Privacy Policies - Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service

Privacy Policy

Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited (trading as Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service) is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use your personal information.

For patients who are provided with aeromedical transport services, please refer to our Patient Transport Privacy Policy for specific details of how we handle your personal information.

Current and prospective employees, volunteers and training participants of the Service should refer to our Human Resources Privacy Policy.

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is defined under the Privacy Act 1988 as being information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual that is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

Why do we collect personal information?

Our mission is to always be there for the community delivering the highest standard of aeromedical and rescue services to those in need. We are supported in this mission by the people in our community, who provide funds and other support.

The personal information we request from our supporters in the community or contractors/service providers is limited to the information that is reasonably necessary for us to accomplish our mission. This could include activities such as:

Fundraising – seeking or processing financial support through activities such as sponsorships, donations, workplace giving, purchase of merchandise, participation in an event, attendance at one of our sites, raffle, contest or other activity;
Operational relationships – attendance at sites, provision of services etc.
Community awareness – informing you about aspects such as our operations, activities, campaigns, causes, products and events.

The kind of information we collect will depend on your relationship with us (eg as a donor, business partner, event attendee, service provider or supplier, consultant, contractor, or online user of our website). It may include information such as:

Your name, gender, preferred pronouns, mailing address, email address, telephone number, employment details, birthdate, credit/debit card information, bank account details, shirt sizes, social media URLs, affiliations and memberships, religion, vehicle details, photographs;
Information in connection with an authority to fundraise or support of the Service;
Your support history made to us or communicated to us, and communication preferences, including household relationships (to avoid mailing double-ups),
Insurance, medical or dietary information that you provide in connection with your attendance at an event, or medical or immunisation details required for attendance at one of our sites, including Medicare or private health insurance information.

Can I choose not to supply personal information?

Where possible, we will allow you to interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. For example, if you telephone us with a general query regarding an upcoming event, you will have the option of not providing your name unless we need it to adequately handle your question.

However, for most of our activities we usually need your name and contact information. If you choose not to provide this, then we may not be able to properly handle your request. For instance, if you do not provide us with all of the personal information we request when making a donation or purchasing merchandise, we may not be able to process that payment or issue you with a tax-deductible receipt or tax invoice.

How do we collect information?

There are a number of ways we collect personal information:

Directly from you

You may provide us with personal information:

In person (eg when you purchase a raffle ticket, attend an event, attend one of our sites, or have your photo taken)
Via forms completed either on paper or online (eg when you make a donation)
On the telephone (eg when you call us to register for an event or join the Rescue Club)
Via email (eg when you pledge support or request to be on a mailing list, or if you provide information to us via email)
Via mail (eg, if you provide us with a copy of your will showing you have made a bequest)
Online (eg when you register for our newsletter, survey responses, provide feedback or purchase merchandise);
Via social media.

Through our website

We analyse and report on website statistics through third party providers. This helps us to understand the site and the browsing habits of those that view it. Better understanding usage and traffic helps us to make improvements within our site, and assists the diagnosis of problems, security or support issues. This process will identify the IP address of web users with reports created and stored in an anonymous format.

We use cookies to provide you with a better experience while using our website. Cookies can enhance the security of your access and use by storing your session ID. Cookies also assist us to monitor and ensure single user access to the website.

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. These third party sites are not under our control and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these other websites. Before disclosing information on any other website you should examine the terms and conditions and Privacy Policy and security of that website.

For further details regarding the information we will request if you use our website, please see our website Terms and Conditions.

Through our social networking platforms

We use social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube to communicate with the community about our work. When you communicate with us using these services we may collect your personal information, but we only use it to help us communicate with you and the wider community.

The social networking service will also handle your personal information for its own purposes. These services have their own privacy policies. You can access the privacy policies for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube on their websites.

Through our mailing lists, donations and event registrations

We use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge as a database system to collect and store information and this helps us to manage our communications and fundraising, including mailing lists, donations and event registrations. You can access Blackbaud’s privacy policy here.

From third parties

Occasionally to assist our fundraising and to support our mission through service providers, contractors, suppliers etc, we may collect information indirectly, including as follows:

through events where information is provided to us by a table purchaser or team captain, third party events;
third party service providers that you provide your information to,
research or purchase of printed and digital directories or online websites to make approaches to individuals and organisations.;
Through data management tools and processes such as data washing.

