Glaucoma Australia, Inc. (ABN 52 610 716 720) (Glaucoma Australia, we or us) upholds the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and is committed to handling personal information in accordance with the APPs.
Glaucoma Australia respects your privacy and takes all reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is secure. It collects this information in fair and lawful ways. This Privacy Policy explains how we manage the personal information we hold including personal information we have collected via our website (www.glaucoma.org.au) (the Website).
What is personal information?
“Personal information” is information or an opinion that is capable of reasonably identifying an individual, whether that information or opinion is true or not.
“Sensitive information” includes, for example, personal information which is information or an opinion about your racial or ethnic origin; or your membership of a professional association, trade association or trade union. Sensitive information also includes health and genetic information about an individual.
Glaucoma Australia collects both personal and sensitive information.
What personal information do we collect?
The type of information we collect from you will depend upon the type of interaction you have with us. Broadly speaking, the types of personal information that we collect may include:
- from individuals contacting us for information about glaucoma and our services – for example, your name; contact details (including mobile phone, telephone and email); age; gender; health and medical information; lifestyle information which relates to glaucoma, details of your family history as it relates to glaucoma and such other information which is relevant and necessary to providing our products and services;
- from individuals purchasing products from our website, your name and contact details;
- from healthcare professionals, such as ophthalmologists, optometrists and pharmacists – for example, your full name; qualifications; contact details;
- from job applicants and employees – for example, your full name, contact details (including address, phone number and email address), driver’s licence details, job title, passport details, employment history and education details, names and contact details of referees, next of kin details (in the event of an emergency) and superannuation fund and Tax File Number details, if required by law, for example, under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, the Income Tax Assessment Acts and Taxation Administration Act.
How do we collect personal information?
We collect information from you in various ways, including at different places and times on our Website. We may collect your personal information when you do any of the following, for example:
- if you join our online community via our Website;
- when you purchase an item on our Website;
- if you attend any events we may hold, for example, a support group;
- when you sign-up to receive our newsletter or Glaucoma Now;
- if you make a donation to Glaucoma Australia, or wish to leave a bequest;
- if you provide us with services on a voluntary basis or participate in any fundraising activities;
- if you apply for employment with Glaucoma Australia (or a contractor role);
- when you contact us via our support line, or by email, mail or any other means;
- if you engage with us via any of our official social media pages, for example, Facebook;
- if you are an ophthalmologist, optometrist or pharmacist, when you submit your details to be listed in our Professionals Directory;
- when you complete an online form e.g questionnaire, registration or order form; and
- if you enter any contests or promotions we may hold.
We will only collect sensitive information where it is necessary for the purposes of providing you with a specific product or service such as glaucoma health information. If not required, we will not collect sensitive information. Any sensitive information is collected in accordance with the APPs.
We may also collect your personal information from third parties. This may include (but is not limited to) the collection of your personal information from:
- someone duly authorised to act on your behalf, such as a family member or your carer;
- your treating ophthalmologist, optometrist or other healthcare professional (including if you are referred to us via the Oculo network); and
- recruiters we have retained, from referees you have provided in support of a job application and any service provider we may engage to conduct background checks on job applicants.
We may also collect personal information about someone else from you. For example, you may wish to purchase a product and have it sent to another person so you may provide us with personal information about that person. Where you provide us with personal information about other people, you must have their consent to do this, and to provide it on their behalf. If not, you must tell us.
Why do we collect personal information?
We will inform you of the main reasons for collecting your personal information at the time we request it. The purposes for which we will generally collect and use your information include but are not limited to:
- providing you with information about glaucoma in response to your enquiry;
- providing assistance with understanding a glaucoma diagnosis and the treatment regime required, including but not limited to appointment follow-up, educating about family risks, responding to patient and carer questions and providing advice about living with glaucoma;
- processing orders for products which you may purchase;
- processing donations;
- organising events and fundraising activities;
- performing administrative functions;
- enhance our products and services and the delivery of services;
- tell you about our products and services, and those of our partners, which we believe may interest you;
- processing your employment application (if you are a prospective employee); and
- maintaining our Professionals Directory (if you a healthcare professional); and
- assisting glaucoma research (deidentified only)
Will we disclose your personal information?
We may disclose your personal information to third parties in particular circumstances including to:
- a family member or carer, where they are engaging with us on your behalf;
- our service providers, such as companies which host and maintain the Website; provide credit card processing services; develop applications for our Website; and provide fundraising services;
- suppliers or manufacturers if you have purchased a product from us which requires maintenance or repair. We will provide your name and contact details to the supplier or manufacturer; and
- professional service firms providing services to us, such as legal, accountancy or marketing services.
Access to your personal information by third party service providers is limited to the information reasonably necessary in order for the service provider to perform their limited function for us. We also require that these service providers:
- protect the privacy of your personal information in a manner which is consistent with this Privacy Policy, and
- not use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than providing us with products or services for which we engaged them.
We may also provide your personal information to others, if required or permitted to do so by law, in accordance with the APPs.
We will only disclose your personal information:
- with your consent;
- for a purpose for which you would reasonably expect;
- as required or permitted by law; or
- in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Do we disclose personal information overseas?
We do not routinely disclose personal information to overseas recipients however some of our third party providers may be located in the USA.
