Privacy Policy

Approved by Standing Committee on 8 November 2024 (SC2024/2/23)

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia (the General Synod) values your privacy and is committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Act when managing personal information.

This Privacy Policy sets out how the General Synod collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information.  By providing your personal information to us, you consent to it being handled in accordance with this Policy.

The General Synod may amend its Privacy Policy from time to time by publishing an updated version of it on our website. To ensure that you are aware of our current Privacy Policy, please check our website periodically.

The policy is implemented by the General Secretary and staff of the General Synod Office (GSO).  It applies to all General Synod office holders, General Synod volunteers and members of its various Commissions, Task Forces, Committees and Working Groups and members of the GSO staff.

 

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The GSO collects and holds personal information from current and former:

• members of Synod
• members of its various Commissions, Task Forces, Committees and Working Groups
• persons who are appointed to represent the General Synod at national and international conferences and meetings
• GSO staff
• suppliers
• other persons who interact with the GSO (e.g. by registering to attend events, receive materials or otherwise engage with the GSO and its activities)

Depending on your relationship with the GSO, the kinds of personal information that it collects and holds comprises:

• personal details (e.g. name, residential address, contact details, date of birth, signature, employment history and qualifications, Diocese, post nominals, titles)
• General Synod membership information (e.g. Synod membership history, details related to membership of the GSO’s Commissions, Committees, Task Forces and Working Parties)
• regulatory information (e.g. Director Identification Number)
• financial or billing information (e.g. bank account, payment information and billing address)
• other sensitive information such as health information as required (e.g. special dietary requirements, emergency contact details, disabilities)
• any other information you may provide to us

The GSO generally collects your personal information directly from you or your Diocese. For example, we collect personal contact information about Synod members from your Diocese when organising each General Synod.  

We collect personal information from other persons who interact with us through telephone calls, emails, written correspondence, online registration forms and other communication channels that the GSO uses from time to time.

In some circumstances, the GSO may collect your personal information from a third party (e.g. your Diocese), from a public record, or by some other indirect means if we are authorised to do so by law or if it would be unreasonable or impracticable to collect it from you directly.

If the GSO is unable to collect some or all of the personal information that we require from you, we may not be able to deal with your query, process your attendance at organised events, or provide you with our service or otherwise carry out our functions or activities.

USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The GSO uses and discloses your personal information only in to fulfil its functions and responsibilities under the Constitution and various Canons and Rules of the Anglican Church of Australia and otherwise undertake its various functions in organising and conducting sessions of General Synod and supporting the work of its Commissions, Task Forces, Committees and Working Groups (General Synod Bodies) including for the following purposes:

 

Contact Details

• To organise and conduct sessions of the General Synod – this may include providing your contact details, dietary requirements etc to third parties such as event organisers, travel agents and hotels where sessions of General Synod are to take place for the purposes of securing accommodation
• For communication about matters arising in connection with business to be conducted or having been conducted at a session of the General Synod
• For communication about business conducted by the General Synod Standing Committee and General Synod bodies
• For communication about appointments to various General Synod bodies including providing your contact details to the Chairs/Convenors of the body you may be a member of.

 

Biographical information

• For publication in General Synod papers (both hardcopy and on the General Synod website) to provide information to members for the purposes of elections
• To enable the GSO to make recommendations for appointment to bodies established by the General Synod or its Standing Committee and other General Synod Bodies and various bodies to which the General Synod, its Standing Committee and the Primate have power to appoint persons or nominate persons for appointment.

Please note that apart from in the above circumstances, personal contact details will not be disclosed to other persons without your consent, nor will it be used to disseminate information at the request of third parties without the consent of the Standing Committee or its Executive Committee, or as required by or permitted by law.

 

SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The GSO is committed to keeping your personal information secure.  As we may hold your personal information in either electronic or hard copy form, we use a variety of physical and electronic security measures to keep your personal information secure from misuse, interference, loss or unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These measures include:

• restricting physical access to our office;
• restricting access to our electronic systems;
• password protecting our IT systems;
• employing firewalls, anti-virus software and secure databases;
• requiring GSO staff and third-party providers to take steps to keep personal information secure and treat it as confidential; and
• conducting regular training, audit and data security checks (and updating security measures where necessary).

 

DATA BREACHES

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to personal information, the GSO will promptly notify affected individuals and relevant authorities as required by law. Measures will be taken to mitigate any potential harm and prevent future breaches.

 

THIRD PARTY LINKS

The GSO’s website contains links to third-party websites. This privacy policy does not apply to those websites, and the GSO is not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties. Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of any linked websites.

 

ACCESS, CORRECTION AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

 

Access to Personal Information

Any person about whom the GSO holds personal information may request access to that information.  Such requests will be dealt with in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 12.  Requests should be directed to the GSO at reception@anglican.org.au.

 

Correction of Personal Information

Any person who believes that personal information which the GSO holds about them is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date may seek correction of that information by written request directed to the GSO at reception@anglican.org.au. Such requests will be dealt with in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 13.

If you request access to your personal information or ask the GSO to correct or update information about you, we may need to verify your identity. In some circumstances, there may be a valid reason for us to deny your request to access or correct your information. If we do this, we will tell you why.

 

Retention of Information

Personal information is retained only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. 

 

INFORMATION – NATIONAL REGISTER – PROFESSIONAL AND EPISCOPAL STANDARDS.

The GSO holds personal information on individuals relating to complaints or offences arising from professional standards and episcopal standards processes operating in the Anglican Church of Australia.  This information is held in accordance with canons, protocols and policies approved by the General Synod and its Standing Committee.  The National Register Canon 2007 determines what information may be recorded, who has authorised access to the information, and outlines the process for individuals seeking to view or amend the information held on them. This information is published on the Safe Ministry National Register page of the General Synod website.

 

COMPLAINTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION

If you think the GSO has breached the Australian Privacy Principles or wish to make a complaint, you should contact the General Secretary in writing in the first instance at generalsecretary@anglican.org.au. Please include your name, email address and/or telephone number and clearly describe your complaint or question so it can be investigated.

The General Secretary will respond to your complaint or question within a reasonable time. Generally, unless the circumstances justify additional time, we will endeavour to respond to your complaint or question within thirty (30) business days. 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your query or complaint, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) at enquiries@oaic.gov.au or on ph1300 363 992.  More information is available on the OAIC’s website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.