Privacy Policy
About This Policy

Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) has statutory requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 to maintain lists of members and their contact details. Collection of personal information is required to satisfy this requirement. Furthermore, in collecting and using this information WHA must also comply with statutory requirements of the Privacy Act 1988.

The WHA Privacy Policy (the policy: this policy) outlines important information regarding the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information provided to WHA. The policy recognises and complies with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001, the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles. When a person provides us with personal information they consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing this information in accordance with this policy. 

Personal Information

The term "Personal Information" in this policy means any information from which an individual’s identity is apparent or can be reasonably ascertained.

Policy Statement

Wildlife Health Australia respects and protects the privacy of our members and contacts. Personal information collected by WHA is treated as confidential and is protected and managed in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001  and the Privacy Act 1988.

Management of Personal Information

Collection

Wildlife Health Australia has statutory requirements under the Corporations Act 2001  to maintain lists of members and their contact details. Collection of personal information is required to satisfy this requirement. 

Wildlife Health Australia respects and protects the privacy of our members and contacts. Personal information collected by WHA is treated as confidential and is protected in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988.

If you apply for membership of WHA, or provide us with your personal information by another means, we may collect personal information, which may include such details as your name, email address, organisation, postal, business and residential address, and contact phone numbers. 

We may also collect personal information related to recruitment, human resource management and other corporate service functions.

We only collect personal information by lawful and fair means. These include when a person:

  • completes a hard copy, online application or other type of form;
  • subscribes to any WHA publication or mail list
  • sends us an email, fax or letter; or;
  • accesses and uses our services through our websites.

We do not actively seek to collect sensitive information unless it is necessary for our business purposes. If we do have to collect sensitive information, WHA will do so in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.  

Storage

Wildlife Health Australia has statutory requirements under the Corporations Act to maintain lists of members and their contact details. Management of this information by WHA satisfies the requirements of this act. We take all reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We have physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect such information held by us. Personal information repositories are held electronically within a secure customer relationship management (CRM) system.

WHA employ secure methods to opt out, destroy or de-identify any personal information as soon as the law permits, provided the information is no longer needed by us for any legitimate purpose. 

Use

Personal information collected by WHA is used to satisfy membership requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 and to enable the Objects of the Association to be met.

Wildlife Health Australia link, support and inform  government and private stakeholders across Australia who work with or have an interest in wildlife health and to better manage potential impacts on Australia’s environment, biodiversity, animal and human health, trade and tourism.

Wildlife Health Australia participates in research, investigation, monitoring, surveillance and recording of wildlife disease events. As part of these activities, WHA provides information to members through email notifications, regular newsletters of wildlife health information, ad hoc disease notifications and regular membership correspondence including annual general meetings. Personal information is used by WHA to allow provision of these services to members and is intended for use only with respect to the management of wildlife health that may impact upon Australia’s animal health industries, human health, biodiversity, trade and tourism. 

In all cases, use of personal information by WHA is in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 and is consistent with requirements under the Privacy Act 1988.

Disclosure

External Organisations

Wildlife Health Australia does not disclose personal details of members or contacts to any external organisations, nationally or internationally, without an individual’s consent. 

We will only use or disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was originally provided, or where we are permitted to use or disclose personal information for a secondary purpose in accordance with Australian Privacy Principles, or where there is a statutory requirement under the Corporations Act 2001. For example, we may use personal information collected for a particular purpose or a secondary purpose where:

  • the individual has consented;
  • the secondary purpose is directly related to the primary purpose, and the individual would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information for the secondary purpose;
  • the use or disclosure is required or authorised by law, or;
  • a ‘permitted general situation’ or ‘permitted health situation’, as defined in the Privacy Act 1988.

Other WHA Members

As required under the Corporations Act 2001 and as stipulated in the WHA Constitution, WHA is required to maintain and be able to provide access if requested by any WHA member to a WHA register of members. 

