The Australian Communications Consortium Ltd.
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This Privacy Policy sets out the approach which the ACC will take in relation
to the treatment of Personal Information. It includes information on how the
ACC collects, uses, discloses and keeps secure, individuals' Personal Information.
It also covers how the ACC makes the Personal Information it holds available
for access to and correction by the individual.
This policy has been drafted having regard to the ACC's obligations under the
Telecommunications Act 1997, the Privacy Act 1988 (including the new National
Privacy Principles) (the Privacy Act) and the ACIF Code on the Protection of
Personal Information of Customers of Telecommunications Providers. Nothing in
this Policy changes the ACC's existing obligations under the credit reporting
requirements of the Privacy Act.
This Policy is a public document and has been prepared in light of National
Privacy Principle 5, Openness.
1. Collection
1.1 The ACC will only collect Personal Information where the information is
necessary for the ACC to perform one or more of its functions or activities.
In this context, "collect" means gather, acquire or obtain by any
means, information in circumstances where the individual is identifiable or
identified.
1.2 The ACC collects Personal Information primarily to supply customers with
the products and services ordered from it and its related companies. The ACC
also collects and uses Personal Information for secondary purposes including:
(i) billing and account management;
(ii) business planning and product development; and
(iii) to provide individuals with information about promotions, as well as the products and services of other ACC companies and other organisations.
1.3 The ACC will notify individuals (including, but not limited to, our customers) of the matters listed below before collecting any Personal Information:
i) the main reason that we are collecting Personal Information (this reason will be the Primary Purpose);
ii) other related Uses or Disclosures that we may make of the Personal Information (Secondary Purposes);
iii) our identity and how individuals can contact us, if this is not obvious;
iv) that individuals can access the Personal Information that the ACC holds about them;
v) that individuals should contact our customer service department (even if they are not a customer) if wish to access or correct Personal Information collected by us or have any concerns in relation to Personal Information;
vi) the organisations or types of organisations to whom we usually Disclose the Personal Information including Related Bodies Corporates and contractors;
vii) where applicable, any law that requires the Personal Information to be collected (for example, information that is required to be collected for the Integrated Public Number Database which is used by directory publishers);
viii) the consequences (if any) for the individual if all or part of the Personal Information is not provided to the ACC.
1.4 Where it is not practicable for the ACC to notify individuals of all of
the Collection Information before the collection of Personal Information, the
ACC will ensure that individuals are notified of the Collection Information
as soon as possible after the collection. The ACC will only engage in "post
collection notification" in those circumstances where it is not practicable
to notify individuals about the collection of their personal information before
it is collected.
1.5 When collecting Personal Information over the telephone, it may not always
be practicable to provide all the Collection Information at that time. In such
circumstances, we will provide the individual with the ACC contact details,
and then provide the balance of the Collection Information in a confirming letter.
1.6 The ACC will not collect Sensitive Information from individuals except with
consent and only where it is necessary for the ACC to collect such information
for an activity or function.
1.7 The ACC will not collect Personal Information secretly or in an underhanded
way.
1.8 The ACC will take steps to ensure that individuals on purchased lists are
or have been notified of the information as outlined at 1.3.
2. Use
2.1 The ACC will obtain an individual's consent for Use of non-sensitive Personal
Information for Secondary Purposes at the time of collection, unless the Use
is a related Secondary Purpose which would be within the relevant individual's
Reasonable Expectations.
2.2 The ACC Uses Personal Information primarily for the purposes listed in 1.2
above.
2.3 If The ACC relies on the Direct Marketing exception to Direct Market to
individuals it will ensure that:
i) the individual is clearly notified of their right to Opt Out from further Direct Marketing;
ii) there is only one Use of the information before the Opt Out right is given and this Use applies across all the ACC's Related Bodies Corporate (if the information is shared between those Related Bodies Corporate);
iii) the individual is given an Opt Out in all further instances of Direct Marketing if they have not previously chosen to Opt Out; and
iv) if the individual Opts Out of all Direct Marketing the Opt Out will be respected by the ACC and all its Related Bodies Corporate.
2.4 The ACC will not use Sensitive Information for Direct Marketing.
2.5 The ACC may use Personal Information to avoid an imminent threat to a person's
life or to public safety. It may also use Personal Information for reasons related
to law enforcement or internal investigations into unlawful activities.
2.6 The ACC will not use Personal Information without taking reasonable steps
to ensure that the information is accurate, complete and up to date.
2.7 The ACC will not attempt to match de-identified or anonymous data collected
through surveys or such online devices as "cookies", with information
identifying an individual, without the consent of the relevant individual.
3. Disclosure
3.1 The ACC may Disclose Personal Information to related or unrelated third
parties if consent has been obtained from the individual. This will include
obtaining the individual's consent for Disclosures made under the credit reporting
requirements of the Privacy Act.
3.2 The ACC may Disclose Personal Information between Related Bodies Corporate.
Where information is Disclosed to such a Related Body Corporate, that Related
Body Corporate is bound by the original Primary Purpose for which the information
was collected.
3.3 The ACC may Disclose Personal Information to unrelated third parties to
enable outsourcing of functions (such as billing), where that is Disclosure
or Use for a related Secondary Purpose and has been notified to individuals
or where such Disclosure is within the individual's Reasonable Expectations.
Individuals will be notified of the ACC's usual Disclosures via the Collection
Information, as outlined in 1.3.
3.4 The ACC will take reasonable steps to ensure that its contracts with third
parties include requirements for third parties to comply with the Use and Disclosure
requirements of the Privacy Act.
