Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

CULTURA is committed to respecting the privacy of personal information for all residents, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers (including Directors).

CULTURA operates within the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and any registered APP code that may be established by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner that is binding on CULTURA.

Any complaints from individuals regarding CULTURA compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles or registered APP code binding on CULTURA will be dealt with in an open and transparent way.

CULTURA has identified the Chief Executive Officer as the organisation’s ‘Privacy Officer’ and this is the person who is nominated to deal with any queries and/or complaints related to the management of personal and/or sensitive information by the organisation.

PROCEDURE

1.    OPEN AND TRANSPARENT MANAGEMENT OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about residents and home care consumers of the organisation:

• • Identifying information
  • Medical and social histories
  • Financial and legal information related to care and services provided by CULTURA
  • CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about family members/friends of CULTURA residents and home care consumers:
  • Name and contact details
  • Status in relation to resident/home care consumer – family and/or legal
  • CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about independent living unit tenants of the organisation:
  • Identifying information
  • Financial and legal information related to tenancy within a CULTURA independent living unit.
  • CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about staff of the organisation:
  • Identifying information
  • Current National Police Record status
  • Contact details
  • Essential Australian Taxation Office identification details
  • Essential Centrelink information (as relevant)
  • Completed pre-employment medical form
  • Information related to any current/continuing declared work-related health status eg medical certificates, WorkCover claims.
  • CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about volunteers (including Directors) of the organisation:
  • Identifying information
  • Current National Police Record status
  • Contact details
  • CULTURA collects and holds securely the following information about contractors to CULTURA:
  • Identifying information
  • Current National Police Record status
  • Contact details

Through formal service agreements (contracts), CULTURA establishes how personal information gathered by the organisation about residents, home care consumers and tenants respectively will be used by the organisation.

AVAILABILITY OF CULTURA’ APP PRIVACY POLICY

• • A copy of CULTURA APP privacy policy and procedure is available:
  • Via CULTURA intranet
  • Via CULTURA website
    
    

2.    ANONYMITY AND PSEUDONYMITY

• • Because of the nature of its business – provision of residential and home care services for elderly individuals – CULTURA requires the correct and legal name of residents, home care consumers, tenants, staff, volunteers and contractors engaging with the organisation.
  • CULTURA does not give any residents, home care consumers, tenants, staff, volunteers or contractors the option of not identifying themselves or using a pseudonym when dealing with the organisation.
  • Any resident, home care consumer, tenant, staff member, volunteer or contractor may compromise their relationship with CULTURA by engaging with the organisation through use of an alias or pseudonym.
    

3.    COLLECTION OF SOLICITED PERSONAL INFORMATION

PERSONAL INFORMATION OTHER THAN SENSITIVE INFORMATION

• • All personal information collected by CULTURA is necessary for, or related to, the functions and/or activities of the organisation.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION

• • Sensitive information includes information related to an individual’s equal opportunity rights that is also personal information, health information and genetic information that is not otherwise health information.
  • CULTURA only collects sensitive information if it:
  • Relates to the activities of the organisation
  • Relates solely to individuals who have regular contact with the organisation in connection with its activities.
    
    

MEANS OF COLLECTION

• • CULTURA collects personal information about an individual only from the individual unless:
  • It is unreasonable or impractical to do so (for example, a resident/home care consumer is unable to communicate essential information to facilitate CULTURA providing services), or
  • The individual consents to CULTURA collecting the information from someone other than the individual, or
  • CULTURA is required or authorised by or under an Australian law, or a court/tribunal order, to collect the information from someone other than the individual.
    

4.    DEALING WITH UNSOLICITED PERSONAL INFORMATION

• • If CULTURA receives unsolicited personal information, initially the organisation will assess to see if the organisation could have reasonably collected the information if given leave to do so.
  • If CULTURA could not reasonably have collected this unsolicited personal information as stated above and it is information not contained in a Commonwealth record, CULTURA will, as soon as practicable, but only if it lawful and reasonable to do so, destroy the information or ensure that the information is de-identified.
  • If CULTURA could, reasonably, have collected this unsolicited personal information as stated above, then it is subject to the organisation’s APP privacy policy and procedure as any other personal information is so subject.
    

