the Y
the Y
The Y (Australia) considers the privacy of individuals, staff, volunteers, clients, Member Associations and associated companies to be of highest importance, and is committed to handling all personal information with honesty and transparency.
Y Australia adheres to the Australian Privacy Principles under the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988; and as amended, the Commonwealth Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000; the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012; the Freedom of Information Act 1982; and the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017.
This Policy explains how Y Australia collects personal information, what we do with it, and, most importantly, how it’s protected. It has been prepared in accordance with current legislation and the Board of the National Council of the YMCAs of Australia reserves the right to amend it in accordance with new laws, technologies or relevant changes in the Y’s operations and practices.
For more information on the Act and the Australian Privacy Principles, please refer to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner – www.oaic.gov.au
1. Collection
If Y Australia requires the collection of any personal information, the purpose for which the information is to be collected and the consequences of providing it will be made clear at the time of the collection. Personal information may be collected for the following purposes:
Personal information may be collected from various sources including:
1.1 Collection of personal/health information relating to children
Y Australia does not collect, use or disclose personal information about anyone under the age of 18 years of age unless the signed consent of a parent or legal guardian has been obtained.
1.2 Website
You are free to browse Y Australia’s website at www.ymca.org.au without entering any personal information and, therefore, you can remain anonymous. At no time are ‘cookies’ used to keep track of your website usage. The office of the National Council does, however, collect personal information, suggestions and feedback provided by visitors through the following sections on the website:
This information, and the ideas provided, may be used to assist in making improvements to the website or Y operations. On no occasion, however, will a person’s name or personal details be published without permission.
Where emails or e-cards are forwarded to an email address or contact person listed on this website, the sender’s address will not be added to a mailing list and will be only used by Y Australia to contact the sender. Once the office has responded to any suggestion or query, the sender’s contact information will be deleted in a secure manner.
Y Australia’s website contains links to other sites operated by other parties. Links are provided to other Internet sites as a convenience to users, and access to Internet sites linked to our website is at the user’s own risk. Y Australia is not responsible for the content or the privacy practices of linked websites and therefore strongly encourages users to examine each linked site’s privacy policy.
Whenever you use our website, or any other website, the computer on which the web pages are stored (the Web server) needs to know the network address of your computer so that it can send the requested web pages to your Internet browser. The unique network address of your computer is called its “IP address,” and is sent automatically each time you access any Internet site. From a computer’s IP address, it is possible to determine the general geographic location of that computer, but otherwise it is anonymous. We do not keep a record of the IP addresses from which users access our site except where you have specifically provided us with information about yourself, in which case we also record your IP address for security purposes. An example of this would be when proceeding to a checkout to finalise an order you may wish to make. After completing the form provided, your IP address will be stored along with a transaction number that allows us to track your order.
Y Australia uses cookies to allow you to login to your account, maintain a shopping cart and to purchase items in your shopping cart. Cookies sent to your computer from Y Australia only last while you’re browsing our website. We do not store persistent cookies on your computer. Cookies also allow us to give you a more personalised shopping experience by displaying products that interest you throughout our product pages, thus providing you with a more friendly, interesting and enjoyable shopping experience.
1.3 Social Networking Services
Y Australia uses social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to communicate with the public about our work. When you communicate with us, these services may collect your personal information, but we only use it to help us communicate with you and the public. Social networking services will also handle your personal information for its own purposes and have their own privacy policies, which are accessible through their relevant websites.
2. Use & Disclosure
Y Australia will not use personal information for any other purpose without first seeking the individual’s consent unless authorised or requested by law. The office takes responsible steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or destruction. Y Australia will only collect personal information as required by law.
Disclosure of personal and health information will be in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.
3. Data Quality
Where Y Australia requires personal information to be collected, every effort is made to ensure the information is accurate, complete and up to date.
