Last updated: December 2024
1 Introduction
In this Privacy Policy, Home Care Academy Pty Ltd ACN 656 800 690 trading as Care Vicinity is referred to as we, our and us.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and binding codes issued under the Privacy Act, govern the way we manage your personal information. Personal information is any information or opinion about a person, who is identified or reasonably identifiable, whether or not that information or opinion is true.
This policy sets out how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise manage personal information.
2 Collection
2.1 Types of information collected
The personal information that we collect and hold about you depends on your interaction with us.
If you are a support worker the kinds of information we typically collect include name, birth date, driver’s licence number, other information by which we can identify you or verify your identity (such as passport details), work with children check or with vulnerable people check, criminal history, ethnicity, gender, religion, cultural background, email and mailing address, phone number, work experience, salary/income, professional license numbers, education, interests, hobbies, details of professional indemnity insurance for those providing services with higher qualifications needed such as Certificate 3 in aged care or disability, AHPRA registration, professional and personal references, profile picture, professional skills and abilities, lifestyle information, schedule availability, music preferences, bank information to facilitate direct deposit of earnings and other information relevant to providing you with the services you are, or someone else you know is, seeking.
For all other clients, the kinds of information we may typically collect include name, legal name, birth date, driver’s licence number, other information by which we can identify you or verify your identity (such as passport details), your criminal history, gender, cultural background, email and mailing address, phone number, family or emergency contacts, care services needed, care plan, health conditions, activities, profile picture, interests, music preferences, household information and credit card information to facilitate payment processing, details of your government funding bodies and other information relevant to providing you with the services you are, or someone else you know is, seeking.
If you are an employee or contractor, the kinds of information we typically collect include name, gender, address, contact details, emergency contact details, bank account and financial details, tax file number to enable us to administer our employment or contractor relationship.
We may also collect and hold sensitive information about you, including information about your health, racial or ethnic origin, criminal record, or religious practices. We will only do this with your consent or where otherwise permitted by law.
2.2 Method of collection
We generally collect personal information directly from you through the use of any of our standard forms, through our website, when you post messages or upload content within the site or platform, information provided to us voluntarily, social media accounts, in person, via email or over the phone. We may also collect personal information about you from third parties acting on your behalf.
There may, however, be some instances where personal information about you will be collected indirectly because it is unreasonable or impractical to collect personal information directly from you. We will usually notify you about these instances in advance, or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable after the information has been collected.
If we receive unsolicited information about you that we do not ask for or which is not directly related to our functions or activities, we may be required to destroy or de-identify that information, provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
2.3 Purpose of collection
The personal information that we collect and hold about you, depends on your interaction with us. Generally, we will collect, use and hold your personal information if it is reasonably necessary for or directly related to the performance of our functions and activities and for the purposes of:
(a) providing services to you or someone else you know for example for the collection and distribution of money ;
(b) helping to facilitate the creation and security of your account including fraud protection;
(c) identifying users;
(d) verifying compliance with obligations under these terms and conditions;
(e) monitoring, reviewing and moderating the use of the Site and Platform;
(f) responding to your enquiries, feedback, complaints and addressing incidents;
(g) if you have consented to marketing or otherwise permitted by law, providing you with information about other services that we and other organisations that we have affiliations with, offer that may be of interest to you;
(h) if you have consented to marketing or otherwise permitted by law, providing you with information relevant to your type of business or other area of expertise or interest;
(i) facilitating our internal business operations, including the fulfilment of any legal requirements;
(j) analysing our services and customer needs with a view to developing new or improved services; or
(k) contacting you to provide a testimonial for us.
If you are an employee or consultant, we will use your personal information to administer our employment or consulting relationship, including to fulfil our legal obligations in connection with that relationship.
Except as otherwise permitted by law, we only collect sensitive information about you if you consent to the collection of the information and if the information is reasonably necessary for the performance of our functions, as set out above.
2.4 Failure to provide information
If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you, or someone else you know, with the services you, or they, are seeking. In the context of an employment or consulting relationship, without that information we will not be able to appoint you to the role.
2.5 Laws under which personal information is collected and used
In Australia, we collect personal information to assist us to fulfil our legal and regulatory obligations, including:
(a) employment law obligations under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)), and taxation and superannuation law obligations under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) and Part 25A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth);
(b) corporate record keeping obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth).
