Privacy Policy

Privacy is important to us

Dawson's Patch respects the privacy of personal information. All our staff are required to read this policy and understand their responsibilities when dealing with personal information.
 

In this policy

personal information refers to any information or an opinion whether true or not, from which an individual’s identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained

Dawson's Patch was formed in 2002 and is a privately owned family business currently operating Dawson's Patch.
 

Our privacy principles

Dawson's Patch is bound by the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (the Act). We have adopted internal policies and procedures to ensure that personal information is dealt with in accordance with the NPPs. You can see the full text of the NPPs online at www.privacy.gov.au.
 

Collection

We need to collect personal information so we are able to:

• identify our customers and potential customers, and their authorised representatives;
   
• inform individuals of marketing initiatives we think may be of interest to them;
   
• supply products, services or other benefits to be offered to customers;
   
• conduct our business in a professional and efficient manner;
   
• develop and implement initiatives to improve our products and services.

Where possible we will collect personal information directly from the individual concerned.

However, in some circumstances we may need to collect personal information from third parties. For example, an individual’s representatives may hold personal information (eg, financial or bank account details or a credit reference) that we may need to access for particular dealings or other purposes.

If we are not provided with all the personal information we request, we may be unable to do business with you or others.


Personal information may be collected by us when:

• we are contacted about our products and services, in person, over the telephone or via our web site;
   
• we negotiate and enter into business transactions;
   
• we supply products and services; or
   
• we respond to an inquiry, where we consider personal details are required or appropriate to fulfil the query.

Any additional purpose for the collection (not included in this policy) will be identified when we collect personal information, or as soon as practicable afterwards.
 

Sensitive information

We generally do not need to collect sensitive information about individuals. However, where we are at liberty to do so, and it is practicable to do so, we will seek the consent of the individual concerned before collecting their sensitive information and inform them of the purpose at the same time.

Use

We may use personal information:

• to identify individuals and protect them from unauthorised access to their personal information, accounts or services in our control;
   
• to perform and improve our products and services;
   
• to inform you or others of our marketing initiatives and product offerings;
   
• to derive or aggregate anonymous information from which individuals cannot be identified;
   
• to prevent or lessen a threat to a person’s life or health;
   
• where disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim;
   
• for the purpose for which it was collected, or for a related purpose (or a directly related purpose in the case of sensitive information) that the individual concerned would reasonably expect from us, including where we transfer data in connection with sale of our business or any part; and
   
• for other purposes permitted, required or authorised by or under law.

Disclosure

Except where indicated above, we will not disclose personal information to a third party unless:

• the disclosure is made as part of giving effect to a primary purpose for which the information was collected;
   
• the individual concerned has consented to the disclosure;
   
• the third party is an external service provider who helps us operate our business, in which case we will require them to disclose and to use the personal information only for the purpose for which it was disclosed by us to them;
   
• the third party is a person involved in a dealing or proposed dealing (including a sale) of all or part of our assets and business;
   
• there are reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to your life or health or that of another person;
   
• the disclosure is to a related body corporate;
   
• the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal or equitable claim; or
   
• the disclosure is permitted, required or authorised by or under law.

Our website

To ensure we are meeting the needs and wants of our website users, and to develop our online services, we may collect aggregated information from our website server logs.

We do not use this technology to access any other personal information of a user in our records and a user cannot be personally identified from the information collected on the server logs.

We may collect personal information when consumers/customers lodge orders for our products or seek information about our products over our website.
 

Marketing

We may use personal information to advise the individual concerned of new services and marketing initiatives that we think may be of interest to them. This may include special product offerings and general information about the Dawson's Patch business.

Those who prefer not to receive marketing information from us can contact our officer to be removed from the relevant circulation list. Contact details for our Privacy Officer appear at the end of this policy.

We never disclose personal information to a third party for the purpose of allowing them to direct market their products or service on an individual, unless they have expressly consented to that disclosure.
 

