Melons Australia is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information it collects and receives. This privacy policy sets out how we aim to protect the privacy of your personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information managed by us and the way we collect, use and disclose your personal information. In handling your personal information, we are required to comply with:
Within Australia:
a. the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) (‘Act’);
b. the Australia Privacy Principles; and
c. any privacy code enacted under the Act.
Outside of Australia we may be subject to any relevant international privacy regulation of the country where any personal information is collected, disclosed or stored.
This policy will be reviewed periodically and may be updated as required.
This document sets forth the Privacy Policy for the Australian Melon Association Inc, trading as Melons Australia, and the websites it manages, being www.melonsaustralia.org.au[JD1] [JE2] , along with all associated social media channels including, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
A copy of this Privacy Policy is available on the Melons Australia website.
What is personal information?
Personal information is information that identifies an individual or from which an
individual’s identity can reasonably be ascertained.
The kinds of personal information we collect and hold
The type of personal information that Melons Australia collects and holds about you depends on the type of dealings that you have with us. In most instances, Melons Australia will collect, and seek to keep updated, your name, address, contact number, email address, business type and communication preferences. If you contact us with an enquiry, depending on the nature of the enquiry, we will record details about you and relating to the enquiry.
In the following instances, we may require further information:
· Melons Australia members: We may collect your ABN, the name of an Authorised Representative and payment details;
· Melon growers: We may collect details of your farm;
· Attendees at a Melons Australia event: We may collect any accessibility or dietary requirements, and payment details where necessary;
· Suppliers of Melons Australia: We may collect billing information and information about the goods and/or services you supply; and
· Corporate partners of Melons Australia: We may collect contact and address details and information about the partnership.[JD3]
Methods of collection of personal information
Melons Australia collects your personal information directly from you when you fill out a form or similar document, submit information to us via our website or register to use our services.
This information is collected in several ways, including:
· by email;
· over the telephone;
· through written correspondence (such as letters, faxes and emails);
· on hard copy forms (including event registration forms and surveys);
· in person; and
· through our website.
A. Collection of information through our website
For each visitor to reach the Melons Australia website we collect the following information, including but not limited to; browser type, version and language, operating system, pages viewed while browsing the websites, page access times and referring website addresses. This information is used solely for the purpose of internally gauging visitor traffic and trends.
There are many aspects of the website which can be viewed without providing personal information. However, for access to some Melons Australia customer support and members/grower only features you are required to submit personally identifiable information.
B. Third party websites
Links to third party websites that are not operated or controlled by Melons Australia are provided for your convenience. Melons Australia is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of those websites, which are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Third party websites should have their own privacy and security policies, which we encourage you to read before supplying any personal information to them.
Collection notices
Where Melons Australia collects personal information directly from you, our policy is to take reasonable steps to notify you of certain matters. We will do this at or before the time of collection, or as soon as practicable afterwards. The matters include:
· our identity and how to contact us;
· the purposes for which we are collecting the information;
· the third parties (or types of third parties) to whom we would normally disclose information of that kind; and
· the fact that this Privacy Policy contains information about how to access and correct personal information and make privacy complaints (and how we will deal with those complaints).
What if you don't want to provide your personal information to us?
You are under no obligation to provide your personal information to us and you can access our website and make general phone queries without having to identify yourself. In some cases, however, without providing us with your personal information when requested, we may not be able to respond to your request or provide the product or service that you are seeking.
Use of your personal information
Your personal information is used to provide services to you, including administration of the melon research and development, communication and other programs, and to help us better understand your needs and improve our services.
For those above purposes, our activities include:
· distributing Melons Australia publications and newsletters;
· developing, administering, supporting and assessing melon levy projects;
· sending notices of industry meetings and events including roadshows and conferences;
· answering queries and resolving complaints;
· informing potential members about the benefits of membership;
· distributing our annual reports; and
· processing payments.
We may also collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for other purposes explained at the time of collection or which are:
· required or authorised by or under law; and
· for which the individual has provided their consent.