How do we use personal information?

Supporters and Donors

The purpose for which we collect all personal information is to process your support of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. This support may take different forms, including participating in regular giving, fundraising or simply keeping up-to-date with our activities. When you provide us with your personal information, we will use it for the specific purpose it was collected.

In addition, we may use your personal information for the related purpose of sending you marketing materials about Operations and/or Fundraising which we think may interest you as a supporter. You can opt-out of receiving these marketing communications at any time by calling us (1800 155 155) or writing to us (enquiries @rescuehelicopter.com.au). We will also ensure each electronic message we send (e.g. by e-mail, SMS, MMS or online instant message) includes a method that enables you to tell us you do not want to receive future electronic marketing material.

When stored, we may search, consolidate and access your data in our databases and software.

Suppliers, Contractors, and Service providers

The purpose for which we collect personal information of suppliers, contractors and service providers including their personnel is to process the provision of your products, services or work undertaken for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, and for our compliance and protocol purposes.

When stored, we may search, consolidate and access your data in our databases and software.

Who do we disclose personal information to?

We use a number of third party service providers to whom we disclose personal information. These include providers that help us to:

create and manage technology, manage data including personal information, including our website, social media platforms, CRM database, payment systems and event partners,
Produce and distribute communications materials such as newsletters, certificates and honour boards to recognise donors and supporters.

We only disclose your personal information to service providers to the extent necessary for them to provide the services, and we seek to include privacy requirements in our contracts with each provider. More information about our third-party service providers and the services that they provide us can be provided on request.

We may also disclose your personal information where a permitted general situation exists for the use or disclosure of the information, including but not limited to where we reasonably believe that using the information is necessary to:

lessening or preventing a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to public health or safety
taking appropriate action in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct
locating a person reported as missing; or
to assert a legal or equitable claim.

Our employees are also obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information to which they have access.

How do we hold personal information?

We will take reasonable steps to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of personal information provided to us.

We combine, collate and store personal information with third party providers, with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge CRM database being our primary point of storage for personal information relating to fundraising and community engagement. We take reasonable steps to ensure our providers have appropriate security arrangements in place.

Any personal information we hold in hard copy form is retained only to the extent we require those records, and is securely stored for processing, record-keeping and back-up purposes only.

The measures we have in place to address security and risk management include administrative, physical and technical safeguards such as a network firewall, encrypted transmission of electronic data, up-to-date anti-virus software, regular monitoring of all network traffic, and access control policies on electronic data including authorisation of user log-ins and password levels. For payment information we receive, our third party provider uses SSL technology.

In the interests of maintaining complete supporter records to accomplish our mission, and/or complete supplier and contractor evaluation histories and records, we do not delete personal information unless you request us to.

How can you access and correct personal information?

You have a right to request access to your own personal information that we hold. Any request for access must be made in writing and directed to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au so that we can respond to your request within a reasonable period.

You also have the right to request that your personal information be corrected, and we encourage you to contact us via email (enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au) or telephone (02 4952 0000) if the personal information we hold about you requires updating.

Do we disclose personal information to overseas recipients?

Personal Information may be provided to or processed by our third-party service providers or suppliers operating outside of Australia (including but not limited to New Zealand, Romania, United States of America and Italy). Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure there are appropriate privacy and security arrangements in place, including through contract terms. We take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure such third parties comply with the Australian Privacy Principles.

How can I make a complaint?

If you have any concerns regarding our handling of your personal information, please put these in writing to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au. We will determine what action (if any) we should take and will respond to you as soon as we can and within a reasonable time.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Revision, Feedback and Contact Details

We may revise this Policy from time to time and we encourage you to review the Policy regularly in this regard. We welcome your comments and feedback relating to this Privacy Policy.

Please contact us via:

General Counsel / Company Secretary
Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited
PO Box 230
New Lambton NSW 2305

Ph: 02 4952 0000

Email: enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au

Policy last revised: December 2023

Patient Transport Privacy Policy

Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited (trading as Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service) is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use the personal information of patients who are transported by the Service.

Please see our general Privacy Policy for how we handle personal information in wider circumstances. For employees, prospective employees, volunteers and training participants, please refer to our Human Resources Privacy Policy.

