices are clear, conspicuous and easy to take up.
 
If you do not wish to receive direct marketing communications from us, please contact us using the details provided above.


Making a query or complaint

We are committed to protecting your privacy and upholding the Australian Privacy Principles. If you have any queries or you believe we have breached this policy or the Australian Privacy Principles please contact us with your concerns using the contact details above.
 
We take all complaints very seriously and we will endeavour to respond to your complaint and address your concerns as soon as reasonably practicable. We will refer your complaint to our Privacy Officer who will investigate the issue and determine the steps that we will undertake to resolve your complaint. We will contact you if we require any additional information from you and will notify you in writing of the outcome of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with our decision, you can contact us to discuss your concerns or complain to the Australian Information Commissioner via www.oaic.gov.au.