5.    NOTIFICATION OF THE COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• • • CULTURA ensures that all residents, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers are aware of the organisation’s contact details and identity of CULTURA Privacy Officer and that this is the person to whom any queries/complaints about personal information collected by CULTURA should be addressed. This information is in all handbooks and available via CULTURA website.
    • CULTURA is clear to residents, home care consumers, and tenants, that personal information is collected only for the purpose of providing the highest quality, consistent care and services.
    • CULTURA is clear to staff, contractors and volunteers that personal information is collected only for the purpose of fulfilling legal requirements (for example, Australian Taxation Office requirements) and facilitating payment of wages, accounts and reimbursements as relevant to individuals.
    • CULTURA is clear to all residents, their family members and friends, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers that contact details held in a separate database are used to assist with the organisation’s fund raising.
    • CULTURA is clear in its dealings with residents, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers respectively, how the organisation’s care and services could be compromised if essential personal information requested is not provided to CULTURA.
    • CULTURA is clear in its dealings with staff, contractors and volunteers respectively of how payments due may be compromised if essential personal/business information requested is not provided to CULTURA.
      

6.    USE OR DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

USE OR DISCLOSURE

• If CULTURA holds personal information about an individual that was collected for a particular purpose (the primary purpose), this information will not be used or disclosed for another purpose (secondary purpose) without the individual’s consent to the use or disclosure of the information unless CULTURA receives consent for the use or disclosure for the information.
• If CULTURA discloses personal information held to another entity without consent of the information’s owner and/or CULTURA is required under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order to provide personal information CULTURA holds, the organisation will:
• Take all reasonable steps to inform the subject of the personal information regarding legal requests acceded to by CULTURA regarding the specific information as soon as possible.
• Only provide the information requested
• Be clear that information has been provided consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.
• Provide the subject of the personal information with details about the entity to whom information has been sent so that any corrections to information sent by CULTURA may be made.
• If an overseas person/entity seeks personal information collected by CULTURA, the country of origin of the enquiry as well as the enquirier would be shared with the subject of the personal information.
• CULTURA is clear that it is subject to Australian law and Victorian law, but not to overseas or interstate/territory jurisdictions in the provision of private information held by the organisation.
• CULTURA Privacy Officer keeps a clear record of any requests for private information held by the organisation.
  

7.    MARKETING

• CULTURA is clear to all clients, residents, their family members and friends, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers that contact details held in a separate database are used to assist with the organisation’s marketing and fund raising.
• CULTURA is clear to all residents, their family members and friends, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers that no list of personal information and/or personal information about any individual is shared with any other organisation, person or entity for the purpose of direct marketing without their prior consent.
• CULTURA follows specific requests of any individual whose name is held in its marketing and fund raising database to exclude individuals from surveys and/or mail outs or other forms of contact for which this list may be used.
• CULTURA reserves the right to share, at its discretion, de-identified overall figures, including trends, based on personal information held by the organisation to benefit CULTURA in its marketing of care and services, and to meet reasonable local, state and/or federal government requests for information.
• CULTURA is clear that specific permission is sought from residents, their family members and friends, home care consumers, tenants, staff, contractors and volunteers before any information and/or image of any individual is used in creation of CULTURA marketing materials.

8.    CROSS-BORDER DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• CULTURA is clear that it is subject to Australian law and Victorian law, but not to overseas or other state/territory jurisdictions in the provision of private information held by the organisation.
• Overseas enquirers seeking personal information collected by CULTURA are not discriminated against. They are treated in the same way as on-shore enquirers seeking personal information collected by CULTURA, that is, they are referred to CULTURA Privacy Officer. Relevant accredited interpreter/translation services are engaged if required to ensure full understanding of CULTURA position is shared with overseas enquirers.
• CULTURA seeks formal written consent from an individual prior to CULTURA sharing personal information about that individual with an overseas enquirer. This includes requests from overseas authorities regarding confirmation of residence for purposes of overseas pension payments.
• The above disclosure to an overseas enquirer does not require permission from the subject of the information if:
• Such disclosure has been ordered under Australian law or court/tribunal order
• The information is required or authorised by or under an international agreement relating to information sharing to which Australia is a party.
  

