Privacy Policy

Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

1.0 Policy Statement

Freedom Solutions Australia recognises that all records about people who use its services, employees ,volunteers, subcontractors and other service agencies must be kept and stored in a safe, secure and organised manner that best protects those records for future use and protects the confidentiality of the information they contain.

Freedom Solutions Australia will promote and uphold an individual’s right to privacy, dignity and confidentiality. All personal information including sensitive information collected by Freedom Solutions Australia is collected, managed and disclosed in accordance with the state and federal laws aimed to protect an individual’s privacy.

The information collected is for the purposes of processing enquiries, requests, registrations, donations and / or for promotional purposes. This information will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected. Personal information will not be shared with any third party without the person’s consent.

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure all Freedom Solutions Australia stakeholders understand theirrights and obligations with regards to the collection, management and security of personal information.

3.0 Definitions

Personal information: any information that can be used to personally identify a person. This may include name, address, telephone number, email address, health information and occupation.

4.0 Training and Education

All workers will be educated about this policy during induction and yearly refresher training will be provided. Training and education is important to ensure workers in our organisation understand their obligation to maintain confidentiality of stakeholder records.

This policy will be accessible on the Freedom Solutions Australia website to ensure all external stakeholders understand their rights in terms of the privacy and confidentiality of personal information collected by Freedom Solutions Australia.

5.0 Management

All complaints will be managed following:

4.1.1 Privacy and Confidentiality Procedure and Guidelines

6.0 Responsibilities

The CEO and Business Systems Manager are responsible for ensuring that the storage of information regarding service users, employees, volunteers, subcontractors and other service agencies is secure and as safe as possible from access by unauthorised persons or through Cyber Security Breaches.

Manager – Workforce and Volunteers is responsible for ensuring storage of personal records for volunteers and staff is secure and as safe as possible from access by unauthorised persons or through Cyber Security Breaches.

All employees are responsible for ensuring all relevant information about a current or potential service user’s project application and progress is kept securely, entered on to the person’s individual file and that details are factual, accurate, complete and timely.

7.0 Communication

Communication about this policy should be implemented in a way that suits each person with regard to their cultural background e.g. use of an interpreter or easy to read documents. This policy will be accessible through the Freedom Solutions Australia Website.

8.0 Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed every 3 years or as legislation and policy changes dictate.

9.0 Legislative Context

The following Federal and State laws apply:

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act)

Privacy Data and Protection Act 2014 (Vic)

The Health Records Act (Vic)

Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998 (NSW)

Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission Act 1986

NSW Disability Services Standards