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Privacy Policy

Jericho Road and Allowah are trading names of Presbyterian Social Services [PSS]. This policy describes how PSS will manage personal information and fulfil its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act), Australian Privacy Principles (APPS) and other relevant Australian laws and regulations regarding the handing of personal information. This policy aims to provide individuals with a better understanding of how personal information is collected, held, used and disclosed. This Privacy Policy sets out:  

  • how and why we collect data including personally identifiable and sensitive data;  
  • what we do with data we collect;  
  • how we manage collected data;  
  • with whom we share that data; and  
  • when we destroy data. 

PSS will collect information only as needed for business purposes. We will collect personal information only by fair and lawful means. Whenever reasonably possible, we will collect personal information directly from you. When PSS collect your health information, it will explain why they are collecting it, how it is stored and protected, and if there are other parties it may disclose it to. This will be communicated to you either verbally or in writing – it’s often included on forms you fill out. The kinds of information PSS may collect and hold about you depends upon the services you access and could include but is not limited to: 

  • name 
  • date of birth  
  • gender  
  • address (work, home or delivery) 
  • telephone numbers (work, home or mobile) 
  • email address 
  • education and employment history 
  • health information relating to health conditions provided to us which can be used to provide tailored healthcare services (may include medical history, diagnosis, treatment plans, medication, and/ or specialist reports and test results, your wishes about future health services, appointment and billing details, counselling records, respite, short accommodation, therapy, referral service, health fund details, Medicare number, amongst other health information provided) 
  • sensitive information including photos of clients, religious or philosophical beliefs, race or ethnicity, political opinions or association, court orders, criminal record, complaints   
  • employment information relating to employment (may include details of work history, tax file number, parental leave, personal leave, annual leave, and long service leave entitlements and coaching and review notes)  
  • Workplace IT surveillance – PSS will monitor activities of staff to ensure the functions of PSS are appropriately carried out (this may include email, internet, swipe cards and other computer resources being monitored)  
  • information involved for the purpose of our audit process 

Offline  

Health forms and consultations  

We collect personal information over the phone, via health professionals, or via email (or other means) in the course of our provision of treatment to you or your dependant(s) including information provided by you or other third party treating professionals. Information can be provided by individuals, by Government departments, or other PSS programmes, by phone, mail, email.   

Referral Service and Conduct Protocol  

PSS use a referral service that collects sensitive information which interacts with New South Wales police, Department of Justice, and New South Wales Health. PSS collects this information for recruitment purposes.  

Online  

Health forms and consultations  

We collect your personal information online including, but not limited to, when you visit our website or fill out donation forms, patient forms, and onboarding. Information can be provided by individuals, by Government departments, or other PSS programmes, by phone, mail, email.   

Cookies  

PSS uses technology such as access logs or a Cookie to acquire your browsing history. Historical information collected is used only for the purposes of improving the Web site. Access logs include records of user IP addresses and part of the operating environment, but they cannot identify users. You can reject a Cookie when you receive a Cookie by setting your browser accordingly. Rejecting Cookies may limit your accessibility to and the functionality of our website or app.  

Stripe  

If you make a donation through our website your personal information is collected and stored regarding your donation. The collection and storage of payment data is conducted through a secure third-party application called Stripe. We encourage you to review and understand Stripe’s Privacy Policy which can be found on their website.  

Google analytics  

PSS use Google Analytics as a website analytics tool to collect data about how you interact with the Jericho Road website, including: 

  • device IP address (collected and stored in an anonymized format); 
  • search terms and pages visited on the Jericho Road website; 
  • date and time when pages were accessed; 
  • downloads, time spent on page and bounce rate; 
  • referring domain and out link if applicable; 
  • device type, operating system and browser information; 
  • device screen size; and 
  • geographic location (city). 

This information will not ordinarily be personal information, because you will not be identified, or reasonably identifiable from it.

View the  Google Analytics privacy policy here (external site). 

Social networking services 

PSS use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn to communicate with the public about its work and for direct marketing and advertising purposes. When you communicate with PSS using these services, PSS collect the personal information you provide to it by engaging in that communication. 

Facebook- external site, Instagram, YouTube- external site and LinkedIn- external site each have their own privacy policies.  

Third party providers 

We collect your personal information via third party providers. This information is stored on the software and may include personal, health and/or sensitive information pertaining to PSS, its staff, our clients, and parents or carers of clients.   

