HEART OF LIFE SPIRITUALITY CENTRE

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PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy for Heart of Life Spirituality Centre has been developed in response to the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act, which since December 2001 has been regulating the way in which private organisations collect, use, disclose, keep secure and allow people access to their personal information and is compliant with the University of Divinity policy.

Heart of Life affirms the National Privacy Principles of the Act and will respect the dignity and privacy of all individuals with whom it is engaged.

This policy sets out principles and procedures to protect the personal and sensitive information that Heart of Life collects from individuals and uses in order to carry out its educational functions and activities.

Definitions: Personal and Sensitive Information

a) Personal information is defined as information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion (e.g. names, address, email address, telephone number, image, story, file notes). It includes all personal information, regardless of its source. NB: Personal information relates to a person, not to a company, even though the latter may be recognised as a legal ‘person’ under the law.

b) Sensitive information is a subset of personal information. It includes 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 or trade union, sexual preferences or practices, criminal record, or health information.

Sensitive Information

Heart of Life Spirituality Centre will only collect sensitive information about a person when:

  1. the person has consented;
  2. the collection is required by law;
  3. the collection is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and
    imminent threat to the life or health of any person; or
  4. other relevant conditions in the National Privacy Principles are applicable.

Students atHeart of Life should be aware that, for the purpose of statistical records, they may be asked to identify their religious affiliation. This is not a requirement of study at Heart of Life, and students may choose not to provide such information if they do not wish to do so.

In addition, information relating to students’ citizenship, language facility, family and educational background and ethnicity is required by Commonwealth and State Governments for statistical purposes. Consequently, students should be informed that this collective, as distinct from personal, data collection will be passed on to the Government.

Personal Information:

Heart of LifeSpirituality Centre collects personal information from staff and students in its function as:

  1. a provider of educational courses for Australian and overseas students, courses which may include research that involves human subjects;
  2. an employer of staff;
  3. a supporting theological library that is available to students and
    the general public;
  4. a provider of the Siloam Program for the Formation of Spiritual Directors, which can also be undertaken as a Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction, to those who meet the relevant criteria, potentially enabling such students to access a Fee-Help loan.

Information will be collected by fair and lawful means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Students, employees, library users or subjects of research:

  1. will be told at the time the purpose for which the personal
    information is collected, and the consequences of not providing the requested information; and
  2. are entitled to access their own personal information that has been
    collected by Heart of Life.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Heart of LifeSpirituality Centre will not use or disclose personal information about a person for a purpose other than the primary purpose of collection, without the consent of that person, unless the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose and a person would reasonably expect such disclosure to be made, or if the disclosure is required by law.

Data Quality

Heart of Life will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that it collects, uses or discloses is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Individuals are requested to notify Heart of Life when information they have provided needs to be updated.

Data Security

Heart of Life will take reasonable steps to:

  1. protect the personal information it holds from misuse or loss and
    unauthorised access, modification or disclosure; files will be kept in locked filing cabinets or cupboards so as not to be accessible to unauthorised persons;
  2. destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer
    needed forany purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under National Privacy Principle 2 (Use and Disclosure of Information);
  3. advise students of Heart of Life that evidence of each student’s completion of the Siloam Program is kept in perpetuity.

Openness

Heart of LifeSpirituality Centre will, on request by an individual, take reasonable steps to let him or her know, in general terms, what type of personal information is held about her or him, for what purposes it is held, and how Heart of Life collected, holds, may use and disclose that information.

Access and Correction

Heart of Life will:

  1. provide access to the personal information it holds about a person when requested by that person; however, access may be denied in cases where the National PrivacyPrinciples provide exceptions;
  2. take reasonable steps to correct the information held if the person is able to establishthat the information is not accurate, complete or up-to-date;
  3. provide reasons for denial of access or refusal to correct personal

information.

Your Personal Information

Heart of Life will collect and maintain in our database certain personally identifiable information from you only when you provide it to us on a voluntary basis, for example when you make an inquiry or contact us.

Use of Information

a)Heart of Life may use your personally identifiable information to enable internet mailing, to improve our website, for providing service to you and for systems administration. It will take reasonable steps to ensure that all information collected or used is accurate, complete, up-to-date, stored in a secure environment and accessed only by authorised persons

b)No data transmissions over the internet(e.g. emails) can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While Heart of Life strives to protect your personal information from misuse, loss or unauthorised access, the security of any information you transmit to use or receive from Heart of Life’s online services cannot be guaranteed. These activities are conducted at your own risk. As soon as Heart of Life receives your transmission, best efforts to maintain its security are made.

c)Heart of Life will not share any information about you with third parties, except as provided by civil Privacy Legislation.

Your Rights

If you do not want your personally identifiable information to be kept, you may contact Heart of Life office by email and request this.

You may review your personally identifiable information, and may change, update or correct it as needed. To do this, you should email the Heart of Life office.

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