Privacy Policy

Background

The Avalon Church is committed to ensuring the privacy of all the information it collects. The Avalon Church complies with the requirements of the Commonwealth Privacy Act, 1988 and the 13 "Australian Privacy Principles" contained in Schedule 1 of the Commonwealth Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which amends the Privacy Act. In keeping with this legislation, the Privacy Policy sets out The Avalon Church's collection, use, and disclosure of personal information.

Collecting Information

The Avalon Church collects certain personal information in the course of regular church activities, from church members, visitors, staff, volunteers, and other individuals. The information collected includes name, age, gender, address, phone and email address, credit card and bank details, and information for working with children requirements. Our records also include details of events and activities in which the person has participated, the date when the person joined or left the church, and reasons for joining or leaving the church.

We collect most of this information directly from individuals, such as from website enquiries, visitor's cards, official church forms, direct personal contact, online donations and giving, and conference or event enquiries and registration forms. The information is recorded and stored in our church database and may be referenced from time to time. The Avalon Church treats this information with the strictest of confidence and only relevant information is collected where necessary.

If The Avalon Church receives any unsolicited personal information, which could have been solicited in the normal course of its activities, it may use this information in compliance with this Policy and applicable law. However, any unsolicited personal information that is received by The Avalon Church and would not otherwise have been collected in the course of normal church activities will be destroyed or de-identified as soon as practicable, provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

Using and Disclosing Your Personal Information

Personal information that is collected for a particular purpose will not be used for any other purpose, unless the person consents to the use or disclosure of that information for another purpose.

The Avalon Church will not sell or disclose personal information to third parties except as provided in this Policy, and where the disclosure is absolutely necessary and could be reasonably expected. The Avalon Church never shares newsletter mailing lists with any third parties, including advertisers, sponsors, or partners.

We collect information on church members for purposes including ongoing pastoral care of members, keeping our church database up-to-date, organizing activities and events such as connect groups and weekend retreats, and church team rosters.

We collect information on visitors and other individuals for purposes including follow-up after a person has filled in a visitor card and organizing activities and events such as small group meetings or other events that may assist with integration into the life of the church.

The Avalon Church does not routinely disclose personal information to other individuals or organizations. The circumstances when we might disclose this information include when required by law, when it is necessary for the purpose for which the information was collected (such as providing booking details to a conference organization), and when it is necessary to protect the personal safety or welfare of another person.

If you are receiving correspondence from The Avalon Church and do not wish to receive this information any longer, please contact us at the church office (info@theavalon.church) and request to be removed from our mailing list.

Church Database

The Avalon Church has a church database that is hosted on a secure server. This database contains information of church members and visitors and is accessible by certain people (primarily staff and key volunteers) through a secure login. Those designated parties who have access to the database must not use any of the information in the database for commercial purposes and know that this information should not be disclosed to anyone who is not a church member.

Access to Information Collected

If at any time a church member wants to know exactly what personal information The Avalon Church holds about them, they can request access to this information by contacting the church office (info@theavalon.church). If a request is denied, a reason will be provided and written notice of the decision will be given to the individual. Access may be denied if such access would be unlawful or frivolous, infringe on the privacy of other individuals, pose a serious and imminent threat to the life and health of any individual, interfere with existing or anticipated legal proceedings, or other valid reasons in line with relevant legislation.

If at any time you wish to change personal information that is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us at the church office and we will amend this record. If you wish to have your personal information deleted, please let us know in the same manner as referred to above and we will take all reasonable steps to delete it unless we need to keep it for legal reasons.

Storage and Security of Your Personal Information

The Avalon Church endeavours to take all reasonable steps to keep the information that we hold concerning individuals secure. Access to personal information is restricted to authorized staff and leaders at The Avalon Church, and our information systems are protected by a strict password policy. Confidential files relating to pastoral care are kept secured by the responsible staff member and are only shared with other leaders or staff members on a "need to know" basis.

Personal information is not retained any longer than is necessary and will only be retained for the minimum period specified by legislation. Once The Avalon Church no longer needs the information for any purpose, it will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to destroy or de-classify the information in a lawful and secure manner.

Anonymity

The Avalon Church respects the right of individuals to remain anonymous in their dealings with the church or staff members. The Avalon Church will accommodate a request for anonymity as long as it is practicable and legal to do so.

Service Providers

Like most organizations, from time to time The Avalon Church may use contractors who could have access to personal information on our systems, such as IT technicians. Any contractors who have access to personal information relating to The Avalon Church members are required to adhere to the Privacy Act and will not keep this information or use it for any unauthorized purposes.

What to Do if You Have a Problem or Question

In the event that we become aware of any ongoing concerns or problems concerning our privacy practices, we will take these issues seriously and work to address these concerns. If you have any further queries relating to our Privacy Policy, or you have a problem or complaint, please contact Bonnie Miles (HR & Compliance) at bonnie@theavalon.church.

Future Changes

From time to time, The Avalon Church reviews its policies and may revise them. In the event that any part of The Avalon Church's Privacy Policy is changed in the future, the updated policy will be available to all and can be delivered to you (electronically or in hard copy) upon request.