PSS use personal information for the purposes for which it has been collected which is to carry out a programme’s functions or activities. PSS will use and collect your personal information for the following purposes:  

  • to send you direct marketing of interest to you such as fundraising and donations through telephone, SMS, mail, email, social media, and online advertising. 
  • to provide you or your child with PSS services, treatment and respond to client enquiries  
  • to provide you with transaction information and conduct billing (i.e generating invoices)  
  • optimise our website to enhance your experience, receive feedback and use for marketing and advertising  
  • for ongoing employment and recruitment services (i.e background checks, verifying identity) and ensuring compliance with any other PSS service requirements (i.e Child Protection Unit requirements) 

Australia  

We are committed to maintaining your trust, and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share the personal information we collect. In some circumstances, we may disclose personal information, where it is reasonably necessary to carry out our functions including sensitive and health information to:  

  • healthcare providers at Allowah, including staff for the purpose of PSS providing these services 
  • any other PSS healthcare providers for the purpose of providing treatment to you or your child 
  • law enforcement agencies, government agencies or third parties as agreed or authorized by law in the course of your treatment (Department of Justice, NSW Health, Australian Police, Service NSW)  
  • in ‘permitted health situation’ as defined by the OAIC 
  • PSS can disclose your health information to others in certain situations, such as: 
  • for the same purpose PSS collected it from you 
  • if it’s directly related to a purpose that you would reasonably expect 
  • if it’s required by law 
  • if it’s necessary to prevent a serious threat to life, health or safety and it’s not practical to get your consent, or 
  • if you agree to it. 

 

Overseas 

We may disclose personal information to third parties that are located outside of Australia, for example for the storage or hosting of electronic data. These countries will have laws relating to the protection use and disclosure of personal information that are different from those that apply in Australia. You may not be entitled to similar protections of your personal information under the laws of those countries. 

PSS ensures that personal information is only retained for as long as necessary. PSS will take reasonable steps to protect personal information (including sensitive information) from misuse, interference and loss, as well as unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.  PSS is also committed to take reasonable steps to ensure destruction of the personal information it holds once it is no longer needed for use or disclosure under the APPS. Inactive files will be examined annually. Files which have remained inactive for 3 years or more will be archived.  

We will take reasonable steps to ensure information stored within our systems and in physical form is secure and protected from interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. 

Where PSS no longer needs personal information for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under the APPS, PSS will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or ensure that it is de-identified.  

We sometimes utilise third party providers to store and manage personal information, health and/or sensitive information pertaining to treatment provided to you or your child. We will take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information, health and/or sensitive information is secure on these third party providers/applications.  

No communication via the internet or web or mobile device is 100% secure.  

We cannot and do not take any responsibility for maintaining the security of your personal information on any other website or app linked with our website or app. If you have any query or inquiry regarding the handling of personal information, make direct access to each relevant website. 

You have the right to request access to and correct personal information we hold about you, subject to the exceptions listed in the Act. We will seek to verify your identity and all employees will take reasonable steps to ensure valid disclosure:  

By phone 

Where an inquiry is made by phone, information may be disclosed if the inquirer’s voice is recognised or the inquirer is able to answer reasonable and relevant questions.  

In writing 

Where an inquiry is made in writing, information may be disclosed if it is made on official stationery from a known address and from a known inquirer.  

In person 

Where an inquiry is made in person by that person. 

In certain cases, we may charge you an administration fee for providing you access to the information you have asked for, but we will inform you of this before proceeding.  

We will take reasonable steps to update the personal information we hold if the information is not accurate, up to date and complete.  

For any reason where PSS refuse a correction request, it will provide you with a written notice including the reasons for the refusal and the complaint mechanisms available to you. There may be cases where we are unable to provide the information you request as where it would interfere with the privacy of others or result in a breach of confidentiality.  

When PSS is aware of reasonable grounds to believe an eligible data breach has occurred, we will promptly notify individuals at likely risk of serious harm. The Information Commissioner will also be notified as soon as practicable through a statement about the eligible data breach

We are committed to working with individuals to obtain a fair resolution of any privacy concerns. If you are concerned about the way in which we are managing your personal information and think we may have breached the APPs, or any other relevant obligation, please contact us using the contact details set out below.  

Email: emcclean@jerichoroad.org.au

Phone: +61 427421467

Mail: Chief Executive Officer

8 Perry St, Dundas Valley, NSW 2117

This Privacy Policy is subject to change at any time and will be highlighted on our website. 

This Privacy Policy was last reviewed on 28 February 2025.