Correction of records

We ask that you tell us of any changes to the personal information we hold about you.

We can be notified at any time to update personal information or to be told that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete. We will then take reasonable steps to investigate the request and, if considered appropriate, correct the information in the manner requested.

If we consider that the personal information we retain does not require amendment, we will annotate the request on our files.
 

Security

The protection of personal information is a priority for Dawson's Patch. We are committed to maintaining:

• safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorised use, disclosure, access, alteration, destruction and accidental loss. All personal information we hold is dealt with in accordance with the NPPs;
   
• industry standards for the security and protection of information. Personal information is stored securely and access is restricted to authorised personnel only. Our computer systems require access passwords, and these are kept secure.

We frequently update our anti-virus software in order to protect our systems (and the data contained in those systems) from computer viruses; and internal policies on management of personal information, and staff training to ensure compliance with these policies. All our staff are required to read this policy and understand their responsibilities in relation to personal information.
 

Access to personal information

We will generally allow an individual access to any personal information that we hold about them on request - subject to any Restrictions on Access.

We will try to give the individual concerned access in a form and manner that suits their needs. To request access please contact our office.

Contact details for our officer appear at the end of this policy.
 

Restrictions on access

We are entitled to restrict access to personal information in accordance with the NPPs.

For example, you may not be allowed access to personal information we hold where access would reveal evaluative information generated by us in connection with a commercially sensitive decision-making process. Instead, we may give you an explanation for the decision, rather than direct access to the information.

Other instances where it may not be appropriate to provide an individual with access to the personal information we hold, include where:

• providing access would pose a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any individual;
   
• providing access would have an unreasonable impact upon the privacy of others;
   
• the request for access is frivolous or vexatious;
   
• the information relates to an anticipated or existing legal dispute and disclosure would compromise our position or the position of others.

Charges for access

We will not charge an individual for lodging a request to access personal information. However, we may levy a reasonable charge for providing the access.

We will provide an estimate of any charge on request, or if it appears to us that the work will be onerous or otherwise warrants a charge.
 

Changes to our policy

We may update or change this policy. When we do so, we will publish the current policy on our web site at www.dawsonspatch.com.au.

If you have any suggestions or concerns that are not addressed in this privacy policy, please contact our office. The contact details of the office are listed at the end of this policy.
 

Complaint resolution

We are committed to constantly improving our procedures so that personal information is treated appropriately. If you feel that we have failed to deal with your personal information in accordance with the NPPs or this policy, please speak to us so that we have an opportunity to resolve the issue to your satisfaction. The person to contact is our office, whose contact details appear at the end of this policy.

Our office will manage the following process for us to:

• listen to your concerns and grievances regarding our handling of personal information;
   
• discuss with you the ways in which we can remedy the situation; and
   
• put in place an action plan to resolve your complaint and improve our information handling procedures if appropriate.

If this process does not result in an outcome that is satisfactory to you, you may contact the Privacy Commissioner’s Office.

We will work together with the Privacy Commissioner’s Office to resolve the issues between us.

The contact details for the Privacy Commissioner’s Office are as follows:

Street Address: Level 8, Piccadilly Tower, 133 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000.

Telephone: 1300 363 992 (for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia)

TTY: 1800 620 241

Post: GPO Box 5218,
Sydney NSW 1042

Facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666
E-mail: privacy@privacy.gov.au

Further information about privacy and your rights can be obtained at the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website at www.privacy.gov.au.
 

Contact information

If you wish to access any personal information that we hold about you, or have a query about this policy, please contact:

James Dawson
Dawson's Patch
71 Kallista-Emerald Rd,
The Patch, VIC, 3793
T: 03 9752 0439
E: Via website www.dawsonspatch.com.au

Dawson's Patch Privacy Policy
Last Updated September 2007. Please visit www.dawsonspatch.com.au to ensure you have the most recent version of this document.