9.    ADOPTION, USE OR DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT RELATED IDENTIFIERS

• CULTURA will not use any government identifier for any individual unless this is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal hearing.
• CULTURA will not disclose any government identifier for any individual unless:
• This is necessary for the organisation to verify the identify of the individual for the purposes of CULTURA’ activities or functions.
• Disclosure is necessary for CULTURA to fulfil its obligations to a Commonwealth or Victorian state authority.
  

10.  QUALITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• • CULTURA takes all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information it collects is accurate, current and complete.
    

11.  SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• CULTURA does not share personal information about residents, home care consumers or tenants in any other way outside of CULTURA unless:
• It is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain the individual’s consent to the collection, use or disclosure; or
• CULTURA believes that the collection, use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety; or
• CULTURA believes the collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary to assist in locating a person who has been reported as missing; or
• If CULTURA has reason to suspect that unlawful activity, or misconduct of a serious nature, that relates to CULTURA functions or activities has been, is being, or may be engaged in; or
• CULTURA is subpoenaed to disclose specific information by a court of law or under legislation by a government department.
• CULTURA stores hard copy personal information in locked/restricted areas within CULTURA where access is granted to CULTURA staff and only on a need-to-know basis only.
• Personal information that CULTURA stores electronically is password protected within a system that has levels of staff access on a need-to-know basis only.
• Overseas enquirers seeking personal information collected by CULTURA are not discriminated against. They are treated in the same way as on-shore enquirers seeking personal information collected by CULTURA, that is, they are referred to CULTURA Privacy Officer. Relevant accredited interpreter/translation services are engaged if required to ensure full understanding of CULTURA position is shared with overseas enquirers.
• CULTURA is clear that it is subject to Australian law and Victorian law, but not to overseas or interstate/territory jurisdictions in the provision of private information held by the organisation.
• CULTURA retains personal information in its secure archives for seven (7) years after it is no longer in current use, after which this information is securely destroyed.
• Only personal information subject to Australian law or a court/tribunal order is retained for a longer period by CULTURA.
• Although we take all reasonable measures, we are not responsible for third party circumvention of security measures on our electronic databases or at any of our premises. Please note that third party recipients of personal information may have their own privacy policies and we are not responsible for their actions, including their handling of personal information. We cannot control the actions of other people with whom you share your information. Further, we cannot guarantee that only authorised persons will access your personal information and we cannot guarantee that information you share with us on our website will not become publicly available. Please notify us immediately if you believe there has been any unauthorised access to your information.

12.  ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION

ACCESS

• • CULTURA has a clear procedure to follow if any individual requires access to private and/or sensitive information held about him/her by CULTURA.
  • CULTURA Chief Executive Officer is the organisation’s ‘Privacy Officer’ and is the person to whom all queries regarding management of private/sensitive information collected by CULTURA should be directed.
  • CULTURA Privacy Officer may be contacted during business hours (9am to 5pm Mondays to Fridays) on (03) 4210 0000.
  • Individuals are informed that they can access their own private information held by CULTURA by contacting CULTURA Privacy Officer.
    

