Last updated: February 2022

This is the Privacy Policy in relation to HearHub, which is powered by The Shepherd Centre ABN 61 000 699 927.  Please contact our Privacy Officer (as detailed below) if you require any further information regarding our Privacy Policy.

In this document:

• a reference to 'users' is to individuals who use HearHub (typically, members of an organisation that holds a subscription to HearHub, where each individual user has their own individual HearHub login details); and
• a reference to 'clients' is to individual receiving services from those organisations and users (typically, children receiving services).

The Australian Privacy Principles

The Shepherd Centre is bound by the provisions of the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in that act. You can find out more about the APPs at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's website at www.oaic.gov.au

HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, respects and upholds your right to privacy protection under the APPs in regulating how personal information is collected, disclosed, used and securely stored. We have procedures in place to ensure that only authorised staff have access to your personal information and that it remains confidential and is only used for appropriate purposes.

Personal information of users of HearHub

The Shepherd Centre only collects personal information of users and potential users of HearHub for the purpose of processing subscription applications and administering subscriptions. Such personal information includes names and contact details of users and potential users as provided to The Shepherd Centre by HearHub subscribers and applicants for subscription. That personal information is not disclosed or used by the Shepherd Centre for any other purpose.

The Shepherd Centre may use personal information of users to contact users (and former users) in the future, including to send users (and former users) information about HearHub, The Shepherd Centre, our programs, research funding, special events, marketing, promotions and fundraising programs. Each time we send a direct marketing communication it will contain a simple way to ’opt out’ of receiving similar communications in the future. An individual can also let us know that they do not wish to receive any further communications by contacting our Privacy Officer as detailed below.

Personal information uploaded by users

Users of HearHub may upload personal information to HearHub, including health information of their clients, for the purpose of accessing and using the tools on HearHub. Before uploading any such information, users are required (in accordance with the subscription licence agreement) to obtain the express consent of the client's parent or guardian to upload the information to HearHub.

The Shepherd Centre will not use or disclose personal information of user's clients that is uploaded to HearHub. The Shepherd Centre (or its relevant Information Technology contractor) will only have access to such information for the strict purposes of operating, securing and maintaining the HearHub platform. The Shepherd Centre may collect de-identified information from HearHub for the purpose of research.

Opting out or modifying your information

If at any time an individual wants to change any personal information previously given to us, or wants to opt out of future communications, please contact our Privacy Officer as detailed below.

How we collect HearHub user and potential user personal information

We collect HearHub user (and potential user) personal information when it is provided to us by organisations that are subscribed (or are applying to subscribe) to HearHub. By disclosing personal information of users (or potential users) to the Shepherd Centre for the purpose of a HearHub subscription, the individual making the disclosure on behalf of the organisation is required to have the authority of each user (or potential user) for making such a disclosure.

Collection and use of personal information of other individuals

The Shepherd Centre may also collect personal information in other ways, for example through the purchase of commercial lists, from publicly available sources and from other like-minded organisations.

Occasionally personal information may be collected from third parties that have a right to disclose it to us, when it’s not practical to obtain consent from the relevant individual. For example, we obtain personal information from third parties to help us identify people who might be interested in purchasing HearHub or supporting us with significant donations.

An individual may be photographed when attending HearHub and The Shepherd Centre events. However, wherever practical, we would seek to obtain the relevant individual's consent prior to using the image obtained.

How we keep personal information secure

All personal information held by the Shepherd Centre or HearHub is stored securely and is only accessed by staff authorised to do so. HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, uses a range of hardware and software security measures to protect information and ensure that only authorised staff are granted access.

Disclosure of personal information

The Shepherd Centre will not provide personal information to any other individuals or organisations without prior consent, except where required by law to do so or where that information is provided on a confidential basis to contractors who provide services, such as database security and management. HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, is very thankful to people who are willing to share their personal stories with others through media stories and in our newsletters. We will only use personal information for publicity purposes or as stories in newsletters with the relevant individual's express written permission.

HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, will not transfer personal information overseas unless we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information which is being transferred will not be held, used or disclosed by the recipient of the information inconsistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. Transfer of information overseas would normally only occur for data storage or processing purposes, for example third party payment facilitators may process their data off-shore.

HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, will sometimes use third party service providers to conduct surveys and facilitate information collection and event registration. Some of these service providers conduct all or part of their business overseas and so personal information of HearHub users may be transferred overseas as a result. The Shepherd Centre conducts a due diligence process before entering into an agreement with these service providers and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your information is not used in a manner inconsistent with the National Privacy Principles.

Visiting our website

The HearHub website, powered by The Shepherd Centre, may use cookies to track site visits, navigation within HearHub site, and plans added while using purchase facilities. If you are concerned about the use of these cookies, your browser can be configured to notify you when you receive a cookie, and provide you with the opportunity to accept or reject it. You may refuse all cookies from the HearHub website however some functions may be unavailable. Our online credit card processing company may also use cookies for identification and anti-fraud purposes.

The HearHub website may contain links to other sites of interest. HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, does not control, and is not responsible for, the content or privacy practices of those websites. Please check the Privacy Policies on other websites before you provide your personal information to them.

Our Website Security

Forwarding credit card numbers or other sensitive information via email or facsimile is not safe. We suggest that you do not send information to us in either format. Certain sections of the HearHub website are secured using SSL technology to encrypt data between your browser and the website. If you are entering any payment or credit card information on the internet, you should confirm that the page is secured (padlock symbol in your browser) before entering any information. We make every effort possible to make your payments and transactions within our site as secure and safe as possible for you.

By using the HearHub website you acknowledge and agree that the internet is inherently insecure and that you use the internet at your own risk. You acknowledge that you do not hold HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre liable for any security breaches, viruses, Trojans or other malicious software that may infect your computer or any loss of data, revenue or otherwise that may occur as a result of using the HearHub website.

The Spam Act 2003 (Cth)

The Spam Act prohibits the sending of unsolicited emails, SMS and MMS messages for commercial purposes from or within Australia or to people in Australia, and bans the supply and use of software designed to harvest email addresses. While charities do have some exemptions from this Act, HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, will be guided by the best practice guidelines developed on responsible electronic messaging practices by the Australian Direct Marketing Association in conjunction with industry and consumer representatives and administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre, may, without notice, amend or modify its Privacy Policy by posting the amended Privacy Policy to the HearHub website.

How to access, correct or update your personal information

If you have any complaints, questions or concerns about what information HearHub, powered by The Shepherd Centre holds or about the accuracy of that information, please contact our Privacy Officer as detailed below.

If you would like to access the information that we hold about you, you can write to the Privacy Officer at the address provided below. We will endeavour to give you access to that information within two weeks. In order to maintain the confidentiality of your personal information, we will ask you to come into The Shepherd Centre office nearest you and to bring with you specific identification before we give you access. If it is not practical for you to visit our office, we will arrange to check your identification before we disclose your personal information to you.

If the information that we hold about you is incorrect or not up-to-date, we will update it as soon as possible after you have shown us how and why it is incorrect. In the unlikely event that we are unable to provide you with access to your personal information for legal reasons as specified in the Privacy Act, we will provide you with reasons for denying access.

Contact details

The Privacy Officer can be contacted by calling: +61 (0)2 9370 4400 Writing to: The Privacy Officer, HearHub, C/O The Shepherd Centre PO Box 871 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Emailing: [email protected]