PRIVACY POLICY

BACKGROUND

C3 Church Ryde is committed to ensuring the privacy of all the information it collects. C3 Church Ryde complies with the requirements of the Commonwealth Privacy Act, 1988 and the 13 “Australian Privacy Principles” contained in Schedule 1 of the Commonwealth Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which amends the Privacy Act. In keeping with this legislation, the Privacy Policy sets out C3 Church Ryde’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

COLLECTING INFORMATION

C3 Church Ryde collects certain personal information in the course of regular church activities, from church members, visitors, staff, volunteers and other individuals.  The information collected includes name, age, gender, address, phone and email address, credit card and bank details and information for working with children requirements. Our records also include details of events and activities in which the person has participated, the date when the person joined or left the church, and reasons for joining or leaving the church. 

We collect most of this information directly from individuals, such as from website enquiries, visitor’s cards, official church forms, direct personal contact, online donations and giving and conference or events enquiries and registration forms. The information is recorded and stored in our church database and may be referenced from time to time. C3 Church Ryde treats this information with the strictest of confidence and only relevant information is collected where necessary. 

If C3 Church Ryde receives any unsolicited personal information, which could have been solicited in the normal course of its activities, it may use this information in compliance with this Policy and applicable law. However, any unsolicited personal information that is received by C3 Church and would not otherwise have been collected in the course of normal church activities will be destroyed or de-identified as soon as practicable, provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

USING AND DISCLOSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information that is collected for a particular purpose will not be used for any other purpose, unless the person consents to the use or disclosure of that information for another purpose. 

C3 Church Ryde will not sell or disclose personal information to third parties except as provided in this Policy, and where the disclosure is absolutely necessary and could be reasonably expected. C3 Church Ryde never shares newsletter mailing lists with any third parties, including advertisers, sponsors or partners. 

We collect information on church members for purposes including ongoing pastoral care of members, keeping our church database up-to-date, organising activities and events such as connect groups and weekend retreats and church team rosters.

We collect information on visitors and other individuals for purposes including follow-up after a person has filled in a visitor card and organising activities and events such as small group meetings or other events that may assist with integration into the life of the church.

C3 Church Ryde does not routinely disclose personal information to other individuals or organisations. The circumstances when we might disclose this information include when required by law; when it is necessary for the purpose for which the information was collected such as providing booking details to a conference organisation and when it is necessary to protect the personal safety or welfare of another person.

If you are receiving correspondence from C3 Church Ryde and do not wish to receive this information any longer, please contact us at the church office on (02) 9086 6900 and request to be removed from our mailing list.

CHURCH DATABASE

C3 Church Ryde has a church database that is hosted on a secure server. This database contains information of church members and visitors and is accessible by certain people (primarily staff and key volunteers) through a secure login. Those designated parties who have access to the database must not use any of the information in the database for commercial purposes, and know that this information should not be disclosed to anyone who is not a church member.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION COLLECTED 

If at any time a church member wants to know exactly what personal information C3 Church Ryde holds about them, they can request access to this information by contacting the church office on (02) 9086 6900. If a request is denied, a reason will be provided and written notice of the decision will be given to the individual. Access may be denied if such access would be unlawful or frivolous, infringe on the privacy of other individuals, pose a serious and imminent threat to the life and health of any individual, interfere with existing or anticipated legal proceedings or other valid reasons in line with relevant legislation.

If at any time you wish to change personal information that is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us at the church office and we will amend this record. If you wish to have your personal information deleted, please let us know in the same manner as referred to above and we will take all reasonable steps to delete it unless we need to keep it for legal reasons. 

STORAGE AND SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

C3 Church Ryde endeavours to take all reasonable steps to keep the information that we hold concerning individuals secure.  Access to personal information is restricted to authorised staff and leaders at C3 Church Ryde and our information systems are protected by a strict password policy. Confidential files relating to pastoral care are kept secured by the responsible staff member and are only shared with other leaders or staff members on a “need to know” basis. 

Personal information is not retained any longer than is necessary and will only be retained for the minimum period specified by legislation. Once C3 Church Ryde no longer needs the information for any purpose, it will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances, to destroy or de-classify the information in a lawful and secure manner.

ANONYMITY

C3 Church Ryde respects the right of individuals to remain anonymous in their dealings with the church or staff members. C3 Church will accommodate a request for anonymity as long as it is practicable and legal to do so.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Like most organisations, from time to time C3 Church Ryde may use contractors who could have access to personal information on our systems, such as IT technicians. Any contractors who have access to personal information relating to C3 Church Ryde members are required to adhere to the Privacy Act and will not keep this information or use it for any unauthorised purposes.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM OR QUESTION

In the event that we become aware of any ongoing concerns or problems concerning our privacy practices, we will take these issues seriously and work to address these concerns. If you have any further queries relating to our Privacy Policy, or you have a problem or complaint, please contact Brooke Mitchell (HR & Compliance) at [email protected] or by calling +61 (02) 9086 6900.

FUTURE CHANGES

From time to time, C3 Church Ryde reviews its policies and may revise them. In the event that any part of C3 Church Ryde’s Privacy Policy is changed in the future, the updated policy will be available to all and can be delivered to you (electronically or in hard copy) upon request.