Amnesty International Australia respects, and is committed to protecting your privacy.

If you have any queries about our privacy statement you can contact us by:

  • sending an e-mail to our Supporter Relations Centre, supporter@amnesty.org.au;
  • calling the Supporter Relations Centre on 1300 300 920 (cost of local call) during business hours (9-5pm EST); or
  • writing to Amnesty International Australia, Locked Bag 23, Broadway, NSW 2007

Personal information collected

We may collect personal information about individuals such as members, supporters, volunteers, contractors, job applicants and the people whose human rights we work to protect. We collect personal information that you provide to us directly, as well as from publicly available sources and third parties such as those identified in the "use and disclosure of personal information" section below.

In certain circumstances we may collect sensitive information such as health information (for example, in providing assistance to asylum seekers). We will only collect this information when you provide it voluntarily, consent to us collecting it or as otherwise authorised by law.

Use and disclosure of personal information

We may use the information we collect about you for the purposes of processing donations, memberships and Human Rights Defender pledges, issuing receipts, responding to your comments or questions, providing follow-up information about Amnesty International's activities, supporter research, reporting and to improve our web site.

We may also use your personal information to ask for your support, both financial and non-financial.

As an activist organisation concerned about having a real human rights impact, we may also use the information we collect to measure the level of support received and the effectiveness of our activities and campaigns.

We may not be able to do these things listed above without your personal information. For example, we may not be able to contact, issue receipts to or offer employment to you where certain personal information is not provided.

Occasionally we may allow other organisations with who have similar values and beliefs to contact you with information that may be of interest to you. These organisations usually allow us to do the same in return and this helps us to reach more people and achieve our goals. If you do not wish us to provide your personal information to these likeminded organisations, please contact us as set out at the start of this Privacy Policy.

Many of our tasks are performed with the assistance of our service providers and volunteers, and we may share personal information with them. We may also share personal information with external agencies who are used by Amnesty International Australia to provide mail, database, telephone servicing, auditing, professional advice, payment processing and research services.

If you apply for a position with us, we may exchange your personal information with your referees, police, Centrelink and recruitment consultants.

We have confidentiality agreements in place with all our service providers and external agencies, and with staff and volunteers who handle personal information.

Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse or loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. For example whenever we ask for your financial details online, we use security encrypted response forms. If you don't wish to make your financial contribution online, please call our Supporter Relations Centre on 1300 300 920 and we will forward a form for you to complete.

Additional information if you use our website or e-mail addresses

When you visit our web site (the 'Web Site'), we will collect and store your computer's assigned IP address, the date and time of your visit, the information accessed and the referring page. We will also collect other non-identifying data for statistical purposes. This information is not linked to your personal information unless required by law (see the last section Application of Privacy Laws).

Like many websites, the Web Sites may use "cookies" from time to time. Cookies are small text files that the Web Site transfers to your computer's through your web browser to enable the Web Site's systems to recognise your computer. Cookies may also be used to record non-personal information such as the date, time or duration of your visit, or the pages accessed, for website administration, statistical and maintenance purposes. Any such information will be aggregated and not linked to particular individuals unless required by law. The default settings of browsers like Internet Explorer often allow cookies, but users can easily erase cookies from their hard-drive, block all cookies, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Please note that some parts of the Web Site may not function fully for users that disallow cookies.

Information which you actively submit to us in web forms, on line forums or other means may be stored and used according to this Privacy Policy.

The Web Site contains hypertext links to other websites. Amnesty International Australia is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites.

While we take great care to protect your personal information on our Web Site, unfortunately no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you send to us or receive from us online. This is particularly true for information you send to us via e-mail. We have no way of protecting that information until it reaches us. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security in our possession.

We will preserve the content of any e-mail that you send us if we believe that we have a legal requirement to do so. Any personal information contained in your e-mail, including your e-mail address, may be used or disclosed in ways set out in this privacy statement. If e-mail abuse is suspected, or for troubleshooting and maintenance purposes, your e-mail message content may be monitored by our Internet Service Provider or Amnesty International Australia employees. E-mail is an insecure communications medium; it should not be used for confidential correspondence.

Access to personal information

Wherever possible, and if it is lawful, we will let you see the information we hold about you and correct it if it is wrong. Please make your request in writing and mail it to Amnesty International Australia, Locked Bag 23, Broadway or call the Supporter Relations Centre on 1300 300 920. We may require you to provide proof of identity.

Application of privacy laws

Amnesty International Australia is required to comply with the National Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 and other laws which protect your privacy. We sometimes handle personal information relying on exemptions under these laws, for example in relation to:

  • employee records;
  • related bodies corporate;
  • provision of services to State or Territory authorities; and
  • operations outside Australia relating to personal information of non-Australians.

Any permitted handling of personal information under such exemptions will take priority over this Privacy Policy to the extent of any inconsistency.

In all other respects this Privacy Policy applies to the extent permitted by law.

Initiated by: Director Governance and Infrastructure
Ratified by: Board
Date introduced: June 2008
Date(s) reviewed:
Date for next review: June 2009 or earlier if required
Relevant to: All AIA stakeholders, supporters and interested members of the public

Download

Download Amnesty International's privacy statement (pdf 118kb)