Privacy Policy

The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) has chosen to comply the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act). The ACRS takes privacy very seriously, and this Policy sets out how we collect and handle personal and sensitive information. The ACRS collects personal, sensitive and business information to advocate for its members, run events, and provide member services and information, including through different parts of its organisation such as its Chapters and Networks.

Availability of this policy

This policy is freely available from the ACRS website at www.acrs.org.au/privacy-policy/.

Who should read this Privacy Policy?

You should read this Privacy Policy if you are a person:

  • using the ACRS’ website or interacting with the ACRS via social media;
  • who is a member of the ACRS, or registering for a type of membership with the ACRS;
  • registering to attend an ACRS event, or subscribing to receive ACRS email notifications;
  • completing a survey or participating in other research activities being conducted by, or for, the ACRS;
  • who is a contractor, consultant, researcher, or supplier of goods or services to the ACRS;
  • who is an employee of the ACRS, or person seeking employment with the ACRS;
  • who has sent correspondence to the ACRS;
  • who has made an enquiry or complaint to the ACRS.

Definitions:

we’, ‘us’ or ‘ours’ – refers to the ACRS.

you’ and ‘your’ – refers to the individual providing their personal information to the ACRS.

What is personal information?

Personal information’ has the same meaning in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which defines personal information as information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

What is sensitive information?

Sensitive information’ is defined in section 6 of the Privacy Act as:

(a) 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, sexual orientation, criminal record that is also personal information;

(b) health information (as defined in the Privacy Act) about an individual;

(c) genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health information;

(d) biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification; or

(e) biometric templates.

We may collect sensitive information about you if:

  • you have consented to the collection, and the information relates to the activities of the ACRS; or
  • the collection would otherwise be permitted by the Privacy Act.

The types of personal information ACRS collects

The types of information we collect may include personal information, such as: name, address, phone / mobile contact, email address, job position, company name, organisation sector, age, gender, highest level of education, area of expertise. We may also collect your views on policy issues, or your reason for joining the ACRS.

As part of our functions and activities, we also collect sensitive information that you may provide such as: whether you identify as First Nations or Indigenous, or information about your health or disability if this is needed for us to conduct our activities (such as ensuring you can appropriately attend our events).

For employees and contractors, we will also collect a range of other personal information, which may include your tax file number, bank account and other payment details, and information about your performance.

How we collect Your personal information

The ACRS collects information in a variety of ways including (but not limited to) telephone, email, in person, via forms completed and provided to us in hard copy or electronically and through our website or social media channels. We also sometimes collect publicly available documents that may include your personal information, such as government reports and news or magazine articles. Sometimes we may collect personal information from a third-party contractor, such as a researcher undertaking research for the ACRS, or a provider of website, social media, or IT services.

We only collect personal information that is necessary for, or related to, our functions and we will usually collect the information directly from you (with your express or implied consent). If we collect information about an individual from someone else, we will usually contact that individual to gain their consent, if it is practical to do so. However, we will not do this if we receive personal information from publicly available documents, or where we have received the information from a contractor which has obtained an appropriate consent from the individual.

Website usage information and cookies

Personal data is collected on the ACRS website and via social media channels through technical processes such as contact forms, cookies, analytics, and third-party plugins. Data from these processes may be retained indefinitely. This site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles) from other websites. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content.

A cookie does not identify you personally, but it does identify an individual’s computer. You can set your browser to notify of cookies and this will provide you with an opportunity to either accept or reject it in each instance.

Disclosure of personal information

We may need to disclose your personal information to others in order to carry out our business functions and activities. This may include disclosure to:

  • third-parties – for example, sharing payment data for events collected through our website with payment processors;
  • contractors and service providers – for example, third-party service providers who facilitate processing and management of our member accounts; third-party contractors who provide marketing or distribution services; or service providers who provide the ACRS with IT, legal, financial, and auditing services; and
  • researchers – to conduct research studies on road safety.

We may also share personal information:

  • within different parts of the ACRS organisation, including with the ACRS Chapters and Networks; and
  • with our members and with government regulators, as required by law.

Cross border disclosure of personal information

We use data hosting facilities and third-party service providers outside of Australia who provide ICT and other services that assist us to provide member services and road safety information on an international level. As a result, your personal information may be transferred to and stored at a destination outside of Australia (including, but not limited to, New Zealand and the United States of America).

We also store information about individuals registered for major events such as the Australasian Road Safety Conference, on servers operated by our Conference Managers. These servers may be based overseas in Europe, the United States, or Asia. All data collected and stored in overseas locations is held subject to the privacy and security obligations of the specific country. Our Conference Managers’ are subject to these privacy and security obligations.

We also conduct surveys using a web-based service located in the United States of America. Where practical and given the aims of the survey, the ACRS allows individuals completing surveys to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym.

Whenever the ACRS uses a third-party provider to store data, for example using cloud-based systems, including providers from overseas, it will endeavour to ensure the following:

  • contracts entered into will require the supplier to comply with Australian privacy laws and provide indemnities against any breaches of those privacy laws;
  • the way in which a third-party provider handles, stores and deals with personal information and data will be understood;
  • strong access, security controls, and procedures are in place to prevent unauthorised access to and use of the ACRS’ data.

Anonymity and pseudonymity

Where practical, given the aims of the survey or other research activity, the ACRS allows individuals completing surveys or undertaking other research activities to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. The ACRS also generally aggregates or de-identifies all research results before disclosure.

You also have the option of subscribing to receive ACRS’ publicly available publications anonymously or by using a pseudonym. We do, however, need your personal details if you wish to sign up for an ACRS event, join as a member, or participate in the ACRS Council or any ACRS Committees. We will also need your personal details to verify that you are a financial member of an ACRS member association.

Photography and video at ACRS and affiliated events

The ACRS engages photographers and video camera operators, at its discretion, to record images of ACRS and affiliated events for marketing and editorial purposes. With the ACRS’s permission, news organisations may also record news images of ACRS events. When registering for an ACRS event, you will be asked to consent to the ACRS using your image for marketing and editorial purposes, and to outside news organisations using your image as part of reporting the news, without the need for payment or further consent.

Opting out of direct marketing communications

We invite individuals to subscribe to receive emails with our publications, media releases and events and awards updates. You may also receive updates if you register for an ACRS event. You can unsubscribe from any of these publications at any time by clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the foot of each email, or by sending an email to admin@acrs.org.au.

Integrity and security of your personal information

We periodically check the personal information we hold to make sure it is up to date. For example:

  • by reviewing undeliverable correspondence and emails;
  • by storing holdings of personal information on a secure computer systems in Australia, on cloud servers in Australia, and on cloud servers in the United States of America; and
  • by routinely destroying personal information that we no longer require.

Sending information to us by email or through contact forms

You should be aware that unencrypted email messages and web site contact forms are not secure. You should never send confidential personal information such as your credit card number by email or through a web site contact form.

Access to and correction of your personal information

You can request access to personal information we hold about you by getting in touch with the contact officer listed below. We will consider and action that request in accordance with the Privacy Act.

You can also request us to correct your personal information if it is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading and we will take steps as are reasonable in the circumstances (if any) to correct that information to ensure that, having regard to the purpose for which it is held, the information is accurate, up-to-date, complete, relevant and not misleading. You can action this request by getting in touch with the contact officer listed below.

Contacting us and complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or have any concerns about the way we have handled your personal information, contact:
Australasian College of Road Safety
+61 2 6290 2509
admin@acrs.org.au

We will usually respond to your request within 30 days but may request that you provide proof of your identity and additional documents or evidence before the request can be fulfilled.