Why do we collect personal information?

Our mission is to always be there for the community delivering the highest standard of aeromedical and rescue services to those in need. In order for us to provide these services, it is necessary for us to obtain the personal information of patients being transported.

The personal information we obtain is limited to the information that is reasonably necessary for us to provide you with transport services. Depending on whether we’re responding to a pre-hospital mission or performing an inter-hospital transfer, this could include information such as your name, address, age, date of birth, gender, weight, mission outline, and relevant health information relevant only to transport services (if any).

Can I choose not to supply personal information?

If you do not wish to provide us with certain information, please advise us and we will discuss with you any consequences this may have on the services we can provide.

How do we collect information?

When we are tasked to respond to an inter hospital mission, we are provided with personal information by NSW Ambulance, or the Local Health District. For pre-hospital missions, we may collect personal information from medical personnel, the patient or others on scene.

How do we use personal information?

The purpose for which we collect all personal information is to provide you with the highest standard of aeromedical transport and rescue services, and to deliver these services with the greatest care and efficiency possible.

We will use the personal information of patients who are transported by the Service only for the specific purpose it was collected. We will seek your consent before we use your personal information for any other purpose.

We may share de-identified or aggregated mission information on our media platforms or in media reports to assist us with the related purpose of community awareness. This disclosure may include a gender and an age range, but the media statements will not include any personal information unless you ask us to or otherwise consent to the disclosure.

Who do we disclose personal information to?

We will only disclose your information for purposes directly related to the transport services we provide. We use a third party service provider to manage our cloud-based aviation software and also use third party software related to the helicopter transport services, and we only disclose your personal information to our service providers to the extent necessary for them to provide the services. More information about our third-party service providers and the services that they provide us can be provided on request.

Our staff are obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information to which they have access.

Please note that we may be required to disclose your personal information if we are required by law. For example, in response to a subpoena.

How do we hold personal information?

We will take reasonable steps to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of personal information provided to us.

We store personal information with a third party aviation software provider and we take steps to ensure our provider has appropriate security arrangements in place. Any personal information we hold in hard copy form is limited and securely stored for processing, record-keeping and back-up purposes only.

The measures we have in place to address security and risk management include administrative, physical and technical safeguards such as a network firewall, encrypted transmission of electronic data, up-to-date anti-virus software, regular monitoring of all network traffic, and access control policies on electronic data including authorisation of user log-ins and password levels.

In the interests of maintaining complete aviation records for compliance purposes, we do not delete flight records.

How can you access and correct personal information?

You have a right to request access to your own personal information that we hold. Any request for access must be made in writing and directed to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au so that we can respond to your request within a reasonable period.

You also have the right to request that your personal information be corrected, and we encourage you to contact us via email (enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au) or telephone (02 4952 0000) if the personal information we hold about you requires updating.

Do we disclose personal information to overseas recipients?

Personal Information may be provided to or processed by our third-party service providers or suppliers operating outside of Australia (including but not limited to the United States of America and Romania). Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure there are appropriate privacy and security arrangements in place, including through contract terms.

How can I make a complaint?

If you have any concerns regarding our handling of your personal information, please put these in writing to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au. We will determine what action (if any) we should take, and will respond to you as soon as we can.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Revision, Feedback and Contact Details

We may revise this Policy from time to time and we encourage you to review the Policy regularly in this regard. We welcome your comments and feedback relating to this Privacy Policy.

Please contact us via:

General Counsel / Company Secretary

Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited

PO Box 230

New Lambton NSW 2305

Ph: 02 4952 0000

Email: enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au

Policy last revised: December 2023

Human Resources Privacy Policy

Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited (trading as Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service) is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. This Human Resources Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use the personal information of current and prospective employees, volunteers and training participants of the Service.

Please see our main Privacy Policy for how we handle personal information in wider circumstances.

For patients who are provided with aeromedical transport services, please refer to our Patient Transport Privacy Policy for specific details of how we handle your personal information.

Why do we collect personal information?

Our mission is to always be there for the community delivering the highest standard of aeromedical and rescue services to those in need. Our employees and volunteers are crucial to the delivery of these services, and we maintain human resources records to enable us to properly manage our staff. We also provide aviation training to the medically qualified NSW Ambulance personnel who work on our aircraft, and we maintain training records to ensure the provision of regular, high quality training.

