At ACD we only collect and hold personal information that is reasonably necessary for our functions and activities with respect to our employees (and prospective employees), members, our trainees (and applicants), those who wish to use our services e.g. enrol in our courses, attend our workshops, seminars and events, those who contribute to our activities, and those who may ask us to respond to their concern or complaint.

You may have the option of not identifying yourself or using a pseudonym when dealing with the College when it is lawful and practicable to do so, however, on some occasions we will not be able to do this, and you will be notified if this is the case.

The types of information ACD will collect and the reasons for the collection of that information may include, but are not limited to, the following:

In collecting personal information, ACD seeks to only use lawful and fair means and not to act in an unreasonably intrusive way.

There are two ways that we collect your information:

• You give it to us when you are interacting with us in the normal course of business
• We receive or collect it from third parties, publicly available sources and through websites

If we collect sensitive information about you, we will seek your consent before we collect and use that information, unless we are permitted or required to do so by law.

We receive unsolicited personal and often sensitive health information when patients or advocates of patients wish to progress a complaint or raising concerns about conduct and treatment by a College Fellow, trainee or staff member.

Where we seek to collect information directly from an individual, we will take reasonable steps to notify you that we are doing so and the purpose for the collection of that information. We will also notify you of any third parties we normally disclose information of that type to, including overseas entities.

Analytic, session and cookie tools

ACD uses a range of tools provided by Google to collect or view website traffic information. Google has its own Privacy Policy. We also use cookies and session tools to improve your experience when accessing our websites.

The information collected by these tools may include the IP address of the device you are using and information about sites the IP address has come from, the pages accessed on our site and the next site visited. We use the information to maintain, secure and improve our website and to enhance your experience when using them. You can opt out of collection of information by Google Analytics, by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Disclosures

We will only use or disclose personal information about you for a purpose other than the primary purpose of collection (secondary purpose) if:

• The secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose of collection, and you would reasonably expect ACD to use or disclose the information for that secondary purpose;
• You have consented to the use or disclosure;
• The use or disclosure is permitted or required under the law;
• We reasonably believe on health or public safety grounds that the information should be used for another purpose; or
• It is otherwise permitted under the Australian Privacy Principles.

We will not ordinarily disclose personal Information to anyone outside of Australia. Where we are permitted to disclose personal information to an overseas organisation, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that organisation complies with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act.

Data Quality

We are committed to ensuring that personal information held by us is accurate, complete, and up to date. To promote this objective we provide facilities on our website for updating specific personal details.

Storage & Data Protection

Personal information is stored in electronic form within the ACD offices and in Cloud services. Personal information stored electronically is maintained in a secure environment according to our Information Security Policy. We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and other misuse.

Access to your personal information is restricted to employees who require access to it to discharge their responsibilities. We train our employees about the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the privacy and security of your information.

Destruction of Records

We destroy records relating to personal information when it is no longer necessary to keep that information within ACD’s records for the conduct of its business or we de-identify the recorded information where appropriate.

Information Protection

We will take reasonable steps to protect the personal information that we hold.  We are accountable to develop and implement policies intended to prevent misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure of personal information.

Notifiable Data Breaches

If a data breach occurs, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure an assessment is completed within 30 days. If a data breach is confirmed, as soon as practicable we will provide a statement to each of the individuals whose data was breached or who are at risk, including details of the breach and recommendations of the steps individuals should take. A copy of the statement will also be provided to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

We try to ensure that the personal information ACD holds is accurate, complete, and up to date.

You are entitled to make a request to access your personal information and we will provide the information within a reasonable time frame unless it is subject to an exemption as listed in the legislation, and you are not a current or past employee.

You may communicate consent or withdrawal of a previous consent to our use of your personal information in writing, including by email. We will clearly identify when an individual consents or withdraws consent to the storage and use of your personal information.

We are committed to providing members and other parties whose personal information we hold with a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints in relation to the collection, accuracy, or disclosure of personal information.

We have a Privacy Officer whose role includes dealing with complaints, concerns or queries that people may have regarding personal information held by us. The Privacy Officer only deals with complaints relating to personal information under the Privacy Act. If you have any issues concerning your personal information, your query or complaint should be addressed to:

ACD Privacy Officer

The Australasian College of Dermatologists

Level 6, 33 Chandos St

St Leonards NSW  2065

Email: privacy@dermcoll.edu.au

The Privacy Officer will deal with complaints as expeditiously as possible under our complaint handling process. Any enquiry or complaint will be treated confidentially. If you are not satisfied with our response or the outcome of a complaint, we will advise you on your options for further progressing any complaint. You may contact the OAIC if you believe your rights to privacy have been breached by us at https://www.oaic.gov.au/.

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time and will review this policy annually. Our website will always contain the most recent version of the Privacy Policy.