While the Barristers’ Benevolent Association of NSW (BBA) is not an APP entity under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) and therefore is not bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act, the BBA is committed to managing the personal information it collects and holds in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.
This Privacy Policy sets out how the BBA collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information. By providing your personal information to us, you consent to it being handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
The BBA may amend this policy from time to time by publishing an updated version of the policy on our website. To ensure that you are aware of our current privacy policy, please check our website periodically.
COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
The BBA collects and holds personal information of:
- Current and former members of the Bar of New South Wales (NSW Barrister);
- Family members of a NSW Barrister including:
- spouse (including surviving spouse)
- partner in a defacto relationship (both opposite and same sex relationships) (including surviving defacto partner)
- children (including adopted children and children of any aforementioned spouse or partner)
- such other persons determined to be dependants of NSW Barristers
(NSW Barrister Family Member)
The kinds of personal information that we collect and hold may comprise (depending on the request to the BBA):
- NSW Barrister personal details (e.g. name, contact details, date of birth, signature, employment history and qualifications);
- NSW Barrister Family Member’s personal details (e.g. name, contact details, date of birth);
- NSW Barrister practice details (e.g. chambers contact details, practising history);
- NSW Barrister financial information (e.g. total fees billed and paid for a period, taxable income; liabilities; insurance policies, superannuation accounts, access to government agencies and/or government stimulus packages);
- financial income of NSW Barristers’ spouse;
- details about NSW Barrister or NSW Barrister Family Member’s circumstances giving rise to a request for assistance;
- financial or billing information of NSW Barrister or NSW Barrister Family Member (e.g. bank account, payment information);
- other sensitive information such as health information, disabilities and other information relevant to an application for assistance by a NSW Barrister or a NSW Barrister Family Member.
The BBA generally collects your personal information directly from you. For example, when you make an application for assistance and provide that to the BBA.
We collect personal information from other persons who interact with us through telephone calls, emails, written correspondence, application forms and other communication channels that the BBA makes available from time to time.
In some circumstances, we may collect your personal information from a third party, from a public record, or by some other indirect means if that means is fair and we are authorised to do so by law or if it would be unreasonable or impracticable to collect it from you directly.
If we are unable to collect some or all of the personal information that we require from you, we may not be able to process your application, provide you with a service or otherwise carry out our functions or activities.
PURPOSES OF COLLECTING, HOLDING, USING AND DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION
The BBA collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information to:
- fulfil our functions and responsibilities under the Charities Act 2013 (Cth), Charitable Trusts Act 1993 (NSW) and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth);
- ensure compliance with other laws (such as the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth), A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), and applicable regulatory, accounting, reporting and other standards by which the BBA is bound;
- ensure compliance with the Rules and Regulations of the BBA including:
- deciding on applications for relief and the amount and mode of affording it; and
- permit the Council of the NSW Bar Association (and members of the staff of the NSW Bar Association assisting it) to manage the BBA;
- develop and provide NSW Barristers and NSW Barrister Family Members with services and benefits that may be offered by the BBA from time to time; and
- conduct such other activities, or perform such other functions, as may be notified to you from time to time.
Further details about how the BBA manages personal information in relation to certain functions and activities are set out below.
DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
The BBA may disclose your personal information to third parties if it is reasonably necessary for any of the purposes listed above, or if disclosure is otherwise permitted or required under law.
Otherwise, the BBA generally will not disclose your personal information without your consent.
OVERSEAS DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
In limited circumstances, BBA may disclose personal information overseas.
If the BBA retains the services of third-party service providers that are based overseas, your personal information may be disclosed overseas to those providers. In these cases, we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to the disclosed information.
SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
The BBA is committed to keeping your personal information secure.
As we may hold your personal information in either electronic or hard copy form, we use a variety of physical and electronic security measures to keep your personal information secure from misuse, interference, loss or unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These measures include:
- hard copies of application forms and notes of discussions are held in secure safe;
- restricting physical access to our offices;
- restricting access to our electronic systems;
- password protecting our IT systems;
- employing cyber security protections;
- requiring our staff and third-party providers to take steps to keep personal information secure and treat it as confidential; and
- conducting regular audit and data security checks (and updating security measures where necessary).
ACCESSING AND CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Access to personal information
Any person about whom the BBA holds personal information may request access to that information by written request to the BBA.
Correction of Personal Information
Any person who believes that personal information which the BBA holds about them is not accurate, complete and up to date is invited to seek correction of that information by written request to the BBA.
If you request access to your personal information or ask us to correct or update information about you, we may need to verify your identity. In some circumstances, there may be a valid reason for us to deny your request to access or correct your information. If we do this, we will tell you why.
COMPLAINTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION
If you think we have acted in a manner inconsistent with the Australian Privacy Principles or you would like further information about the BBA’s privacy policies and procedures, you should contact the BBA in writing in the first instance. Please include your name, email address and/or telephone number and clearly describe your complaint or question so that we can investigate internally.
We will respond to your complaint or question within a reasonable time. Generally, unless the circumstances justify additional time, we will endeavour to respond to your complaint or question within thirty (30) business days.
CONTACT
For further information about the BBA’s privacy practices, to seek access to or correction of your personal information, or to make a complaint, please contact the BBA at [email protected].
or
Barristers' Benevolent Association of New South Wales
B/174 Phillip Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000