DEALING WITH REQUESTS FOR ACCESS

• CULTURA Privacy Officer reserves the right to withhold personal/sensitive information to the subject of that information if:
• There is a reasonable belief that providing access to this information would pose a serious threat to the health or safety of any individual or to public health or public safety, or
• The request for access is frivolous or vexatious, or
• The information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between CULTURA and the individual, and would not be accessible by the process of discovery in those proceedings, or
• Giving access would be unlawful, or
• Denying access is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/ tribunal order, or
• Giving access would reveal the intentions of CULTURA in relation to negotiations with the individual in such a way as to prejudice those negotiations, or
• CULTURA has reason to suspect that unlawful activity, or misconduct of a serious nature, that relates to CULTURA’ functions or activities has been, is being or may be engaged in AND giving access would be likely to prejudice the taking of appropriate action in relation to the matter, or
• Giving access would be likely to prejudice one or more enforcement related activities conducted by or on behalf of an enforcement body, or
• Giving access would reveal evaluative information generated within CULTURA in connection with the organisation’s commercially sensitive decision-making process.
• CULTURA Privacy Officer documents any requests for access to personal information and such documentation, together with any relevant accompanying papers, is stored securely.
• All attempts are made to deal with the request for access to personal information in a reasonable time after the request is made and in a manner that is satisfactory to both CULTURA and the requester.
• A response to the request for access to personal information held by CULTURA is responded to in writing within thirty (30) days of the request being received by the organisation.
• If access to personal information formally requested is not granted, this information is provided in writing to requester with a clear rationale for this action.
• All reasonable attempts are made to deal with the request for personal information by CULTURA Privacy Officer. If this is not possible an external mediator will be engaged by CULTURA to assist with this process, and access to information may be possible through the intermediary engaged.
• CULTURA provides all individuals with clear information on external agencies to whom complaints about CULTURA can be directed if the internal process of dealing with the issue does not meet the specific requirements of the situation.
  
  

COMPLAINTS REGARDING CULTURA AAP POLICY AND PROCEDURE AND PRACTICES

• CULTURA complaints procedure is used if any individual has a specific issue or complaint regarding the organisation’s handling of an individual’s personal/sensitive information held by CULTURA.
  
  

13.  CORRECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• If CULTURA has reason to believe personal information held on an individual is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading or the individual who is the subject of the personal information requests CULTURA to correct information on him/herself, CULTURA will take reasonable steps to ensure that, having regard for the purpose for which the information is held, the information is corrected to render it accurate, up to date, complete, relevant and not misleading and/or a statement providing the correct information is appended to the original information.
• If the inaccurate, out of date, incomplete irrelevant or misleading personal information has been received from another health/aged care provider, CULTURA will, within the law and if practicable, at the request of the person who is the subject of this personal information, inform the other health/aged care provider of the corrected information.
• If CULTURA deems it inappropriate to correct personal information about an individual as requested, a clear rationale for this will be provided to the individual in writing together with information for the individual about how to initiate a complaint within CULTURA regarding this situation.

14.  CAMERA SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS

• Camera surveillance systems are used by CULTURA as an incident risk management tool to manage its obligations under the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) and Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) and associated Regulations. At all times, CULTURA complies with the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
  

Objectives of camera surveillance

• CULTURA uses camera surveillance systems (commonly referred to as CCTV) for the purposes of maintaining safety and security of our residents, staff and volunteers, visitors and other attendees.
  

Placement of cameras

• The location of surveillance cameras has been carefully considered. The cameras are visible or otherwise clearly known to be present with minimal intrusion.
• The surveillance cameras are located at all entries and exits and common areas such as corridors and lounge areas for safety and security. Surveillance cameras will not be used in any toilet, washroom, change room or lactation room in the workplace.
• Any form of visual or audible surveillance is prohibited from resident’s rooms.
  

Use and disclosure of surveillance records

• The CCTV Systems will only be accessed, and data will only be retrieved by, the Executive team.
• Any record made as a result of surveillance is not to be used or disclosed unless the disclosure is:
• for a legitimate purpose related to the employment of staff;
• to a law enforcement officer (e.g. Police) for use in connection with the investigation or prosecution of an offence;
• for a purpose that is directly or indirectly related to a civil, criminal or quasi-criminal proceeding; or
• reasonably believed to be necessary to avert an imminent threat of serious violence or substantial damage to property.
• The CCTV systems may also collect and store personal information and CULTURA will comply with all privacy legislation in respect of any such information.
• Ownership of data, images, audio or video footage rests with CULTURA.