Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Queensland Professional Firefighters’ Union, Industrial Union of Employees, is the union representing workers in firefighting related occupations. The union collects personal information in order to conduct its business of:

Representing members in workplace and industry-wide negotiations with employers and government;
Representing members before the state industrial tribunals and other courts and tribunals on matters relevant to industrial and workplace issues;
Providing information to members about their employment and related rights and obligations;
Lobbying state and federal governments and other relevant bodies about matters of concern to members and their families in relation to employment and living standards;
Publicising to members and to the community issues of concern to members and proposals to address these concerns;
Conducting research and other activities in order to enable the union to effectively carry out these functions;
Providing members and their families with access to goods and services on favourable terms. The union operates in the political, legal, industrial and social spheres. The union is committed to protecting your privacy and providing you with information and services relevant to you.

How this policy applies

This policy applies to personal information the union collects from you:

via one of our websites;
via social media;
via telephone;
via email;
via fax;
in person; and/or
in writing.

This policy also applies to personal information the union collects from the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) and Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) or any other third party, about you

Union Websites

The union websites collect two types of information. The first type is anonymous information. The web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

the user’s server address;
the user’s top level domain name (e.g. com, .gov, .net, .au, etc.);
the date and time of the visit to the site;
the pages accessed and documents downloaded;
the previous site visited; and
the type of browser used.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the internet service provider’s logs.

Another way information may be collected is through the use of “cookies”. A cookie is a small text file that the website may place on your computer. Cookies may be used, among other things, to track the pages you have visited, to remember your preferences and to store personal information about you.

You can adjust your internet browser to disable cookies or to warn you when cookies are being used. However, if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain areas of the website or take advantage of the
improved website experience that cookies offer.

Our websites may contain links to other websites and social media pages including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of the entities responsible for those websites and we recommend that you review the privacy policies applicable to any other websites you visit.

The kinds of information the union may collect

From time to time, you may voluntarily supply your personal information to the union. The union will record your e-mail address if you send us a message, subscribe to an email newsletter, or complete a form if this information is requested.

When you provide your personal information, it allows us, for example, to assist you with industrial relations and employment queries, inform you about industrial, social and political campaigns, and accept your application for membership. You may supply personal information to the union by, for example, responding to a survey, filling in a meeting attendance sheet, completing a membership form, discussing your issues with a delegate, or signing up to a campaign. The union only collects personal information that is necessary for the union to perform its functions and/or activities.

Depending upon the circumstances you may provide to the union, and the union may collect, information such as, but not limited to:

your name;
your contact details;
your social media details (e.g. blogs, twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn);
your gender;
your marital status;
your employment details;
your educational qualifications; and
your inquiry or complaint details.

Some personal information is considered sensitive information and includes:

your political opinions;
your political party membership
your union membership;
your racial or ethnic origin;
your sexual orientation;
any disabilities, illnesses or injuries you may have; and/or
any other health information.

We will only collect sensitive information where we have received your consent to your personal information being collected, used, disclosed and stored by the union in accordance with this policy.

We will collect personal information directly from you unless:

you have consented to the union’s collection of your personal information from third parties – for example, from
the ACTU, QCU, or your representatives; or
when we are legally required to do otherwise; or
it is unreasonable or impractical to do so.

Where we have collected personal information about you either directly or by other means as set out above, we will notify you at the time, or as soon as practicable, to ensure that you are aware of such collection and its purpose.

The purposes for which personal information is collected, held, used and disclosed

The union collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information to:

assist you with industrial relations and employment queries;
inform you about industrial, social and political campaigns;
inform you about your rights at work;
inform you about changes to legislation;
refer you to a legal practitioner, accountant or other professional;
improve our service delivery;
manage our relationship with you;
conduct surveys and research;
provide educational services and professional development;
conduct union elections;
meet statutory requirements

Using your information for direct marketing

You consent to our use and disclosure of your personal information for the purposes of direct marketing which may include providing you with information about events, products or services which may be of interest to you.

Unsubscribing and opting out

If you no longer wish to receive direct marketing or other communications, you may request at any time to cancel
your consent to such communications as follows:

If subscribing to an email newsletter you may “unsubscribe” at any time from the newsletter mailing list;
The union may, from time to time, send you text messages about issues of importance such as events or
campaigns. You may “opt out” by emailing the union office at info@qpfu.com.au.

Disclosure of your personal information

The union may disclose your personal information, in connection with or to further the purposes outlined above, to:

other industrial organisations that represent workers’ interests, eg. ACTU, QCU
government bodies or agencies (including the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, an anti-discrimination body, a work/occupational health and safety regulator);
organisations to whom we outsource functions (including information technology providers, print service providers, mail houses);
otherwise, as you have consented; and/or
otherwise as required by law.

If any of these organisations are located outside Australia, you expressly consent to us disclosing your personal information to those organisations.

By providing your personal information to the union, you consent to us transferring your personal information to such other organisations.

How the union holds personal information

Wherever reasonably practicable the union holds electronic personal information on data servers that are owned and controlled by the union in Australia. Wherever reasonably practicable the union holds physical personal information in access-controlled premises.

When the union no longer requires your personal information for a specific purpose, and we are not required to keep it to comply with any laws, we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to destroy your personal information or to ensure that the information is de-identified

How you may seek access and/or correction to personal information held by the union

You have the right to request access to your personal information and request that it be updated or corrected. In most cases you can gain access to your personal information that the union holds. To request access to, correction of, or updating of any personal information held about you, please write to the secretary at the following address:

Queensland Professional Firefighters’ Union
Ground Floor, 286 Montague Road
West End QLD 4101
Australia

info@qpfu.com.au – Attention: State Secretary

General enquiries can be made via telephone by calling the following number:

07 3844 0366

The union requires that you provide proof of identity in order to seek access to your personal information. The union may charge a reasonable fee where access is provided. The union may refuse to provide access if permitted to do so by law. The union will seek to provide you with access to your personal information within 30 days of receipt of a valid request and may charge you a reasonable fee for doing so.

Members should contact the union when personal information details change. It is important that we keep our membership details up to date. Please contact the union to update any personal information:

The union may also take steps to update your personal information by reference to publicly available sources such as telephone directories or electoral rolls

How you may complain about a breach of the privacy policy

To make a complaint about an alleged breach of the privacy policy please write to or email the Secretary at the following address:

Queensland Professional Firefighters’ Union
Ground Floor, 286 Montague Road
West End QLD 4101
Australia

info@qpfu.com.au – Attention: State Secretary

All complaints must be written.

How the union will deal with complaints

The union will seek to deal with privacy complaints as follows:

complaints will be treated seriously;
complaints will be dealt with promptly;
complaints will be dealt with confidentially;
complaints will be investigated by the state secretary; and
the outcome of an investigation will be provided to the complainant where the complainant has provided proof of
identity.

The union will seek to respond within 30 days of receipt of a valid complaint.

Variations to the policy

This policy may be varied from time to time and an updated version will be posted on the union’s websites.

Please check our websites regularly to ensure that you have the most recent version of the policy