Privacy Policy
Hutt St Centre — Privacy Policy
Effective date: 11 December 2025
Last reviewed: 10 December 2025
Hutt St Centre (we, us, our) is committed to protecting the privacy of donors, volunteers, staff, contractors, people impacted by homelessness and other individuals whose personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, and how you may access and correct that information. It is prepared in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Please read this policy carefully. If you have questions or require a different format of this policy, contact our Privacy Officer (contact details below). For guidance on how charities should manage people’s information, we follow ACNC guidance and good practice.
1. Scope — who this policy applies to
This policy applies to all personal information collected and held by Hutt St Centre in Australia, including information collected via our website, by phone, in person, by email, in paper form and via third-party service providers. It covers information about donors, volunteers, staff, contractors, clients (including people impacted by homelessness), subscribers and website visitors. For details on the types of personal information we collect see section 3.
2. What is personal information?
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. It can include names, contact details, date of birth, financial details for donations, health or vulnerability information volunteered by clients, and online identifiers (such as IP addresses or cookies).
3. Types of personal information we collect
We only collect the personal information necessary for our functions and activities. Examples include:
- Identification and contact details: name, postal address, phone number, email.
- Donation and payment information: donation amount, donation history, and payment card details where necessary for processing (note: we use third-party payment processors; see section 11).
- Service and wellbeing information: information you or your advocate provide about needs or circumstances (including where people are impacted by homelessness).
- Employment and volunteer information: CVs, referee details, emergency contacts, right-to-work checks.
- Website and marketing data: IP addresses, cookie identifiers, analytics and engagement data when you visit our website.
- Communications preferences: how you would like us to contact you and whether you wish to receive marketing or fundraising communications.
We do not collect sensitive information (such as race, religious beliefs or health details) except where you have willingly provided it and where collection is necessary for service delivery or with your consent and where permitted by law.
4. How we collect personal information
We will generally collect personal information directly from you, for example when you:
- make a donation, register as a volunteer, apply for a role or request services;
- subscribe to newsletters, attend events or complete forms; or
- contact us by phone, email or in person.
We may also collect personal information from third parties with your consent (for example referees), from publicly available sources, or from service providers who work on our behalf (for example payment gateways, IT and cloud providers). We will take reasonable steps to notify you if we collect information from other sources.
5. How we use personal information
We use personal information for purposes reasonably necessary to run Hutt St Centre, including:
- to provide programs, services and support to people impacted by homelessness;
- to process donations and provide donation receipts and acknowledgements;
- to recruit, employ and manage staff and volunteers;
- to communicate with supporters, respond to enquiries and send newsletters or fundraising appeals (unless you opt out);
- to manage events, surveys and research;
- to comply with legal or regulatory obligations; and
- for internal administration, record-keeping, reporting and improvement of services.
We will not use personal information for purposes incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected unless we obtain your consent or we are otherwise permitted or required by law.
6. Disclosure and third parties
We may disclose personal information to:
- service providers who perform functions on our behalf (such as payment processors, IT/cloud providers, email and CRM platforms, professional advisers and print/mail houses);
- government agencies and funders where required by law, regulation or funding agreement;
- emergency services or health professionals where necessary to protect a person’s safety; and
- other third parties where you have given consent.
Before disclosing personal information to a third party we take reasonable steps to ensure they are bound to protect personal information and to use it only for the agreed purpose. We require third parties handling personal information to have appropriate security and privacy arrangements.
7. Cross-border disclosure and international transfers
Some of our service providers (for example cloud hosting, analytics or email platforms) may store or process personal information outside Australia. Where we disclose personal information overseas we will take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient is subject to privacy protections comparable to the APPs, or obtain your consent to the disclosure. If you would like details of the countries where your personal information may be held, contact our Privacy Officer.
8. Data security
We use industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Measures include secure servers, access controls, staff training, and contractual protections with service providers.
No system is completely secure. If you become aware of any security concerns or unauthorised use of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer immediately so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
9. Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected or as required by law. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the information (for example donor records, staff records and client records have different statutory retention requirements). If you would like to know how long a particular category of information is kept, please contact us.
10. Access and correction
You may request access to personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. We will respond to access or correction requests within a reasonable timeframe and, where appropriate, provide access in the form you request (subject to permitted exceptions). We may charge a reasonable fee for providing access (for example to cover copying costs).
If we refuse access or correction we will provide reasons (unless it is unreasonable or unlawful to do so) and explain review options, including lodging a complaint with us or with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
11. Donations and payment security
Online payments and card transactions on our website are processed through third-party payment providers. We do not store full payment card details on our systems. Please refer to the terms and privacy policy of the payment provider used at the time of the transaction for details about how your payment information is handled. Where relevant, we also comply with Payment Card Industry standards.
12. Cookies, analytics and tracking on our website
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality, measure site performance and tailor content. Cookies may be essential (to operate the site), performance or advertising/analytics cookies. You can manage cookie preferences via your browser or our cookie settings (where provided). We use analytics services to help us understand how people use our site; aggregated analytics are used to improve user experience and communications.
13. Children and vulnerable people
We are particularly careful when collecting information about children or other vulnerable people. We will only collect such information where it is necessary for service delivery and we will seek consent from a parent, guardian or authorised advocate where appropriate. If you are under 18, please obtain permission from a parent or guardian before providing personal information to us.
14. Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB)
Under the Privacy Act and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, if we become aware that personal information we hold has been involved in a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to any individuals, we will undertake an assessment and, where required, we will notify affected individuals and the OAIC as soon as practicable. Notifications will include details about the breach and recommended steps for affected people. If you suspect a data breach, please contact our Privacy Officer immediately.
15. Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer and we will attempt to resolve it promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Contact details for the OAIC are available on their website.
16. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our practices, or technology. Any updated policy will be published on our website with a revised “Last reviewed” date.
17. Contact us / Privacy Officer
To make enquiries, request access or correction, make a complaint, or ask about this policy please contact:
Privacy Officer
Hutt St Centre
258 Hutt Street
Adelaide, SA, 5000
Email: hello@huttstcentre.org.au
Phone: 08 8418 2500
18. Further information and legal framework
This policy is designed to meet the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 and to reflect best practice guidance from the OAIC and ACNC for charities. If you would like general guidance on the APPs or the NDB scheme, please consult the OAIC website.
