ADA privacy policy

As an independent, non-partisan, community-based, national public-interest watchdog organisation and think-tank the role, responsibilities, operations and activities of the ADA necessarily require and involve widespread interaction with the people of Australia. This naturally involves protection-of-privacy and related implications.

We take our part in the necessary public interaction very seriously and expect such responsibility to be reciprocated by our interlocutors.

Our policy and processes governing different aspects of commonplace community interaction are detailed on our enquiries, feedback, media liaison and FAQ pages.

 

Privacy principles

The ADA respects your right to privacy under the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth of Australia) as amended and expanded in 2012.

We fully comply with the Australian Privacy Principles in respect to the collection of personal information from individuals. Such information is kept securely and is not disclosed to others.

More information about privacy law and the Australian Privacy Principles is available from the Australian Information Commissioner at http://www.privacy.gov.au.

 

Personal information

As an independent and not-for-profit community organisation we only collect personal information to serve our members, subscribers or interlocutors efficiently and to further our public-interest watchdog responsibilities and activiities in an effective, transparent and accountable manner.

  • We keep all personal information provided to us in the strictest confidence. This includes information gained from research using publically available sources.
  • We do not rent, sell or commercially use your personal information with any third party under any circumstances.
  • With one exception (see next bullet point) we do not otherwise share your personal information with any third party, in Australia or overseas, without your prior express permission.
  • Please note the exception that we must fully co-operate should a situation arise where we are required by law to provide information to a duly authorised Australian government law enforcement agency.

 

Nature of information recorded

Information on individual or corporate interlocutors is recorded electronically in our membership or contacts databases.

In general, it is limited to information volunteered by interlocutors.

In the case of members or subscribers, the information we hold may include the following contact and organisation management details:

  • name,
  • gender,
  • address,
  • post-nominals (if any),
  • email address(es),
  • telephone numbers,
  • occupation or previous occupation if retired (where relevant),
  • dates and general nature of service in the ADF, AFP or an intelligence or security agency (where relevant),
  • year of birth (to help us assess our age profile and degree of community interaction),
  • date you joined the ADA or first took out a subscription to our publications (where relevant),
  • category of membership or other subscription, and
  • how your subscription was last renewed or paid.

If you are a corporate member, or undertake a business, your corporate website may be recorded.

If you are or have been an ADA officeholder at national or chapter level this will also be recorded.

 

Verification of information

If at any time you wish to know what membership information we might hold about you, wish to amend that information, or have a complaint about how we comply with the Australian Privacy Principles, then please email us at subscriptions so we can advise you of such detail, correct it if necessary or otherwise discuss the matter.

All complaints about privacy issues are handled promptly by robust processes supervised by our Board of Directors, including the use of independent reviews where there might be potential for a conflict of interest.

 

Email address protection

The Australia Defence Association will record your email address(es) if you become a member of the Association, a subscriber to our publications and, in some cases, where you initiate correspondence or contact with us.

  • Due to the geographic spread of members and subscribers across Australia and overseas our main method of contact is by email.
  • This especially includes electronic distribution of our bulletin Defence Brief and other updates.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure we have your current email address in order to receive Defence Brief or other communications.
  • We do not use your email address(es) for any other purpose and we will not disclose your email address(es) to a third party without your express consent.
  • We do not send unsolicited bulk emails.
  • Where you might you enter public debate on an issue that falls within our national public-interest watchdog responsibilities we may contact you by email without you first contacting us directly, but only where such interaction would be considered reasonable in the circumstances according to accepted community standards for informed public debate.
  • Recipients of our email messages may choose to unsubscribe from our distribution lists by advising us by email, telephone or hard-copy correspondence.

 

Members-only fora

This website includes a members-only section.

To encourage frank and open debate we also conduct some of our public education activities under the Chatham House Rule.

Our general privacy policies continue to apply to both types of activity.

 

Pseudonyms

As noted in the Australian Privacy Principles, we do not generally respond to pseudonymous enquiries because this is impracticable in assisting informed, transparent, accountable and responsible public debate on strategic security, defence and wider national security issues.

To preserve our independence, and our intellectual and institutional integrity, the ADA does not employ pseudonyms when contributing to public debate or otherwise interacting with the public.

 

Cookies.

This website does not use 'cookies'.

 

Payment information

This website does not contain an on-line credit card facility.

  • We do not seek, accept or record credit card details on this website.
  • There is no prospect of your credit card payment details being compromised by using this website.
  • You can only use a credit card to pay your subscription by advising us of your card details by telephone — or by completing the credit card authorisation form sent to you and returning it by post, facsimile or email directly to our national office.

 

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