Introduction

The Maronite Eparchy of Australia collects personal information, including names, contact details, demographics and other information so that we are able to keep you informed regarding any activities we may hold or to provide you with any information that may be of interest to you. We may even contact you to obtain information from you.

This information is collected from you directly, but it can be through your enquiry via our website, phone calls, parish registers, surveys, committees, and others. We may use this information to send you marketing information, conduct surveys or any other reasons.

We may disclose your personal information to our related entities, contractors providing services to us and to other third party service providers (such as mailing houses) we use in conducting our business. We may also disclose your personal information where we are required or authorised by Australian law to do so (including the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).

Further information about how we handle your personal information, including details about how you can access your information and how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles (as well as how CAS will deal with any complaint) can be found in our Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Act

The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is an Australian law which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal and sensitive information, and access to and correction of that information. It applies to entities with an annual turnover of $3 million.

The Privacy Act gives the right to individuals to know what's written about them by entities they deal with.

Information Covered by the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act regulates any type of information that is personal, regardless of its source, which is collected for inclusion in a record or a generally available publication.

Personal information Personal information is information that identifies a person. There are some obvious examples of personal information such as a person’s name or address. Personal information can also include photos, credit history information, tax file numbers, bank account details and even information about what a person likes, their opinions and where they work.

Sensitive information – this is given extra protection in the Privacy Act through the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and must be treated with additional care.

It includes health information and also any information or 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. This could include details about a person's parents and their sacraments.

How Does the Privacy Act Affect the Church?

The interdependent nature of church organisations requires the adoption of common understandings about protecting private information. It is important that all in the Church develop and maintain a culture which respects and values personal information. This can be achieved by compliance with the Privacy Act.

Compliance with 2014 Changes to the Privacy Act

The Maronite Eparchy of Australia aims to:

1. review their practices, procedures and systems to ensure that they can comply with the APPs, including complaint handling and dealing with access and correction requests;
2. ensure they have an up-to-date privacy policy or policies consistent with the template policy that is generally available for free;
3. review and update and use/distribute their privacy collection statements;
4. inform their staff, volunteers, priests etc. and train them where necessary on relevant privacy compliance;
5. appoint a person responsible for privacy;
6. review the security of all the personal information they hold and ensure, having regard to the nature of the information, it is kept secure from unauthorised access, misuse and disclosure;
7. review any contracts they have with service providers who access personal information their hold (e.g. cloud storage services) to ensure they include appropriate privacy clauses;
8. before disclosing any personal information overseas, ensure that the overseas recipient, if it is not the individual whose personal information is being disclosed or part of the same church body, complies with the APPs or an exception applies;
9. not adopt government-related identifiers (which now include state and territory government agency identifiers such as a driver's licence) and only use or disclose identifiers in very limited circumstances, such as if reasonably necessary to identify the individuals;
10. if any personal information is going to be used for direct marketing purposes, they comply with APP7 or the Spam Act and ensure they have a functional mechanism available for opting out of receiving direct marketing communications from the church body; and
11. be aware of the new obligations in relation to dealing with unsolicited personal information the church body receives – whether it should be destroyed or returned or whether it can be held and handled in accordance with the APPs.

Privacy Commitment Statement

The Maronite Eparchy of Australia is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who provide their personal details directly or indirectly.

We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and all applicable principles governing the handling of personal information. This Privacy Policy is designed to inform you about our practices related to collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information.

Your Consent

1. In most cases, we require your consent specifically to any collection, use or disclosure of your personal information. Your consent may be explicit, such as in writing or verbally, or may be implied by conduct.
2. By using the Maronite Eparchy of Australia website (www.maronite.org.au), you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. Whenever you submit personal information to CAS, you consent to:
1. the collection, use, disclosure and storage of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy;
2. your personal information being used to improve the Site; and
3. the receipt of emails or other communications about CAS and our activities (including information about marketing, promotional, and research purposes), along with communications about Catholic Church-related activities, functions, issues and initiatives from time-to-time.
3. In addition, if you provide personal information to the Maronite Eparchy of Australia via our website, you agree that we may combine such information with other actively collected information unless we specify otherwise at the point of collection.

We will take reasonable measures to prevent personal information from being combined with passively collected information, unless you consent otherwise.

Notification of Data Breaches Scheme

In the event of any loss or unauthorised access or disclosure of any personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to any person on our databases, the Maronite Eparchy of Australia endeavours to investigate and notify you and the Australian Information Commissioner as soon as practicable in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. More information can be obtained from the Data Breach Response Plan.

Concerns or Queries

You may contact the Maronite Chancery for more information regarding this privacy policy on 02 8831 0000 or via email to governance@maronite.org.au.