Privacy Policy

Ability Forum is owned and operated by Ability First Australia Pty Ltd.

Ability First Australia Pty Limited (Ability First Australia) is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) (set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act), and any other applicable privacy laws, when handling Personal Information (including Sensitive Information).

Personal Information means any information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether true or not and whether recorded in material form or not.
Sensitive Information includes any information or an opinion about an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation or practices, or criminal record. It also includes health information and biometric information.
This Policy applies to all Personal Information, including any Sensitive Information, that Ability First Australia may collect, use and disclose, whether that information is manually or digitally processed.

Ability First Australia recommends that you keep this Policy for future reference.
You are not required to provide your Personal Information to us. However, if you do not provide us with all the information we request, we may not be able to provide our goods or services to you, or respond to any queries you may have.

1. What Personal Information does Ability First Australia collect, hold and disclose?

The types of Personal Information we collect about you may include name, postal address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, employment details, types of disability-related services used and your views and experiences of such services.
Ability First Australia does not actively seek to collect Sensitive Information (for example health information, or information about racial or ethnic origin, or criminal record) unless it becomes necessary for its business purposes and you consent to the collection of your Sensitive Information. If Ability First Australia does collect Sensitive Information, it will do so in accordance with the APPs.

2. How does Ability First Australia collect and hold Personal Information, and for what purpose?

All Personal Information collected is required and used for Ability First Australia's business purposes only.
Ability First Australia gathers and stores Personal Information when an individual communicates with us, registers to become a member of Ability Forum, redeems their points and completes Ability Forum surveys. Your participation in surveys, forums and mobile polls is voluntary.
At registration we ask members to provide Personal Information. This information is used for targeting purposes, so the member will receive appropriate online research invitations.
All data collected from surveys, forums and mobile polls is stored and can be accessed by Ability First Australia employees, Ability First Australia contractors and Ability First Australia clients. The Personal Information we collect is not shared with any unaffiliated third party, unless it is necessary to respond to your questions, provide the service you have requested or to comply with applicable laws. We will never sell your Personal Information to any third party not affiliated with Ability First Australia without your prior consent, except in connection with the sale, merger, in whole or part, of Ability First Australia, its assets or the division responsible with such services. Any Personal Information that you transmit or include within our online forums may be viewed and used by others. We are unable to control such uses of your Personal Information and by participating in online forums you assume the risk that such Personal Information provided by you may be viewed and used by third parties.

3. Disclosure of Personal Information

Ability First Australia may disclose Personal Information for the purpose for which it was collected or for a related purpose, with your consent, or if we are authorised or required by an Australian law.

4. Data Security and Integrity

Ability First Australia utilises reasonable and appropriate protections to ensure that Personal Information in its care is not misused or lost or accessed without proper authorisation. Data provided upon registration and from surveys is encrypted and password-protected.
Access to Personal Information stored on Ability First Australia servers is restricted to those employees, clients or contractors who require such access to perform a legitimate business purpose relating to the Services, maintenance, internal security or other related issues.

All Ability First Australia employees and contractors, as a prerequisite for employment, are required to sign a strict and detailed confidentiality agreement in relation to the Personal Information that they will have access to.
If Ability First Australia hold Personal Information that is no longer needed for any purpose for which we are permitted to use or disclose it, Ability First Australia will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify that Personal Information.

5. Children’s Privacy

Ability First Australia do not knowingly collect any information from any child under 15 years of age without permission from his/her parents or legal guardian.

6. Correction of Personal Information

Ability First Australia takes reasonable steps to ensure that all Personal Information that it holds is accurate, complete and up to date.
Individuals should promptly notify Ability First Australia's Privacy Officer (details of which are listed below) if any Personal Information that we hold about them is incorrect or out of date. Ability First Australia will respond to such a request within a reasonable period of time.
Ability First Australia may, in certain circumstances, refuse a request to correct Personal Information. If such a refusal is made, Ability First Australia will provide reasons for the refusal (except to the extent that it would be unreasonable to do so). Examples of circumstances where Ability First Australia may refuse a request to correct Personal Information include:
(a) where Ability First Australia does not hold the information in question;
(b) where Ability First Australia is satisfied that the information it holds is correct and up-to-date; and
(c) where the steps required to correct the information are not reasonable in the circumstances.

7. Access to Personal Information

Individuals seeking access to their Personal Information should contact Ability First Australia's Privacy Officer (details of which are listed below) directly. Ability First Australia will process all requests for access within a reasonable period of time. In certain circumstances, we are permitted by the APPs to deny requests for access or limit the access we provide. If we refuse or limit access to your Personal Information, we will provide reasons for the refusal.

8. Changes to Privacy Policy, Opt-Out Process

We reserve the right to change, modify, add or remove portions from this privacy policy at any time. Your continued use of our service following any changes to Ability First Australia’s privacy policy means you accept such changes.
You may at any time remove your Personal Information from our list of active users. All unsubscribe requests should be sent to forum@abilityfirst.org.au and we will process your request within a reasonable time after receipt. We are not responsible for removing your Personal Information from lists of any third party who has been previously provided your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

9. Acquisition, Merger or Bankruptcy

In the event Ability First Australia or any of its Affiliates or Subsidiaries is acquired by another entity, or merges with a third party, the Successor Entity will be bound to respect the provisions of this Policy, with regard to any Personal Information in its possession prior to the acquisition or merger. In the event of bankruptcy, the provisions of applicable law will apply.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may, from time to time, amend this Privacy Policy, in whole or part, in our sole discretion. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy on our website. However, in any event, by continuing to access our services following any changes, you will be deemed to have agreed to such changes. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time, in whole or part, you must not access our services including our website.

11. Privacy Officer and Complaints

If you have any enquiries, concerns or complaints relating to this Privacy Policy or practices, or you wish to request access to any of the Personal Information Ability First Australia holds about you, please contact Ability First Australia's Privacy Officer as follows:

Email: support@abilityforum.org.au
Phone: 1800 771 663

Mail: The Privacy Officer
Ability First Australia Pty Ltd
Level 39, 259 George St
Sydney NSW 2000

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) (see www.oaic.gov.au).

Last updated: March 2019