Overseas

In some situations to enable its Object to be met, WHA will publish certain personal information on its website (for example, names and contact details of accredited veterinarians and / or government officers who may be involved in management of wildlife health events). In all cases permission is sought from the individual and/or agency or organisation prior to publishing. Once published on our website it is important for individuals and/or agencies or organisations to recognise that this information enters the public domain and is accessible by entities overseas. An individual who consents to the publication of their personal information on Wildlife Health Australia’s public website does so on the understanding that Australian Privacy Principle 8.1 will not apply to this information.

Direct marketing and mail lists

Wildlife Health Australia will not use or disclose personal information it holds about an individual for direct marketing purposes, except in the circumstances permitted by Australian Privacy Principles..

An individual’s contact details may be added to a WHA mailing list, but only where it is directly related to the purpose for which it was provided. In some cases, WHA staff may recognise that certain individuals and/or agencies or organisations may benefit from addition to certain internal WHA mail lists. In all cases the permission of the individual, agency or organisational representative will be sought prior to inclusion in the list.

Other

Websites

The WHA website (www.wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au), including the electronic Wildlife Health Information System (eWHIS) is hosted in Australia through a secure facility. To help protect the privacy of data and personal information we collect and hold, we maintain technical and administrative safeguards. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis.

Our website may, however, contain links to other websites. This in no way constitutes an endorsement of those sites or their security and WHA has no control over the conduct of the companies or organisations operating those sites. Before you disclose any personal information to such a site, we advise you to check its terms and conditions, including its privacy and security policies.

In the case of WHA’s website some statistical information about visitors is collected (for example, the number of visitors, country of origin, pages viewed, types of transactions conducted, time online and documents downloaded). We use this information to evaluate our website performance and continually improve our services. Other than statistical information, we do not collect any information about persons through our website unless they provide the information to us. No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the service provider’s logs.

To improve your experience on our website, we may use 'cookies'. Cookies are an industry standard and most major web sites use them. A cookie is a small text file that our site may place on your computer as a tool to remember your preferences. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

Access to, correction of and integrity of Personal Information

We try to ensure that all personal information we collect, hold, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. You may request access to Personal Information about you that we hold and you may ask us to correct your Personal Information if you find that it is not accurate, up-to-date or complete. There is no fee associated with requesting this service and we will deal with such requests within a reasonable time.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, we will need evidence of your identity before we can grant you access to information about you or change it.

Complaints

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about our handling of your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy, you can contact us by email at admin@wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au. 

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Wildlife Health Australia may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns, or would like to request a change or removal from our database, or to lodge a complaint, please contact us:

Wildlife Health Australia

T: +61 2 9960 6333

E: admin@wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au 

Appendix

1 The Corporations Act 2001 (https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/).

2 The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is an Australian law that regulates the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information, and access to and correction of that information (http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/the-privacy-act/).

3 The Australian Privacy Principles is an amendment to the Privacy Act 1988, and cover the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information. The Principles regulate the handling of personal information by Australian government agencies and some private sector organisations (http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/australian-privacy-principles).

Disclaimer

This website, including the Wildlife Health Information System (eWHIS) is managed by Wildlife Health Australia for information purposes only. Information contained within it is drawn from a variety of sources external to Wildlife Health Australia. Although reasonable care is taken in its preparation, Wildlife Health Australia does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or currency of the information or its usefulness in achieving any purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Wildlife Health Australia will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred in or arising by reason of any person relying on information within this database. Persons should accordingly make and rely on their own assessments and enquiries to verify the accuracy of the information provided.

Support WHA

Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) leads national action to respond to emerging health issues affecting Australia’s wildlife. Today, you can join us, donate to support our work, or follow us to protect our unique and precious wildlife.

SUPPORT WHA
koala snuggled with its baby in tree
Join the Community!

Wildlife Health Australia aims to link, inform and support people and organisations who work with or have an interest in wildlife health across Australia through technical advice, facilitation, communications and professional support.