Introduction
Jesuit Social Services is committed to supporting the "National Privacy Principles for the Fair Handling of Personal Information", which set clear standards for the collection, access, storage and use of personal information which we obtain as part of our normal operations.

Our respect for our clients, volunteers, staff, and donors right to privacy of their personal information is paramount. We have policies and procedures to ensure that all personal information, no matter how or where it is obtained, is handled sensitively, securely, and in accordance with the National Privacy Principles.

Jesuit Social Services may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology and changes to the agency's operations and practices.

Privacy and Client Information
So that we can provide services to our clients we may ask for personal information such as name, address, telephone number, next of kin, date of birth or e-mail address.

Sensitive information is information relating to a person's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional or trade association membership, sexual preferences, criminal record and health information about an individual.

In order to provide the most appropriate service, we may require to collect selected sensitive information from our clients. Jesuit Social Services will not use this information without agreement from our client. We will not disclose any sensitive information we gather to any third party without our client's prior consent.

Jesuit Social Services takes measures to ensure all clients' personal information is protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure or alteration. Only staff with a direct professional involvement in a matter have access to files. We also take measures to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information when it is no longer required. The types of measures we take vary with the type of information, and how it is collected and stored.

Where possible, we try to ensure that our disclosure of information to other organisations (for example Government departments that provide funding for our programs) is in a way that does not personally identify individuals. We exercise extreme care and vigilance in the use of any identifiers that may be passed to us through a Government agency. We are required to only use such identifiers in accordance with the terms of the contract we have with the relevant agency.

Privacy and Employee Records
Employee Records include information about staff members collected for the purposes of administering an individual's employment or contract and meeting our legal obligations.

Although these records are exempt from the Commonwealth Privacy legislation, we respect the confidentiality of the Employee Records that we hold and have procedures in place to protect them from misuse, loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. We do not store employee records longer than is required to meet the purposes stated above.

Privacy and Donor Records
Jesuit Social Services records the names, contact details and donation history of all our donors. These records provide a full record of the financial activities of Jesuit Social Services and assist us with our fundraising activities. All details about our donors are held securely.

Donors may review their details at any time to ensure they are accurate and up to date. Details of donations are retained for seven years for taxation purposes.

Privacy and Volunteer Records
We collect personal information about our volunteers for the purposes of administering an individual volunteer's contribution to the work of Jesuit Social Services, insurance matters and satisfying our legal obligations.

Volunteer records that we hold include;

• name, age group, address and contact details,
• employment history,
• academic qualifications,
• interests, skills and hobbies,
• previous voluntary work and
• membership of organisations

We are required to respect the confidentiality of the volunteer records that we hold and have in place procedures to protect them from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

In accordance with the provisions of the National Privacy Principles, we do not store volunteer records longer than is required to meet the purposes for which the information might be used.

Access to Personal Information
We will provide persons with access to their personal information we hold except in the limited circumstances recognised by privacy law. There will be occasions when access is denied, such as where release of the information would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others or where the release may reasonably be expected to cause a breach of the agency's duty of care.

Access to personal information can be obtained by contacting our Privacy Officer on 03 9427 7388. Before providing such access we require some proof of identity. For most requests, the information is provided free of charge, however a reasonable fee may be charged if the request requires a substantial effort.

Complaint Process
At Jesuit Social Services we are committed to promoting a culture that respects the privacy rights of individuals. However, any person who feels that there has been an unwarranted invasion of their privacy should contact the Jesuit Social Services Privacy Officer on 9427 7388.

More information
A copy of this Privacy Policy can be obtained by writing to our Privacy Officer at P.O. Box 271 Richmond Victoria, 3121 or downloading it from our web site - www.jss.org.au

More information about Privacy law and the National Privacy Principles is available from the Federal Privacy Commissioner at www.privacy.gov.au