Privacy Policy

If you make an enquiry or submit a complaint with DACSSA, the main reason that we collect your personal information is to respond to your enquiry or to advocate on your behalf. To do this we may collect the following information from you:

• name and contact details;
• health information, including in relation to any disability you are living with; and/or
• any other personal information provided by you.

We may also collect your contact details when you submit them via one of the online forms on our website (for example, when you submit an enquiry online). However, before this information is collected, we ensure that you are provided with a collection notice and a link to this Policy.

Where possible, we only collect personal information about you directly from you. We may also collect personal information about other individuals indirectly because it is collected in a communication with us. Some examples of how we collect personal information include (but are not limited to):

• directly from individuals during telephone calls;
• when information is entered in one of our online forms or included in an email to us; and/or
• via our official social media pages.

Our website also uses cookies to allow certain functions to work. A cookie is a small string of information that a website transfers to your computer or device to improve the functionality of the website. You can configure your website browser to reject cookies, however this may impact your browsing experience.

Please be aware that when you access any of our official social media sites, the organisation that hosts our pages will also collect your personal information and handle it in accordance with its own privacy policy. The privacy policies for social media sites can be accessed on their websites.

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We handle your personal information sensitively and in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and with this Privacy Policy.

Generally, the personal information we collect electronically is stored on a secured network consistent with industry standards. This network has restricted access and is only accessible by employees who have special access rights. The personal information we hold physical copies of is stored using security measures including, but not limited to, locked cabinets and restricted swipe card access to our offices.

If we no longer need the physical copies of the personal information we hold, we take all reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify that information. It may be necessary for us to retain personal information to comply with our legal obligations, or for insurance or audit purposes. Personal information that we store electronically may be stored securely indefinitely for IT back up and electronic audit trail purposes.

We use the personal information we collect primarily to:

• Provide advocacy services to individuals who request that we advocate on their behalf; and
• Conduct National Disability Insurance Scheme (‘NDIS’) Appeals.

To provide our advocacy services, we may share relevant personal information, in a confidential manner, with organisation/s that you have requested we contact, or that are otherwise involved in the matter that you are seeking assistance with.

Our role in relation to NDIS Appeals is to support people with disability, and/or others affected by reviewable decisions of the National Disability Insurance Agency (‘NDIA’), when seeking review of those decisions.

In order to perform these tasks, we may share your information, in a confidential manner, with NDIA or any another organisation that you have requested we contact on your behalf. This will only occur where permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles, and with your consent.

As DACSSA is part of the Australian Network of Disability Advocacy Services funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (‘DSS’), we provide some de-identified information about our cases through a data recording system called The Data Exchange.

The Data Exchange is an IT System, hosted by DSS, that enables us to submit reporting information to DSS for performance measurement purposes, so that DSS can obtain information about our service delivery outcomes. The data we provide to DSS via The Data Exchange is de-identified and DSS attest to its protection under the Data Exchange Framework and associated protocols. More information about The Data Exchange, including the DSS APP privacy policy, can be found on the DSS website.

We may use contracted IT service providers to process some personal information on our behalf. Where this occurs, we ensure that personal information is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and with this Privacy Policy.

Where a DACSSA worker agrees to meet offsite with an individual (either a client or another third party), the known address of that individual, and/or of the offsite location for the meeting, may be disclosed to a security company for the purposes of monitoring the worker’s personal security device.

We may also use your personal information for internal training, audit and quality assessment for the purpose of improving our services.

Where necessary, we may also use your personal information to enable us to comply with our obligations under the law. Sharing information to prevent serious threat and harm is a requirement of DACSSA per related policies and procedures, legislation, standards and guidelines.

We will only use your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, and while maintaining confidentiality.

You can seek access to the personal information we hold about you by contacting us at the address below under ‘Contact details’. We will need to verify your identity and may charge a fee to cover the cost of providing you with access. If a fee is charged for access, you will be informed of the details of the fee prior to provision of access.

You can request to update or correct personal information we hold about you which you believe is inaccurate or out of date by contacting us at the address under ‘Contact details’.

We always ensure that we handle your personal information in accordance with this Policy and the APPs. However, if you have any concerns about the use of your personal information you can contact us using the address at ‘Contact details’ so that we can try and resolve the issue with you quickly and directly.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW, 2001, www.oaic.gov.au, or telephone: 1300 363 992.

To request access to the personal information we hold about you, or to make a privacy complaint, contact us at:

Phone: (08) 7122 6030
Address: Level 7 / 70 Pirie St, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Email: admin@dacssa.org.au