Disclosing of your personal information
On occasion, Melons Australia may disclose personal information to third parties who have been hired to provide services on our behalf, including but not limited to handling customer support enquiries, processing transactions or customer freight shipping. Those companies will be permitted to obtain only the personal information they need to deliver the service. Melons Australia takes reasonable steps to ensure that these organisations are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of your personal information. The service provider may in turn provide us with personal information collected from you in the course of providing the relevant products or services. Melons Australia will not use, sell or disclose your information for any other purpose without your consent unless required or authorised by law.
These third parties include:
· Financial institutions for payment processing;
· Government authorities and regulatory bodies, where required by law
· Melons Australia contracted service providers, including:
o information technology service providers;
o publishers of our newsletters;
o conference organisers;
o marketing and communications agencies;
o mailing houses, freight and courier services;
o printers and distributors of direct marketing material; and
o external business advisers (such as recruitment advisers, auditors and lawyers).
Direct marketing
Melons Australia may use your personal information, specifically your name and relevant address details, to let you know about our services, facilities, membership benefits and events, and those of third-party partners of Melons Australia, where we have your consent. We may contact you for direct marketing purposes in a variety of ways, including by mail, email, SMS, telephone, online advertising or facsimile.
Data quality and security
Melons Australia holds personal information in a number of ways, including in electronic databases, email contact lists, and in paper files held in drawers and cabinets, locked where appropriate. Paper files may also be archived in boxes and stored offsite in secure facilities. Melons Australia takes all reasonable steps to:
· ensure that your information is secure once it has been received on our systems; and
· protect the personal information that we hold from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Accessing your personal information
You have a right to access the personal information that Melons Australia holds about you, subject to exceptions allowed by law. You can readily access you own personal information by logging in to the Melons Australia portal with your unique login details, alternatively please contact comms@melonsaustralia.org.au.
You can ask us to notify you of our source of information, and it is our policy is to do so unless this is unreasonable or impracticable. Except in the case of more complicated requests, we will endeavour to respond to access requests within 30 days.
Correction of your personal information
Melons Australia takes all reasonable steps to amend any personal information about you which is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. You have a right to request correction of your personal information that Melons Australia holds about you. Individuals can correct their own personal information, including changing their communication preferences, by logging in to the member portal or, contacting the Melons Australia office[JD4] [JE5] . We may ask you to verify your identity before processing any correction requests, to ensure that the personal information we hold is properly protected. Except in the case of more complicated requests, we will endeavour to respond to correction requests within 30 days.
Opting out
Where you have consented to receiving direct marketing communications from us, your consent will remain current until you advise us otherwise. You can opt out at any time, in the following ways:
· send a letter to the Melons Australia office requesting to opt out of particular communications; or
· use the unsubscribe facility that we include in our commercial electronic messages (such as emails and SMSs) to opt out of receiving those messages.[JD6] [JE7]
Complaints
If you have a complaint about how Melons Australia has collected or handled your personal information, we will ask you to lodge a complaint, which details the date, time and circumstances of the matter that you are complaining about, how you believe your privacy has been interfered with and how you would like your complaint resolved. We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five business days of receiving it and to complete our investigation into your complaint in a timely manner. In most cases, we expect that complaints will be investigated, and a response provided within 30 days of receipt of your complaint. If the matter is more complex and our investigation may require more time, we will write and let you know when we expect to provide our response.
Our response will set out:
· whether in the Privacy Officer's view there has been a breach of this Privacy Policy or any applicable privacy legislation; and
· what action, if any, Melons Australia will take to rectify the situation.
If you are unhappy with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Changes to this privacy policy
Melons Australia reserves the right to make amendments to this Privacy Policy at any time. From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will use for these new purposes only, data collected from the time of the policy change forward will adhere to our updated practices.
Melons Australia contact details
Melons Australia welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy and would like further information, please contact our Executive Director, Johnathon Davey execofficer@melonsaustralia.org.au.