3 Internet Users
If you access our website, we may collect additional personal information about you in the form of your IP address and domain name.
Our website may contain advertisements and/or links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and linked websites are not subject to our privacy policies and procedures.
We may also use 'cookies' or other similar tracking technologies on our website that help us track your website usage and remember your preferences. This information is for statistical reference and site analysis only. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, TV, mobile phone or other device. They enable the entity that put the cookie on your device to recognise you across different websites, services, devices and browsing sessions. You can disable cookies through your internet browser but our website may not work as intended for you if you do so. If you choose not to receive our cookies, we cannot guarantee that your experience with our website will be as quick or responsive as if you do receive cookies.
The information collected by cookies and web beacons includes general information about your computer settings, your connection to the internet, for example, the operating system and platform, IP address, your browsing patterns and timings of browsing on our website and geographical location.
We may also use cookies to enable us to collect data that may include personal information. For example, where a cookie is linked to your account, it will be considered personal information under the Privacy Act. We will handle any personal information collected by cookies in the same way that we handle all other personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.
4 Use and Disclosure
4.1 Disclosure to third parties and other organisations
Generally, we only use or disclose personal information about you for the purposes for which it was collected (as set out above). We may disclose personal information about you to:
(a) our related entities to facilitate our and their internal business processes;
(b) third party service providers, who assist us in operating our business, and providing services to you on our behalf (including information technology service providers and professional advisers) and these service providers may not be required to comply with our privacy policy;
(c) if you have consented to marketing or otherwise permitted by law, other organisations with whom we have affiliations so that those organisations may provide you with information about services;
(d) in the context of a corporate transaction, to a potential target, acquirer or merger party where reasonably necessary to complete that transaction.
4.2 Marketing
We (or third parties on our behalf) may send you direct marketing communications and information about our products and services. This may take the form of emails, SMS, mail or other forms of communication, in accordance with the Spam Act and the Privacy Act. You may opt-out of receiving marketing materials from us by contacting us using the details set out below or by using the opt-out facilities provided (for example, an unsubscribe link).
4.3 Disclosure of personal information overseas
We are likely to disclose personal information about you overseas. For instance, our third party service providers or other recipients may be based overseas or may use infrastructure outside Australia, including the Philippines and India.
5 Security
We may hold your personal information in either electronic or hard copy form. We take the security of your personal information very seriously and will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances (including through physical, technical and administrative means) to protect your personal information from loss, interference, misuse, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure as required by law in Australia. These steps may include employees and subcontractors responsible handling of data practices, access controls, encryption and secure premises. However, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure and we cannot guarantee that such transmission will be secure. You acknowledge and understand that you are responsible for account access and password security. Please notify us where there has been a breach or suspected unauthorised account access.
6 Access to your information
You may access the personal information we hold about you, upon making a written request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. We may charge you a reasonable fee for processing your request (but not for making the request for access).
We may decline a request for access to personal information in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act, and if we do, we will give you a written notice that sets out the reasons for the refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.
If, upon receiving access to your personal information or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
Where you request deletion of any personal information, we may decline your request where we are otherwise required to keep the information for a specified time. If we are no longer required to keep the information, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify the information. When we delete any information, it will be deleted from the active database but may remain in our archives. We may retain your information for fraud protection or similar purposes if this is permitted pursuant to an Australian law or court order. Where we have disclosed some of your personal information to third parties, you will need to contact them in order to have your personal information deleted.
If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will give you a written notice that sets out our reasons for our refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.
7 Complaints and Feedback
If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act, the APPs or a privacy code that applies to us, please contact us using the details below and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you.
If after this process you are not satisfied with our response, you can submit a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner. To lodge a complaint, visit the ‘Complaints’ section of the Information Commissioner’s website, located at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints, to obtain the relevant complaint forms, or contact the Information Commissioner’s office.
If you have any queries or concerns about our privacy policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact us at:
Street address: 2/2 King Street Fortitude Valley 4006
Email address: hello@carevicinity.com.au
Telephone: 1300 905 424
Website: carevicinity.com.au
For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's web site http://www.privacy.gov.au/. We recognise and respect that your privacy is very important, and we are committed to protecting the personal information we collect from and about you.