As from 1 March 2014 Baptist Churches of South Australia Inc (BCSA Inc.) made a commitment to adhere to the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (Privacy Amendment Act), and the Australian Privacy Principles that are contained in the Act, listed below:

APP 1        — Open and transparent management of personal information

APP 2        — Anonymity and pseudonymity

APP 3        — Collection of solicited personal information

APP 4        — Dealing with unsolicited personal information

APP 5        — Notification of the collection of personal information

APP 6        — Use or disclosure of personal information

APP 7        — Direct marketing

APP 8        — Cross-border disclosure of personal information

APP 9        — Adoption, use or disclosure of government related identifiers

APP 10 — Quality of personal information

APP 11 — Security of personal information

APP 12 — Access to personal information

APP 13 — Correction of personal information

Further information on the Principles is contained within the legislation, or from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au/).

The diverse range of activities of our churches also gives rise to numerous uses of personal information within the Church.

Personal information may be collected in a variety of ways including registration or enrolment forms, or in personal notes.

The information collected may include names, addresses, email addresses, telephone and fax numbers, medical details, family details (including spouses, children, guardians and parents’ details), credit card and account numbers, and any notes taken for counselling purposes.

Churches only collect personal information which is necessary for their activities, and in particular only collect sensitive information where it is consented to by the individual, or their parent or guardian. Sensitive information is only shared where the churches have a belief that its use/disclosure is necessary to prevent threats to health, life or safety to any individual.

Personal information is not shared without the prior consent of the individual. It is not distributed to any organisation which is not associated with a Baptist Church.

In the Baptist Centre, all personal information is stored in secured cupboards, and where possible in secured premises. All personal data in an electronic form is stored in secured facilities. Churches should follow this model.

All paper containing personal data is disposed of either by secured paper destruction, shredding or incineration. All disks and other electronic storage devices containing personal data are destroyed when no longer in use.

Individuals may access their personal data, which is held by BCSA Inc. or a church, by notifying BCSA Inc. or a church in writing of their request. BCSA Inc. or the church will acknowledge the request within 14 working days and arrange a time for viewing the data. Information which is out of date or incorrect, will be updated upon written request, or the applicant will be notified of the reason why the information will not be updated.

BCSA Inc. or a church may send out newsletters and other information including information from different associated bodies of BCSA Inc. from time to time. If an individual does not want to receive any of this type of information, they should notify BCSA Inc. or a church in writing of their desire not to receive any further information. Any correspondence of this nature should be addressed to the Privacy Information Contact Person.