Protecting your personal information has always been important to Zig Zag and is required by law. Zig Zag handles your personal information in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Privacy Act and set of National Privacy Principles. You are entitled to ask what information about you is being collected, why it is being collected and how it will be used.
What is personal information:
All information which can be used to identify an individual, such as a name, address, age, date of birth and gender, is personal. This also includes information about your health, family history, cultural information and financial or legal information.
In some circumstances such as in individual counselling it is possible to access the Service without the collection of identifying information.
Collection, use and disclosure of your information:
We acknowledge that we collect sensitive information and therefore endeavour to comply with the privacy provisions for your protection.
To protect your privacy Zig Zag:
- provides the opportunity to have personal information recorded anonymously when accessing individual sexual assault or generalist counselling;
- statistics provided to funding bodies are non-identifying;
- does not release identifying information about you without your consent, except under the circumstances described below (see below “Obtaining your Consent”).
If you are in our housing or have consented to being on the Zig Zag mailing list, your name and address will be used to send you general information about coming events.
Obtaining your consent:
Your consent will always be obtained before releasing personal information about you to anyone outside this Service. The exceptions include (where your consent is not required):
- Where a worker has a duty of care to disclose personal information, for example when you are at risk of harming yourself or another person; when your safety or the safety of others is at risk; when a young women is either permanently or temporary in an emotional/mental or physical state in which she is clearly unable to make an informed decision;
- Where there is a court order or a legislative requirement;
- Where there are other legal or ethical obligations to disclose personal information.
Even under these circumstances Zig Zag workers will, wherever possible and/or appropriate, seek to gain your consent and/or keep you informed of the information disclosed. You may ask a worker at Zig Zag to explain these exemptions more fully.
How to access your personal information:
You can access the information kept about you at Zig Zag. This information can be accessed only in the company of a Zig Zag worker. You can arrange to get a copy of the information kept on you – a worker can explain this procedure to you.
Security of your personal information:
Zig Zag staff ensure that any information collected which can identify a person is kept secure and is used only for authorised purposes.
Enquiries and further information:
If you are unclear about any of this information or if you are concerned about the privacy and protection of your information, please talk to a worker at Zig Zag eg your counsellor or support worker.
Zig Zag has several policies that cover the security, confidentiality and handling of your personal information. Please ask a Zig Zag worker if you would like to access these policies or would like them explained more fully.