This privacy notice applies to personal information that we collect through our website at www.slfs.org.nz.

Personal information
We do not collect personal information on this website unless you choose to give it to us.
There are some places on this website where you can choose to give us personal information, such as emailing an enquiry to us or changing your details in the Membership Register.

Any personal information we receive through our online forms will not be made publicly available (unless publication is one of the specific purposes for which it was collected).

The provision of your personal information is voluntary. However, if you cannot, or will not, provide us with the personal information we reasonably require, we may not be able to contact you or otherwise interact with you, process your application, registration, subscription renewal, perform our obligations under the Constitution to you, or provide you with some or all the services and benefits the SLFS offers to the members.

We do not collect identifiable information about you if you only browse our website.

Use and disclosure
We will only use personal information that you provide to us through this site for the purposes mentioned below. We will not collect or use your personal information unless it is lawful for us to do so. In exceptional situations the information may be used for other reasons permitted under the Privacy Act 1993.

We collect and use personal information for the following purposes:

a.       Processing and assessing membership, renewals, member specialisation, interests, hobbies and talents.

b.       Fulfilling our role as a community group, including maintaining a membership record, and providing services to members.

c.        Sending community notices and other information relevant to our, festivals functions and events.

d.       Communicating to members on matters relevant to the SLFS membership, specialisation, talents, hobbies and interests and any other programs, opportunities available in the community beneficial to members.

e.       Monitoring, moderating and improving our Sites.

f.        Assessing suitability for appointment to the committee.

g.       Fulfilling our obligations, including dealing with other similar community organisations (for instance organising inter society sports events, cultural festivals or if we are required to confirm your status as a member or former member).

h.       Managing complaints and member conduct and disciplinary process, including undertaking investigations, implementing disciplinary procedures as per provisions of the Constitution);
Conducting competitions.

i.         Organising and hosting training and events (including with third parties).

j.         Assessing or improving our services, as well as for quality purposes, including building profiles, monitoring, recording and analysing online interactions and communications between you and us.

k.       Providing information to third parties as authorised or required by law or a court or tribunal; and

l.         Contacting a member, based upon the member’s speciality service, interests, and talents offered, for the benefit of the community.

 We have a legitimate interest in using your information in these ways. It is also fundamental to the nature of the purposes for which the SLFS functions as a community based incorporated charitable organisation.

We generally do not share your personal information with others outside the SLFS. Occasionally the law may require us to disclose it (for instance to investigate a criminal offence), or there may be safety reasons for disclosing it.

Your rights and choices
We are happy to provide you with access to any personal information that we hold about you. If it is inaccurate, please contact us for correction or you may yourself login as a member and correct it.

You can ask to be removed from our mailing list at any time.

Information provided will be held by the SLFS Waikato Inc. Personal information collected will be held no longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

See the Privacy Commissioner’s website for more information about your rights.

Privacy framework – objectives
The Sri Lanka Friendship Society Waikato Inc. is committed to ensuring that it handles personal information following best practice and in a way that respects the privacy rights of members. To achieve this, we have established a privacy policy framework.

These are summarised as follows:

1.       Maintaining a positive “privacy culture” in which committee members and office bearers are supported and encouraged to adopt good privacy practices.

2.       Building trust and confidence with our members by:

·         Ensuring there are clear purposes for collecting personal information.

·         Good data collection processes.

·         Transparency in handling personal information.

·         Risk avoidance – avoiding the potential for security or data breaches.

·         Meeting access and correction requests.

·         Ensuring accuracy of personal information.

·         Proper use and disclosure of personal information; and

·         Respect for members as individuals rather than “membership numbers”.

3.       Ensuring legal compliance.

Privacy Act 1993 – rights and obligations

The information handling policy of the SLFS Waikato Inc is formed by its obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.

The SLFS Waikato Inc. is not subject to the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982.

Section 7 of the Privacy Act 1993 provides that where other legislation allows or requires personal information to be used in a specific way, this will override the general provisions of the Privacy Act.

Section 7 also provides that other statutes which prohibit or restrict the availability of personal information take precedence over the Information Privacy Principles.

The person providing their personal information to the SLFS Waikato Inc. will be advised about:

·         The purpose for collection and how the information will be used.

·         Who the information will be disclosed to and held by.

·         The member’s right to access their personal information and their right to ask to have the information corrected; and

·         This information is contained in the privacy notice (Privacy, copyright, and disclaimer) accessible on the SLFS Waikato Inc webpage and on the forms which are used to collect information.

Information must generally be collected by the SLFS Waikato Inc. directly from the member concerned.

Policy for Use and disclosure of personal information
Generally, personal information may only be used by the SLFS Waikato Inc. for the purposes for which it is collected.

Before using personal information, steps must be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, up to date and complete.

Personal information must, in general, not be used by the SLFS Waikato Inc. for a different purpose or disclosed to anyone outside the SLFS other than for the purposes of the SLFS Waikato Inc more fully described in the Constitution.

If a member requests their own personal information from the SLFS Waikato Inc. there are limited grounds for withholding that information.

Storage and security of personal information
The SLFS Waikato Inc. has an obligation to securely store the personal information it collects and creates. As part of this, the SLFS Waikato Inc. has an internal data security policy. Under this policy, personal information is only accessible to the Secretary. Those security measures include limits on access to electronic databases where personal information is stored and ‘password protection’ where appropriate.

Information must only be held by the SLFS Waikato Inc as long as the information is needed. Personal information no longer required to be held will be securely destroyed by the SLFS Waikato Inc.

Requests for personal information (correction and access)
Under the Privacy Act 1993 a member has the right to request access to their personal information.

If a person believes their personal information is inaccurate, then they may request that the material be corrected by the SLFS Waikato Inc.

If the SLFS Waikato Inc. receives a request for access to or correction of personal information, it is referred to the Secretary. The SLFS Waikato Inc. aims to respond to such requests as soon as possible.

The Privacy Act 1993 requires that a response to any request be provided as soon as reasonably practicable and within 20 working days after the day on which the request is received, but an extension of time may be made if appropriate (see s 41 of the Privacy Act 1993). The requesting member must be advised of the reason for the extension, its length and their right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner about the extension.

If a member is dissatisfied with the response of the SLFS Waikato Inc. then they may contact the Privacy Commissioner.

How we maintain best privacy practice
The SLFS Waikato Inc. is committed to maintaining best privacy practice through:

·         Ensuring committee members and office bearers understand privacy rights.

·         Keeping abreast of privacy law developments, technology updates and following best practice guidance from the Privacy Commissioner; and

·         Responding to privacy concerns and/or complaints in a timely and constructive way.

·         Action where there is a potential privacy breach.

·         Inadvertent privacy breaches may happen despite good processes and the best of intentions.

Where a potential breach is identified it is important to act quickly and openly.

As soon as a breach is detected, the committee and office bearers will address any privacy concerns, following the Privacy Commissioner’s guidelines for dealing with privacy breaches available at www.privacy.org.nz.

Who to contact
If you have any questions about this policy or information on handling obligations under the Privacy Act 1993, please contact the Secretary – sec@slfs.org.nz.