Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Commitment

RSPCA NT is committed to the protection of your personal information and handles all personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) prescribed in the Privacy Act 1988. This policy explains in general terms how RSPCA NT collects, uses, discloses and holds your personal information, and your rights of access to the information that we hold about you.

RSPCA NT may, without notice, amend or modify this policy by posting the amended policy on our Website (www.rspcant.org.au). Amendments will be effective immediately.

If you have any queries relating to the RSPCA NT Privacy Policy or the manner in which we handle your personal information, please contact us on free call 1800 051 811 or email us at reception@rspcant.org.au

What is personal information?

Personal information means any information that can be used to personally identify you.

This may include your name, address, telephone number, email address and profession or occupation. If the information we collect personally identifies you, or you are reasonably identifiable from it, the information will be considered personal information and protected in accordance with this policy.

What personal information do we collect and hold?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• names and addresses;
• email addresses;
• telephone number/s;
• bank account details or credit card information (for direct debit of donations and membership fees)
• age or date of birth;
• profession, occupation or job title;
• details of the products and services you have received from us or which you have enquired about, together with any additional information necessary to deliver those products and services and to respond to your enquiries;
• any additional information relating to you that you provide to us directly through our websites or indirectly through use of our websites or online presence, through our representatives or otherwise; and
• information you provide to us through our service centres, customer surveys or online contacts

When collecting information, only information necessary for the activities of RSPCA NT will be collected and recorded. Information given in confidence will remain confidential.

How do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information directly from you in most cases, where reasonable and practicable. When collecting personal information from you, we may collect in ways including:

• through your access and use of our websites;
• during conversations between you and our representatives; or
• when you complete an application or purchase order; or
• when the law requires (e.g. under the Animal Welfare Act 1999).

We may also collect personal information from third parties including law enforcement agencies and other government entities where this is authorised or required by law.

The use of Cookies

We may send cookies, or small pieces of information, to your web browser in order to collect information on your browsing session. This enables us to recognise you as a user and greet you each time you visit our website. Our cookies do not collect personal information, but may be used for:

• recording preferences that you specify on our website;
• providing general visitor and customer analytics for internal reference;
• conducting research to improve our content, products and online services;
• assisting with direct marketing, should you opt-in for this service, and
• supporting security measures, such as requiring you to re-login to a site after your account
• If you do not wish to receive cookies, you may disable these in your web browser.

We may log IP addresses (that is, the electronic addresses of computers connected to the internet) to analyse trends, administer the website, provide relevant content to users, monitor fraudulent activity, and gather broad demographic information.

Online activity and social media

We use Google Analytics to track visits to our website, and use this information to track the effectiveness of our website, like visits, length of visit, viewed pages and the technical capabilities of our visitors. While this data is mostly anonymous, sometimes we will connect it to you, for instance in personalising a webpage, or prefilling a form with your details. For more information on our analytics tools, read Google’s Privacy Policy

We also use tools that tell us when a computer or device has visited or accessed our content, and allow us to tailor advertising both on our websites and through advertising networks on other websites based on your visits or behaviour through cookies on your device. You can control how cookies are used and for what through the settings on your chosen browser. You can also control how your information is used with advertisers through the Network Advertising Initiative, including opting-out from interest-based advertising (visit www.networkadvertising.org).

You can also engage with RSPCA NT through social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You can always control how you receive content through each platform’s settings. Occasionally, we may get in touch with you via social media if you aren’t a follower by using the details on your record, such as email address. If you prefer we don’t do this, please let our marketing team know (see the contact details below).

What happens if we can’t collect your personal information?

If you do not provide us with the personal information described above, some or all of the following may happen:

• we may not be able to provide requested services or products to you, either to the same standard or at all;
• we may not be able to provide you with information about activities, products and services that you may be interested in – including information about campaigns, discounts, sales, events or special promotions; or
• we may be unable to tailor the content of our websites to your preferences and your experience of our websites may not be as enjoyable or useful.

For what purposes do we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information?

We collect your personal information so that we can perform our animal welfare and related activities and functions and to provide the best possible quality of supporter and client service.

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in relation to the following purposes:

• animal intake and care in our shelters;
• animal adoption and foster care;
• veterinary and grooming services;
• education, advocacy and public campaigns;
• bequest animal and respite programs;
• public complaint and inquiry response and referral;
• Inspectorate enforcement activities;
• fundraising, events, donations and memberships;
• community engagement and communications;
• legacies and bequests;
• retail sales and marketing; and
• ancillary purposes.

In order to continue to provide and improve these services, products and activities to you as a supporter and/or client, we require your personal information, in particular:

• to verify your identity;
• to process donations and provide receipts;
• communicate with you about how your donation is used or to provide you with information about events, causes, program, products or services that we believe may interest you;
• to answer enquiries and provide advice about existing and new campaigns, services or products;
• to conduct activities including providing personal information to contractors, service providers or other third parties when necessary;
• for the administrative, marketing (including direct marketing), planning, activity or service development, quality control and research purposes of RSPCA Darwin, its contractors or service providers;
• to update our records and keep your contact details up to date;
• to process and respond to any complaint made by you, and
• to report to government or other funding bodies how funding is used.

To whom may we disclose your information?

