Privacy Statement

Personal information collected by ALARA QLD Limited is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the 'Privacy Act'), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld), the Aged Care Act and the Aged Care Principles and State and Federal Legislation related to service provision.

Personal information is any information that can be used to identify you and includes sensitive health information.

ALARA follows the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act in handling personal information from clients/carers, business partners, donors, members of the public and people associated with ALARA (including members, volunteers, employees, delegates, candidates for volunteer work and prospective employees).

ALARA has developed a Privacy Policy to protect your privacy. The Policy is available in hard copy on request, or may be downloaded using the link below, and contains detailed information about ALARA's responsibilities, your rights, and the information that may be collected by ALARA and how it may be used, stored, disclosed, accessed and corrected.

The primary purpose for collecting personal information from you is to provide disability services, aged care services, community supports and related activities, including planning, funding, monitoring and evaluating our services.

The kind of personal information we collect will depend on your relationship with ALARA, including whether you are a client, participant, carer, family member, nominee, guardian, authorised representative, donor, business partner, employee, volunteer, member, contractor, applicant or online user of the ALARA QLD Limited website.

Where lawful and practicable, you may deal with ALARA anonymously or by using a pseudonym. However, in many circumstances ALARA may need to collect identifying information to provide services, meet legal obligations, ensure safety, respond to enquiries, or manage funding and reporting requirements.

We usually collect personal information directly from you. However, we sometimes collect personal information from a third party such as your carer, family member, nominee, trustee, guardian, authorised representative, health professional, service provider, government agency, funding body or from a publicly available source, but only if:

• you have consented to such collection or would reasonably expect us to collect your personal information in this way, or
• if it is necessary for a specific purpose

We only collect personal information for purposes that are reasonably necessary for one or more of our functions or activities.

Your personal information may be used to:

• provide you with services and supports or goods
• provide you with information relevant to your support
• undertake required reporting to government funding bodies and their partners
• process your donation or payment and provide receipts
• communicate with you about how your donation is used or about ALARA services, causes and events which we believe may be of interest to you
• respond to your feedback or complaints answer your queries.

It may also be used for:

• any other purpose for which it was requested and which was advised to you
• directly related purposes

Please be assured that wherever possible ALARA uses information in a de-identified form.

ALARA takes reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects, uses and discloses is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant. Personal information will not be disclosed to third parties without your permission, except where permitted or required under the Privacy Act or another applicable law.

ALARA may disclose personal information where necessary for service delivery, administration, safety, funding, regulation, audit, insurance, professional advice or compliance.

This may include disclosure to government agencies, funding bodies, regulators, auditors, health professionals, service providers, contractors, information technology providers, insurers, emergency services, carers, guardians, nominees, authorised supporters or representatives or other organisations involved in your care or support.

We take steps to protect all personal, sensitive and health information and government-related identifiers held by ALARA against misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Retention and disposal

ALARA retains personal information for as long as it is required for service delivery, legal, funding, audit, insurance, quality, safeguarding and recordkeeping purposes. When personal information is no longer required, ALARA will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it, unless it is required to be retained by law.

Overseas disclosure and cloud storage

ALARA stores and processes personal information, including information held in cloud-based systems and digital platforms, within Australia. ALARA does not routinely disclose personal information overseas.

If personal information needs to be disclosed, stored, accessed or processed outside Australia in exceptional circumstances, ALARA will only do so where permitted by law and where reasonable steps have been taken to ensure appropriate privacy, confidentiality and security safeguards are in place.

ALARA may use approved digital systems and artificial intelligence tools to support service delivery, administration, communication, quality improvement and compliance activities.

Where artificial intelligence is used, ALARA will take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act, the Australian Privacy Principles and other applicable privacy obligations.

Personal, sensitive or health information will only be used with artificial intelligence where it is reasonably necessary for ALARA's functions or activities, appropriate safeguards are in place, and the use is lawful, fair and transparent.

ALARA will not rely on artificial intelligence to make significant decisions about a person without appropriate human review or oversight.

When you use ALARA's website or digital services, cookies and similar technologies may be used to support website functionality, improve user experience, maintain security, remember preferences, and understand general website use. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings; however, some parts of the website may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

ALARA's website, emails or digital communications may contain links to external websites or third-party platforms. ALARA is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of external websites. You are encouraged to review the privacy statements and terms of use of any external website before providing personal information.

Consent

Where ALARA relies on your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting ALARA. Withdrawing consent may affect ALARA's ability to provide some services, supports, communications or activities.

You can access the personal information that we hold about you, and you can ask us to correct the personal information we hold about you. For more information, see our Privacy Policy - 'access to and correction of personal information'.

Data breach response

If ALARA becomes aware of a suspected or actual data breach involving personal information, it will take reasonable steps to contain the breach, assess the risk of harm, take remedial action where appropriate, and notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Privacy complaints process

If you have a concern or complaint about how ALARA has collected, used, stored, disclosed or otherwise handled your personal information, you are encouraged to contact the Privacy Officer using the contact details below.

ALARA will acknowledge privacy complaints within a reasonable timeframe, review the matter fairly and confidentially, and may contact you to request further information if needed.

ALARA will aim to provide a written response outlining the outcome of the review and any proposed action within 30 calendar days, unless the matter is complex or requires additional time.

If you are not satisfied with ALARA's response, or if the complaint has not been resolved within a reasonable timeframe, you may ask for the matter to be reviewed by a senior ALARA representative.

You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or another relevant regulator for further assistance.

How to contact us

For further information contact us at privacy@alaraqld.org.au or alternatively you can write to us at:

Privacy Officer,
ALARA QLD Limited,
8 Warwick Rd, Ipswich 4305

Assisted contact options are also available.