3.5 The ACC may Disclose Personal Information to law enforcement agencies, government
agencies, courts or external advisers where permitted or required by law.
3.6 The ACC may Disclose Personal Information to avoid an imminent threat to
a person's life or to public safety.
3.7 If a Disclosure is not for a Primary Purpose; is not for a related Secondary
Purpose; or upfront consent has not been obtained, the ACC will not Disclose
Personal Information otherwise than in accordance with the exceptions set out
at 3.1 to 3.6 above.
3.8 The ACC does not generally sell or share its customer lists on a commercial
basis with third parties but if it did, it would only do so if we had the appropriate
consent of the individual involved. If the consent provided is conditional,
the ACC will take steps to ensure (by contract) that the use of its customer
list by third parties does not exceed the scope of the consent.
4. Information quality
4.1 The ACC will review, on a regular and ongoing basis, its collection and
storage practices to ascertain how improvements to accuracy can be achieved.
4.2 The ACC will take steps to destroy or de-identify Personal Information after
as short a time as possible and after a maximum of seven years, unless the law
requires otherwise.
5. Information security
5.1 The ACC requires employees and contractors to perform their duties in
a manner that is consistent with the ACC's legal responsibilities in relation
to privacy.
5.2 The ACC will take all reasonable steps to ensure that paper and electronic
records containing Personal Information are stored in facilities that are only
accessible by people within the ACC who have a genuine "need to know"
as well as "right to know".
5.3 The ACC will review, on a regular and ongoing basis, its information security
practices to ascertain how ongoing responsibilities can be achieved and maintained.
6. Access and correction
6.1 The ACC will allow its records containing Personal Information to be accessed
by the individual concerned in accordance with the Privacy Act.
6.2 The ACC will correct its records containing Personal Information as soon
as practically possible, at the request of the individual concerned in accordance
with the Privacy Act.
6.3 Individuals wishing to lodge a request to access and/or correct their Personal
Information should do so by contacting the ACC Customer Service, as per the
details on the back of this document. While some requests for access may be
handled by Customer Service, it may be necessary for your request to be escalated
to the ACC Customer Relations Group.
6.4 The ACC will not charge a fee for processing an access request unless the
request is complex or is resource intensive.
7. Openness
7.1 The ACC's Customer Service representatives will be the first point of contact
for inquiries about privacy issues. Individuals wishing to make an inquiry or
complaint regarding privacy, should do so by contacting the ACC Customer Service,
as per the details on the back of this document.
7.2 Privacy complaints will be managed in accordance with the ACC's Complaint
Handling Policy, compliant with the Australian Communications Industry Forum's
Complaint Handling Industry Code.
7.3 The ACC websites will contain a prominently displayed privacy statement
and will include a copy of this Privacy Policy.
8. Anonymous transactions
8.1 The ACC will not make it mandatory for visitors to its web sites to provide
Personal Information unless such Personal Information is required to answer
an inquiry or provide a service. The ACC may however request visitors to provide
Personal Information voluntarily to the ACC (for example, as part of a competition
or questionnaire).
8.2 The ACC will allow its customers to transact with it anonymously wherever
that is reasonable and practicable.
9. Transferring personal information overseas
9.1 The ACC will take reasonable steps to limit the amount of Personal Information
it sends to unrelated organisations overseas.
9.2 If Personal Information must be sent by the ACC overseas for sound business
reasons, the ACC will require the overseas organisation receiving the information
to provide a binding undertaking that it will handle that information in accordance
with the National Privacy Principles, preferably as part of the services contract.
10. Glossary
Collection Information means the information outlined in 1.3 notified to individuals
prior to, or as soon as practical after, the collection of their Personal Information.
Direct Marketing means the marketing of goods or services through means of communication
including written, verbal or electronic means. The goods or services which are
marketed may be those of the ACC or a Related Body Corporate or those of an
independent third party organisation.
Disclosure generally means the release of information outside the ACC, including
under a contract to carry out an "outsourced function".
Health Information means:
(a) information or an opinion about:
(i) the health or a disability (at any time) of an individual; or
(ii) an individual's expressed wishes about the future provision of health services to him or her; or
(iii) a health service provided or to be provided to an individual;
that is also personal information; or(b) other personal information collected to provide or in providing a health service; or
(c) other personal information about an individual collected in connection with the donation; or intended donation by the individual of his or her body parts or body substances.
Opt Out means an individual's expressed request not to receive further Direct
Marketing.
The ACC means all companies in the ACC group, including the ACC Banner Group.
Personal Information means information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion.
Primary Purpose is the dominant or fundamental reason for information being collected in a particular transaction.
Reasonable Expectation means a reasonable individual's expectation that their personal information might be Used or Disclosed for the particular purpose.
Related Body Corporate means that where a body corporate is:
- a holding company of another body corporate;
- a subsidiary of another body corporate; or
- a subsidiary of a holding company of another body corporate,
the first mentioned body corporate and the other body corporate are deemed to be related to each other.
Sensitive Information means:
(a) information or an opinion about an individual's:
(i) racial or ethnic origin; or
(ii) political opinions; or
(iii) membership of a political association; or
(iv) religious beliefs or affiliations; or
(v) philosophical beliefs; or
(vi) membership of a professional or trade association; or
(vii) membership of a trade union; or
(viii) sexual preferences or practices; or
(ix) criminal record;
that is also personal information or(b) Health Information about an individual.
Use means the handling of Personal Information within the ACC.
Contacting the ACC
If you require further information regarding the ACC's Privacy Policy, you
can contact the ACC Customer Service Centre on: 1300 659 759 or 1800 018 019