We may disclose your personal information to:

• our employees, contractors or service providers for the purposes of operation of our supporter and customer services, and to otherwise provide information, products and services to you including, without limitation, web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mailing houses, couriers, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisors such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants;
• the other member societies in Australia;
• suppliers and other third parties with whom we have commercial relationships, where this is necessary to provide you with a service or product; and
• any organisation for any authorised purpose with your express consent.

RSPCA NT does not otherwise disclose personal information without your permission unless the disclosure is:

• in accordance with this Privacy Policy or any agreement you enter into with us; or
• required or authorised by law, including without limitation the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act

Direct marketing

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our products and services that we consider may be of interest to you.

These communications may be sent in various forms, including email, SMS, fax and by post, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Spam Act 2003. If you indicate a preference for a method of communication, we will endeavour to use that method whenever practical to do so.

In addition, at any time you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by contacting us (see the Contact us box below), or by using opt-out facilities provided in the marketing communications, and we will then ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

You may request access to any personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us (see the Contact us box below). You will be required to provide verification of your identity, and we reserve the right to withhold information if we are not satisfied you are the person identified in it.

Once verification is complete, where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will make reasonable efforts to provide you with suitable means of accessing it (for example, by mailing or emailing it to you) within 30 days of receipt of a valid request.

We may charge you a fee to cover our administrative and other reasonable costs in providing the information to you and, if so, will notify you of the applicable charges. We will not charge for you making the request and will not charge for making any corrections to your personal information.

There may be instances where we cannot grant you access to the personal information we hold. For example, we may need to refuse access if granting access would interfere with the privacy of others or if it would result in a breach of confidentiality. If that happens, we will give you written reasons for any refusal.

If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request us to amend it. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment then we will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree with it.

Communication preferences

To update us with your communication preferences, including electing NOT to receive further information from us, please contact us at marketing@rspcant.org.au.  We can change the types of communications you receive and the frequency, or stop all communication from RSPCA NT.

If we have contacted you by email or text message, you can use the unsubscribe function in that message to notify us that you do not want to receive further information via that channel.

What is the process for complaining about a breach of privacy?

If you believe that your privacy has been breached, please contact us using the contact information below and provide details of the incident so that we can investigate it.

Our procedure for investigating and dealing with privacy breaches is an internal review by the Privacy Officer, who may contact you to seek further information to your initial complaint, if needed. At the conclusion of that review, you will be provided with a written account of the outcome and any measures we propose to take to address defects in our processes.

At any time, if you wish to have the matter considered externally, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner via details below.

Contact the Australian Information Commissioner:

GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW, 2001
Tel. 1300 363 992
www.oaic.gov.au

Do we disclose your personal information to anyone outside Australia?

We may (with your consent, which you give by using any of our products or services, visiting our website or giving us your personal information) disclose your personal information overseas for processing, storage or back-up purposes.

Security

We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is protected from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We may hold your information in either electronic or hard copy form. Personal information is destroyed or de-identified when no longer needed.

As our website is linked to the internet, and the internet is inherently insecure, we cannot provide any assurance regarding the security of transmission of information you communicate to us online.

We also cannot guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the internet. Accordingly, any personal information or other information which you transmit to us online is transmitted at your own risk.

Links

Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party website. Third party websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices.

Contact information

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, any concerns or a complaint regarding the treatment of your privacy or a possible breach of your privacy, please use the contact link on our website or contact our Privacy Officer using the details set out below.

We will treat your requests or complaints confidentially. Our representative will contact you within a reasonable time after receipt of your complaint to discuss your concerns and outline options regarding how they may be resolved. We will aim to ensure that your complaint is resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

Contact us:

RSPCA Northern Territory
GPO Box 40034
CASUARINA  NT 0811
Phone: 08 8984 3795
Email: reception@rspcant.org.au

Updating your personal information

You may ask us to update or delete the personal information we hold about you at any time. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making any corrections to or deletion of your information. We also have obligations to take reasonable steps to correct personal information we hold when we are satisfied that it is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading for the purpose for which it is held.

If you require access to, or wish to update your personal information, please contact us as detailed above.

Miscellaneous

RSPCA NT may contact supporters and members of the public via telephone for the following reasons:

• to return telephone enquiries left on our voicemail systems; or
• to undertake information follow up calls for example: processing donations, merchandise purchases, bequests, cruelty complaints and animal adoptions.

From time to time our external customer service provider will contact supporters and members of the public on behalf of RSPCA NT in order to support current RSPCA campaigns and initiatives or for fundraising purposes.

RSPCA NT does not ‘cold call’ supporters or members of the public on the Australian Government Do Not Call register.
If you receive a telephone call and are concerned that the caller is not an official RSPCA NT representative, or is not officially calling on behalf of RSPCA, please do not proceed with the call and do not provide any personal or credit card payment details. Instead, ask for the representative’s name and a contact number, and then call RSPCA NT on 08 8984 3795. You will then be able to verify the telephone number and contact details with our staff.

If you have made a transaction over the phone and believe that you have been the victim of fraud, please report details to the Northern Territory Consumer Affairs for investigation on 1800 019 319.

Changes to our privacy policy

We may change this privacy policy from time to time. Any updated versions of this privacy policy will be posted on our website.