Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Returned and Services League of Australia (NSW Branch) (ABN 78 368 138 161) (RSL NSW) collects, uses, discloses and otherwise handles personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) which are contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

For the purposes of this policy, ‘personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

If you have any questions or feedback about this policy or the way in which RSL NSW handles personal information you can contact us on the details below. You can also request a hard copy of this policy using the details below.

Privacy Officer

Mail: Anzac House, Suite 11.02, Level 11, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Email: privacy@rslnsw.org.au

What types of personal information do we collect?

The types of personal information that we collect about you will depend on the type of dealings you have with us. For example, if you:

• seek advocacy assistance from us, we may collect your name, contact details, details of your next of kin or carer (if applicable), financial details, information about your circumstances, medical history and information about the matter you are seeking assistance with;
• wish to become a member of RSL NSW, we may collect your name, contact details and information about your service;
• wish to donate money or provide other support to RSL NSW, we may collect your name, organisation (if applicable), contact details and the amount and frequency of your donation and payment details;
• attend an RSL NSW event, we may collect your name, organisation, contact details, payment details (if applicable) and any dietary and accessibility requirements;
• send us an enquiry, we may collect your name, contact details, information about your circumstances and details of your query;
• make a complaint, we may collect your name, contact details, the details of your complaint, information collected in any investigation of the matter and details of the resolution of the complaint;
• apply for a role at RSL NSW, we may collect the information you include in your application, including your cover letter, resume, contact details and referee reports.

Sensitive information

Some personal information, such as information relating to racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or affiliations, health information (including mental health information and information about a disability), genetic information and whether or not you have a criminal record is sensitive and requires a higher level of protection under the Privacy Act. We may collect your sensitive information when we have your consent and when the collection is reasonably necessary for us to carry out one or more of our functions or activities. That information might include information about whether a person has a mental illness, disability or substance abuse problem.

Sensitive information is generally relevant to us connecting you to services (including third party service providers such as RSL LifeCare) where you seek welfare, claims or advocacy support. We may also disclose your sensitive information for this purpose though we will only do so with your consent.

What if you don’t provide us with your personal information?

In some circumstances we allow individuals the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with us (for example, when viewing our website or making general phone queries). Donations may also be made anonymously.

The nature of the business carried on by RSL NSW means that, generally, it is not possible for us to provide services to persons in an anonymous way.

How do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

• through our websites (for example, if you choose to donate to RSL NSW online through our secure payment gateway);
• when you correspond with us;
• on hard copy forms;
• in person (for example, at job interviews and where we meet with a client to take instructions);
• from referring third parties;
• at events and forums.

Why do we collect personal information?

The main purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information are set out below:

• providing welfare and support services;
• providing membership services;
• referring you to third parties who can assist you (with your consent);
• determining whether you have any special needs (such as disability assistance);
• carrying out veterans related advocacy, law reform and policy work;
• promoting RSL NSW and its activities, including through events and forums;
• conducting research and statistical analysis relevant to RSL NSW’s activities
• preparing client stories for use in advocacy work and in publications (clients will not be individually identified without their consent);
• education, information and outreach;
• providing information or resources;
• fundraising;
• seeking funding and donations;
• organising fundraising events and reporting to funding providers;
• general administration;
• recruiting staff, contractors and volunteers;
• processing payments;
• answering queries and resolving complaints;
• evaluating our work and reporting externally.

Direct marketing

RSL NSW will send members information and newsletters relevant to their membership and the veteran’s community.

Direct marketing or the promotion of goods and services directly to you may be conducted from time to time, including through emails, SMS, phone calls and the post. RSL NSW will only send you direct marketing materials if you would reasonably expect to receive them or you have consented. If it is impractical to gain your consent, we will always provide a simple means for you to request not to receive the material (‘opting out’). We will not use your sensitive information for the purposes of direct marketing unless you have given us prior consent.

Opting out

You can opt out of receiving marketing communications from us by:

• advising us if you receive a marketing call that you no longer wish to receive these calls;
• using the unsubscribe facility that we include in our commercial electronic messages (such as email and SMS) to opt out of receiving those messages, or
• contacting us by email at privacy@rslnsw.org.au  or by sending a letter to Privacy Officer, Anzac House, Suite 11.02, Level 11, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

Who do we disclose your personal information to?

The nature of the services provided by RSL NSW means that it is often necessary for us to disclose your personal information to other parties. We will ordinarily let you know who we will disclose your personal information to when we collect the information from you (unless there are practical reasons for not informing you).

Common third parties we might need to disclose your personal information to include:

• our funding providers (although personal information will only be provided with consent);
• financial institutions for payment processing;
• referees whose details are provided to us by job applicants;
• our contracted service providers which include:
  • information technology service providers
  • conference, function and training organisers
  • marketing, communications and research agencies
  • freight and courier services
  • printers and distributors of direct marketing material
  • external business advisers (such as recruitment advisors, auditors and lawyers)
• a court (for obtaining copies of documents relevant to your circumstances);
• a third-party veteran support service such as RSL DefenceCare.

In the case of these contracted service providers, we may disclose personal information to the service provider and the service provider may in turn provide us with personal information collected from you in the course of providing the relevant products or services.

Cross border disclosures

We may disclose personal information to contracted information technology service providers that are hosted off-shore.

Storage and security of the information we hold

We hold personal information in both hard copy and electronic formats.  Paper files are stored in secure cabinets onsite. They may also be archived in boxes and stored offsite in secure facilities.

The security of your personal information is important to us and we use the recommended industry standards when storing and dealing with your personal information. We use a secure server using the latest 128-bit SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption technology to process any financial transactions.

The steps we take to secure the personal information we hold include:

• website protection measures (such as encryption, firewalls and anti-virus software);
• access restrictions to our computer systems (such as login and password protection);
• restricted access to our office premises;
• staff training and implementation of workplace policies and procedures that cover access, storage and security of information.

Website security

While RSL NSW strives to protect the personal information and privacy of users of our website, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you disclose online and you disclose that information at your own risk. If you are concerned about sending your information over the internet, you can contact RSL NSW by telephone or post (details under ‘Contact Us’).

You can also help to protect the privacy of your personal information by letting us know as soon as possible if you become aware of any security breach.

 Website usage information and cookies

When you access our website, we may use software embedded in our website (such as JavaScript) and we may place small data files (or cookies) on your computer or other device to collect information about which pages you view and how you reach them, what you do when you visit a page, the length of time you remain on the page, and how we perform in providing content to you.

A cookie does not identify individuals personally, but it does identify computers.  You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie and this will provide you with an opportunity to either accept or reject it in each instance.

We may gather your IP address as part of our business activities and to assist with any operational difficulties or support issues with our services.  This information does not identify you personally.

 Third party websites

Links to third party websites that are not operated or controlled by RSL NSW are provided for your convenience.  RSL NSW is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of those websites. Third party websites should have their own privacy and security policies, which we encourage you to read before supplying any personal information to them.

Access to and correction of personal information

We will take reasonable steps to provide you with access to your personal information. We may however charge a fee to cover our reasonable costs of locating the information and providing it to you.

We will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information if we are satisfied that it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. If we have provided your personal information to third parties, we will also notify them of the correction if you ask us to do so, unless it is impracticable or unlawful.

Requests to access and correct your information should be made by email, post or phone using the details provided under the ‘Contact Us’ heading. Note that we will need to verify your identity before processing your request. We will endeavour to respond to your request within 30 days.

If we do not agree with your request to access or correct your information, we will provide you with written reasons for our decision and available complaint mechanisms.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about how RSL NSW has collected or handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details provided under the heading ‘Contact Us.’