Friends of Banyule Inc. Privacy Policy
Last Updated: 23 May 2025
Friends of Banyule Inc.is committed to protecting the privacy of our members, supporters, volunteers, and website users. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and manage personal information in accordance with Australian privacy
laws and best practices.
This policy has been updated to reflect our use of third-party services, including MailerLite for newsletters and Facebook for event promotion and community engagement.
- Our Commitment to Privacy
Friends of Banyule is a local, not-for-profit, community-based organisation dedicated to caring for the environment in Banyule and surrounding areas. We value the trust you place in us and are committed to handling your personal information responsibly.
While the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) primarily apply to organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million (among other criteria), Friends of Banyule strives to adhere to these principles as a matter of good governance and to maintain the confidence of our community.
- What Personal Information We Collect
The types of personal information we may collect include:
- Contact Information: Your name, postal address, email address, and telephone number(s).
- Membership Information: Your membership status, history, and any subscription preferences.
- Engagement Information: Records of your interactions with us, such as event attendance, volunteer activities, donations (though we may use third-party platforms for donation processing with their own privacy policies), and correspondence.
- Website Usage Information: We may collect non-personally identifiable information about your visit to our website (warringal.org.au) for statistical purposes, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages accessed, and referring website. This is typically collected using cookies (see Section 8).
- Information related to Third-Party Platforms:
- MailerLite: When you subscribe to our newsletters or email updates via MailerLite, we collect your name (optional) and email address. MailerLite may also collect information related to your engagement with our emails, such as opens and clicks.
- Facebook: When you interact with our Facebook page (e.g., like, comment, share, join events), Facebook collects information as per its own Data Policy. We may have access to aggregated, anonymised data through Facebook Page Insights. We do not typically collect personal information directly from Facebook profiles unless you voluntarily provide it to us through direct messages or other interactions.
- Why We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information for the following purposes:
- To maintain a formal list of our members.
- To communicate with you regarding our activities, including newsletters, event invitations, conservation news, volunteer opportunities, and membership renewals.
- To process memberships, donations, and event registrations.
- To organise and manage our conservation activities and events.
- To respond to your enquiries and requests.
- To understand our community’s engagement and improve our services and communications.
- To comply with any legal obligations.
- To promote our events and activities via platforms like Facebook.
- How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information in the following ways:
- Directly from you: When you become a member, subscribe to our newsletter, register for an event, make a donation, volunteer, contact us, or otherwise provide your information to us.
- Our Website: Through cookies and analytics tools when you browse our website (see Section 8).
- Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
We are committed to using your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, or for related purposes that you would reasonably2 expect.
- Internal Use: Your personal information will primarily be accessible to Friends of Banyule Committee Members and authorised volunteers who require it to perform their duties (e.g., managing memberships, sending newsletters, organising events).
- Third-Party Service Providers: We use third-party services for specific functions:
- MailerLite: We use MailerLite to manage our email lists and send newsletters and email communications. When you subscribe, your name (if provided) and email address are stored by MailerLite. MailerLite is subject to its own privacy policy and security measures. We will only use MailerLite in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy. MailerLite’s privacy policy can be found on their website. Their data is stored in the European Union and they state they will not sell or rent customer data.
- Facebook: We use Facebook to promote our events and engage with the community. When you interact with our Facebook page, Facebook collects your data according to its Data Policy. For Facebook Page Insights, Facebook and Friends of Banyule are considered joint controllers. Facebook assumes primary responsibility for processing Page Insights data and ensuring compliance with relevant data protection laws. However, we are responsible for informing you about the use of Page Insights. You can find Facebook’s Data Policy on their website. We do not export personal data from Facebook for other uses without your consent, unless otherwise stated for a specific activity (e.g., an event registration form linked from Facebook).
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with legal process, protect and defend our rights or property, or protect the personal safety of our members or the public.
- No Sale of Information: We will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties.
- Explicit Consent: We will not provide your contact details or other personal information to other organisations or individuals for their own marketing purposes without your explicit consent.
- Data Quality and Security
We endeavour to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. You can help us by informing us of any changes to your details.
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. This includes:
- Storing physical records securely.
- Using password-protected systems for electronic data.
- Limiting access to personal information to authorised individuals.
- When using third-party services like MailerLite and Facebook, we rely on their security measures, and we encourage you to review their respective privacy and security policies.
- Access and Correction of Your Personal Information
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request its correction if you believe it is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading.
To request access or correction, please contact us using the details below (Section 12). We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe. In some limited circumstances, we may need to deny access or refuse a correction, but we will provide you with reasons if this is the case.
- Our Website and Cookies
Our website (Friendsofbanyule.com.au) may use cookies. A cookie is a small file placed in your web browser that collects information about your web Browse behaviour. The use of cookies allows our website to tailor its configuration to your needs and preferences. Cookies do not access information stored on your computer or any personal information (e.g., name, address, email address, or telephone number). Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.
Our website may use cookies for analytics (such as Google Analytics) to measure traffic patterns and to improve our website. These tools may collect information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, and pages visited. This information is aggregated and does not personally identify you.
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these linked sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.
- Data Retention
We will only retain your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. When personal information is no longer needed, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it. For example, membership information will be retained while you are a member and for a reasonable period afterwards for administrative purposes. Email subscription data via MailerLite will be retained as long as you remain subscribed.
- Cross-Border Disclosure of Personal Information
Some of the third-party services we use (like MailerLite and Facebook) may store or process your information on servers located outside Australia (e.g., MailerLite data is stored in the EU; Facebook’s servers are global). When we disclose personal information to overseas recipients, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient will handle the information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles or is subject to comparable privacy laws. By providing us with your personal information, you consent to this potential transfer of information outside Australia.
- Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. Any changes will be effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on our website. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
- Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, wish to access or correct your personal information, or have a complaint about our handling of your personal information, please contact us:
Friends of Banyule Inc.
PO BOX 577
Heidelberg VIC 3084
Email: [email protected] (or other relevant contact email if updated on the website)
We will endeavour to respond to your query or complaint promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).