4. Data Security
Information collected on individuals, staff, volunteers, clients, Member Associations and associated companies is stored securely. Where information is stored off site, Y Australia has confidentiality agreements with the archival suppliers in place. All such suppliers are screened to ensure that they maintain security and confidentiality requirements.
Y Australia takes all practicable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or destruction. In the unlikely event of a security breach, or an eligible data breach, it will be dealt with according to current procedures maintained in the Y’s business continuity documentation.
Health information is retained for a minimum of seven (7) years following the last occasion on which a service is provided. Where information was first collected while the individual was a child, it is retained until he/she is twenty five (25) years of age or for seven (7) years, whichever is the greater.
Accredited training qualifications and related records are retained for thirty (30) years.
5. Openness
Y Australia is open about the type of personal information collected and held and the ways in which it is used. A copy of this privacy statement is available on request from Y Australia (refer Item 12 below for contact details).
6. Access and Correction
Where personal information is kept, the individual it relates to is entitled to access that record. The only exception to this is where Y Australia is required to deny access because providing it would be unlawful or not within the jurisdiction of relevant legislation.
Y Australia reserves the right to take reasonable steps to confirm that the individual seeking access to the information is the person to whom the information relates or is otherwise entitled to access it.
Y Australia is committed to responding to, and processing, access, and correction requests promptly. Please contact Y Australia (refer Item 12 for details) to discuss your request.
Any health information collected by Y Australia will not be deleted during the period of time it is required to be held (refer above). Amendments or alterations to health information are recorded on a separate form and attached to the original file.
7. Identifiers
Y Australia may be required to collect an individual’s identifiers such as a Tax File Number, Medicare Number or Social Security Number for the provision of services. Where collected, these identifiers will only be disclosed to agencies as required by law.
8. Anonymity
Individuals who wish to gather information via telephone or by visiting our website whilst staying anonymous are welcome to do so provided that the disclosure of information requested does not involve personal information. In all cases, it will be necessary to verify that the person seeking access to information is the person to whom it relates or who is otherwise entitled to access it.
9. Trans-border Information Flows
Personal information is not normally transferred interstate or overseas. Any information that is will be transferred within guidelines outlined to the individual to whom it relates at the time it is collected or with his/her subsequent consent.
The World Alliance of YMCAs and the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs are the two overseas organisations that may require information about Y members such as the number of attendances per sporting activity, number of attendances at Ys and the number of Y voting members. This type of information does not normally require identification of individual persons.
If you communicate with us through a social networking service such as Twitter or Facebook, the social network provider and its partners may collect and hold your personal information overseas.
10. Transfer/Closure of Health Services
In the event of local Y Association managed health services (i.e. medical suite, massage service, physiotherapy service, sports medicine service, health and fitness club) being transferred, sold, leased, or ceasing operation, the Association is required to enact notification and transfer procedures as directed by the appropriate State/Territory legislation.
11. Sensitive Information
If or when Y Australia is required to collect sensitive information about an individual, it will only be collected with the individual’s consent and transferred to other parties as outlined at the time of collection.
Collection of sensitive information such as religious affiliation, gender, disability, languages spoken other than English and criminal records will only occur when the individual has consented or where the law requires such collection.
12. How to contact us and to register a complaint
Should your privacy query or complaint relate to a specific Y Association, it is important that you contact their relevant Privacy Officer first. Please click here to access Head Office contact details.
If you have any concerns or queries about this privacy statement, or if you have reason to believe there is a breach of privacy regarding information Y Australia collects and holds about you, please contact Y Australia and direct these to the Y Australia Privacy Officer:
Email: contact@the-y.org.au
Address: Y Australia, Level 1, 2 Bristol Street, Essendon Fields VIC 3041
The National Council of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of Australia ABN: 45 004 076 297 (Trading as YMCA Australia)
The Trustee for YMCA Australia Youth and Community Fund (Ancillary Gift Fund) ABN: 99 524 351 539
Updated January 2023