Privacy Policy.

For the use of personal information given to Waurn Ponds Community Church Inc.  

As of June 2021

Waurn Pond Community Church Inc (WPCC) is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.

We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The National Privacy Principles govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.

A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au

What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include: names, addresses, email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers.

This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including correspondence, by telephone, by email, via our website www.wpcc.com.au, from media and publications, from other publicly available sources, and from third parties. We do not guarantee website links or policies of authorised third parties.

We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to church members and attendees and for promotional activities. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. You may unsubscribe from our mailing lists at any time by contacting us in writing.

When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.

Sensitive Information

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record, or health information.

Sensitive information will be used by us only:

  • For the primary purpose for which it was obtained.
  • For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose.
  • With your consent; or where required or authorised by law.
Third Parties

Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances, we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:

  • Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and
  • Where required or authorised by law.
Security of Personal Information

Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.

Access to your Personal Information

You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.

Waurn Ponds Community Church will not charge any fee for your access request but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.

In order to protect your Personal Information, we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.

Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information

It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.

Policy Updates

This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.

Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries

If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

  • PO Box 285, Belmont Vic 3216
  • info@wpcc.com.au
  • 03 5241 1160

 *Photos and images:

For children participating in any children’s program (e.g. Go Kids, Go Tots on Sundays): We request permission to take photographs or record video footage of your child for express use on publications, multi-media presentations or websites belonging to the church (Internal use and publicly viewed). As you are aware, there are potential dangers associated with the posting of personally identifiable information on a website as global access to the Internet does not allow us to control who may access such information.  These dangers have always existed; however, we do want to celebrate your child and his/her experiences.  No personally identifiable information regarding your child will be published or provided to other organisations or individuals, except where this information is required by law, for reporting suspected abuse or neglect, or in the case of an emergency (personally identifiable information includes participant names, residential addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers.) You, as Parent/Carer, may choose to not have your child/children’s images recorded by WPCC by writing your instruction on the Private Information Permission Form, which will be given to you from time to time. If you would like a copy of our Vulnerable People and Child Safety Policy and the Private Information Permission Form, please contact the WPCC office or call (03) 5241 1160.

For general use: We occasionally take photos of our congregations, particularly during events such as fundraising, celebrations, and special services. We keep these images only for our records and the promotion of our church activities. These images will be kept on our private network and will not be released to any parties without your consent. When used for promotional purposes, no identifiable information will be attached.

*WPCC Database

WPCC utilises a cloud-based system to hold your private information. This information includes:

(1). Name, home address, mobile and home telephone numbers, email address/es.

(2). Date of birth, marital status, wedding anniversary (where applicable), allergy and Medical Alerts, name, and date of birth.

(3). Baptism history, volunteer roles and involvement, Police Check / Working With Children Check status, pastoral follow-up notes.

The above information will not be released to any person or organisation outside WPCC without your consent. The purposes for which this information is collected and stored include pastoral care, planning for church activities and events, and statistical reviews. The data will be stored within the WPCC’s cloud-based system with authority to view and edit granted only to members of the Eldership and the Office Manager in order to fulfill the requirements of their appointments.

The rostering application – The application used for the rostering has provided access to volunteers via a desktop and/or phone application, church volunteers will only see the names of other volunteers and the events schedule; they cannot access the church directory. However, the team leaders, who will be approved by Eldership, will see the information listed at (1) above of all volunteers when working on the monthly serving rosters.

Check-In Children’s Programs – The application will be used for recording attendance of our children’s program, and other events. Only information (1) and (2) in your profile will be seen by the program leaders.

Should you wish to know more about the information system operated in WPCC, a full version of the system provider’s policy can be presented upon request. You may also seek to access your information held at WPCC anytime by contacting the church office on (03) 5241 1160 during office hours.

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