Privacy Policy

Stroke Recovery Association NSW > About us > Privacy Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

The Stroke Recovery Association is committed to protecting and upholding the right to privacy of clients, staff, volunteers, Board members and representatives of agencies we deal with. In particular Stroke Recovery is committed to protecting and upholding the rights of our clients to privacy in the way we collect, store and use information about them, their needs and the services we provide to them.

Stroke Recovery Association requires staff, volunteers and Board members to be consistent and careful in the way they manage what is written and said about individuals and how they decide who can see or hear this information.

Stroke Recovery Association is subject to all Privacy legislation applying to the organisation and/or its client group. The organisation will follow the guidelines of the Australian Privacy Principles in its information management practices.

Stroke Recovery will ensure that:

  • it meets its legal and ethical obligations as an employer and service provider in relation to protecting the privacy of clients and organisational personnel.
  • clients are provided with information about their rights regarding privacy.
  • clients and organisational personnel are provided with privacy when they are being interviewed or discussing matters of a personal or sensitive nature.
  • all staff, Board members and volunteers understand what is required in meeting these obligations.

This policy conforms to the Federal Privacy Act (1988) and the Australian Privacy Principles 2014 which govern the collection, use and storage of personal information.

(Note: The Federal Privacy Act applies to organisations with an annual turnover over $3m or organisations that are health service providers, operators of a residential tenancy database, a contractor that provides services under a Commonwealth contract, an organisation that is related to a larger organisation or one which trades in personal information.

Many funding contracts may require that funded organisations comply with the Australian Privacy Principles).

This policy will apply to all records, whether hard copy or electronic, containing personal information about individuals, and to interviews or discussions of a sensitive personal nature.

 PROCEDURES

 Dealing with personal information

In dealing with personal information, Stroke Recovery staff will:

  • ensure privacy for clients, staff, volunteers or Board members when they are being interviewed or discussing matters of a personal or sensitive nature
  • only collect and store personal information that is necessary for the functioning of the organisation and its activities
  • use fair and lawful ways to collect personal information
  • collect personal information only by consent from an individual
  • ensure that people know what sort of personal information is held, what purposes it is held it for and how it is collected, used, disclosed and who will have access to it
  • ensure that personal information collected or disclosed is accurate, complete and up-to-date, and provide access to any individual to review information or correct wrong information about themselves
  • All Information collected by telephone is to be written on Telephone Message Forms which are to be kept out of sight in the clip board folder provided until actioned. They are then stored in the locked black storage container in the locked in secure steel cabinet in the Information officer at the conclusion of each day.  Under no circumstances are telephone information forms to be left on the desks.
  • take reasonable steps to protect all personal information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure
  • destroy or permanently de-identify personal information no longer needed and/or after legal requirements for retaining documents have expired.

Responsibilities for managing privacy

  • All staff are responsible for the management of personal information to which they have access, and in the conduct of research, consultation or advocacy work.
  • The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for content in  publications, communications and web site and must ensure the following:
  • appropriate consent is obtained for the inclusion of any personal information about any individual including Stroke Recovery personnel
  • information being provided by other agencies or external individuals conforms to privacy principles
  • that the website contains a Privacy statement that makes clear the conditions of any collection of personal information from the public through their visit to the website.

The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for safeguarding personal information relating to Stroke Recovery staff, Board members, volunteers, contractors and Stroke Recovery Association members.

The Privacy Contact Officer will be the Chief Executive Officer. He/she  will be responsible for:

  • ensuring that all staff are familiar with the Privacy Policy and administrative procedures for handling personal information
  • ensuring that clients and other relevant individuals are provided with information about their rights regarding privacy
  • handling any queries or complaint about a privacy issue

 Privacy information for clients

At the initial phone call, clients will be told what information is being collected, how their privacy will be protected and their rights in relation to this information.

 Privacy for interviews and personal discussions

To ensure privacy for clients or staff when discussing sensitive or personal matters, the organisation will:

All discussion occur within the appropriate office are of the staff member ensuring they are able to discuss sensitive information is gathered in such a manner as to ensure that it is not overheard or broadcast in any manner which would compromise the privacy of an individual.

Participants in research projects

People being invited to participate in a research project must be:

  • given a choice about participating or not
  • given the right to withdraw at any time
  • informed about the purpose of the research project, the information to be collected, and how information they provide will be used.
  • given copies of any subsequent publications.

The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is required for the conduct of the project. Individual participants will not be identified.

Organisational participants in research projects will generally be identified in the Stroke Recovery research, unless the nature of a particular project requires anonymity or an organisation specifically requests it.

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