One of our product suppliers is located in Finland. Your name and contact details may be disclosed to our Finland-based supplier if a product they have supplied requires maintenance and repair.
Do we use cookies or other web tracking systems?
We may collect information about visitors to our Website through the use of cookies and tracking devices. Information collected may include the following:
- server address/IP address of the device you are using to access the Website;
- date and time of visit to our Website;
- pages visited;
- documents downloaded;
- the site you visited prior to visiting our Website;
- the browser you are using to access our resources;
- if you have visited our Website before; and
- tracking user preferences.
In addition to the above, our Website may collect location data.
From time to time, we may use data collection devices such as 'cookies' in conjunction with our website. Cookies are commonly used on the internet. They are a small file placed onto a device by a server. A cookie can later be identified by a server. We may use both 'persistent' and 'session cookies'. We may evaluate the cookie information collected to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and how visitors use our site. Any information that is collected in this way is used in an aggregated form; we do not use it to identify you as an individual.
We may use cookies for various purposes such as:
- to provide you with better and more customised service and a more effective Website; and
- collecting anonymous statistical information on things such as how many visitors our Website receives, how those visitors use the Website and where they came from.
Most of our online resources use sessions and/or cookies. If you wish, you can configure your browser so it does not accept cookies, but this may affect the functionality of the Website.
Dealing with us anonymously or using a pseudonym
Where possible, you have the option of interacting with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym. Whilst you are entitled to interact with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym, we will likely need to know who you are in order to respond to your query, or provide you with our products or services.
Marketing
From time to time, we may use the information we collect from you to let you know via mail, SMS, email, telephone or online about our news, products and services. Glaucoma Australia will not sell or rent any information about you. Some promotions (e.g. raffles) involve a third party. When you sign up for these promotions, we will provide your name and contact details only to the outside organisation to provide this service.
If you do not want to receive any direct marketing materials from us, you can choose to opt out by either:
- using the unsubscribe function in our emails, SMS, MMS or IM; or
- contacting us using the Contact Details below.
How do we store personal information?
We will store your personal information in a number of ways including:
- in electronic systems and devices;
- in telephone recordings;
- in paper files;
- using secure document retention services off-site; and/or
- cloud facilities operated by us (or by third parties on our behalf).
Our cloud servers are located in Australia and USA.
Information Security
We will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information that we hold about you is protected against any unlawful use, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These precautions include:
- using appropriate industry-standard information technology and processes;
- using computer and network security systems with appropriate firewalls, encryption technology and passwords for the protection of electronic files;
- restricting access to your personal information to our employees and those who perform services for us who need your personal information to do what we have engaged them to do; and
- requesting certain personal information from you when you wish to discuss any issues relating to the products and services we provide to you.
While we undertake reasonable steps to protect your personal information, no guarantee can be given that information sent over the internet is always 100% secure. Sending and receiving information over the internet is at the user's own risk, however we will take all reasonable steps to ensure your data security once we receive it.
Once personal information is no longer required by us for the purposes for which it was collected or held or otherwise in accordance with the APPs, we will take all steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that it is either destroyed or de-identified.
Website Links
This Privacy Policy applies to our Website.
Our Website may contain links to third party websites. Please be aware that these third party websites are not subject to this Privacy Policy or our privacy standards and procedures, and we are not responsible for, nor do we endorse, the content or privacy of these sites. You will need to contact these third party sites directly to obtain their privacy policies.
Access to and accuracy of personal information
You can request access to the personal information we hold about you at any time by contacting us using the Contact Details noted below and we will provide you with that information unless we are prevented by law from giving you that access. If we are unable to provide you with the requested information, we will provide you with a written explanation.
Where access is granted to your information, we may charge a reasonable fee for such access and if we do, we will advise you of the fee prior to proceeding with the request.
We take reasonable measures to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Under the Privacy Act, you also have a right to request that we correct information. If you believe your personal information is not accurate and up to date, we would encourage you to inform us by contacting us using the Contact Details noted below. We will promptly update any information that is incorrect and confirm to you when we have done so. If we do not agree to make the requested changes to your personal information, you may make a statement about the requested changes and we will attach it to your record.
Complaints
We are committed to resolving any complaints you may have regarding privacy issues; please contact us at any time by using the Contact Details noted below.
Our representative will be in contact with you regarding your complaint and will let you know who will be assisting you, their contact details and the expected resolution date of your issue during work hours.
If the issues raised are more complicated, we may ask you for additional documentation to help resolve the issue. In turn, we will keep you updated on the progress of your complaint. We will try to answer any questions you may have, correct any error on our part or resolve any complaint or concern that you may have about our information handling practices. We will usually provide our response within 30 days of receiving your complaint.
If we do not resolve a complaint to your satisfaction, you also have the right to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) using the Contact Details noted below.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
Glaucoma Australia reserves the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will publish any changes to the Privacy Policy on our Website at www.glaucoma.org.au/about-us/legal. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy regularly for updates and amendments. By continuing to use our Website or services, or by continuing to provide us with your personal information after these changes have been published on our Website and have taken effect, you confirm your acceptance of these changes.
Contact Details
Glaucoma Australia Privacy Officer
Email: glaucoma@glaucoma.org.au
Mail: Privacy Officer
Glaucoma Australia
PO Box 420
Crows Nest NSW 1585
Australian Information Commissioner
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Mail: GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Last Updated: 18 March 2024