The personal information we collect is limited to the information that is reasonably necessary for us to manage our human resources and training files and processes, manage your employment with the Service or manage the volunteer relationship. The kind of information we collect will depend on your relationship with us (e.g. as an employee, employment candidate, volunteer, or training participant). It may include information such as:

Employee, referee and emergency contact details,
Applications for employment and supporting documents (including psychometric testing),
Selection committee reports and records,
Employment contracts, and other records relating to terms and conditions of employment,
Proof of Australian citizenship and police checks,
Certified copies of academic and other qualifications,
Records relating to salary, employment benefits and leave,
Medical certificates, pre-employment medicals or health related information (such as vaccination records) supplied by an employee or a medical practitioner,
Medical information related to relevant injuries, illnesses or conditions
Drug and alcohol testing results and records;
Photos, video or other images taken in the course of your employment, or during training or learning;
Centrelink, Medicare and private health information;
Documentation relating to a workers compensation claim,
Emergency contact information or next of kin;
Location and analytics information relevant for the management of our property and facilities;
Taxation details,
Banking information necessary to pay salary and wages,
Superannuation contributions,
Information relating to training and development,
Information about performance.

Can I choose not to supply personal information?

Where possible, we will allow you to interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. For example, if you telephone us with a general query regarding an employment opportunity or training course, you will have the option of not providing your name unless we need it to adequately handle your question.

However, for most of our human resources and/or training activities we usually need your personal information. If you choose not to provide this, then we may not be able to properly manage these activities. For instance, if you do not provide us with all of the personal information we request, we may not be able to accurately assess your suitability for employment.

How do we collect information?

The main way we collect personal information about you is when you give it to us directly, and we may also collect personal information from your supervisors, other employees, employment referees, or intermediaries such as recruitment services and personnel providers. We also collect information in the course of your training or learning with the Service. In addition, we may collect information about employees and applicants from third parties, such as previous employers and nominated referees, when it is relevant to the selection process. For training participants, we may collect personal information from your employer.

How do we use personal information?

The purpose for which we collect personal information is:

For employees: to properly manage the employment of staff to maintain the Service’s property and resources that allow the Service to provide our services and conduct our operations and activities to monitor information collected as part of our normal policies and procedures, and to manage training compliances;
For prospective employees: to assess the suitability of candidates for current or future employment opportunities,
For volunteers: to enable volunteers to contribute to fundraising and promotion of the Service,
For training participants: to provide appropriate, high quality and regular training.

When you provide us with your personal information, we will use it for the specific purpose it was collected. We will not use it for any other purpose, except with your consent.

Who do we disclose personal information to?

We use a number of third party service providers to whom we disclose personal information. These include providers that house our website servers, manage our IT, store our employment/payroll, safety and compliance records, process payments, and conduct health or pre-employment checks. We only disclose your personal information to service providers to the extent necessary for them to provide the services, and we seek to include privacy requirements in our contracts with each provider. More information about our third-party service providers and the services that they provide us can be provided on request.

Our employees are also obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information to which they have access.

How do we hold personal information?

We will take reasonable steps to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of personal information provided to us.

We store personal information with third party storage providers and we take steps to ensure our providers have appropriate security arrangements in place. Any personal information we hold in hard copy form is securely stored for record-keeping and back-up purposes only, then securely destroyed when no longer required.

The measures we have in place to address security and risk management include administrative, physical and technical safeguards such as a network firewall, encrypted transmission of electronic data, up-to-date anti-virus software, regular monitoring of all network traffic, and access control policies on electronic data including authorisation of user log-ins and password levels. For payment information we receive, our third party provider uses SSL technology.

How can you access and correct personal information?

You have a right to request access to your own personal information that we hold. Any request for access must be made in writing and directed to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au so that we can respond to your request within a reasonable period.

You also have the right to request that your personal information be corrected, and we encourage you to contact Human Resources if the personal information we hold about you requires updating.

Do we disclose personal information to overseas recipients?

Personal Information may be provided to or processed by our third-party service providers or suppliers operating outside of Australia (including but not limited to the Philippines, New Zealand, Italy, Romania, and the United States of America). Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure there are appropriate privacy and security arrangements in place, including through contract terms.

How can I make a complaint?

If you have any concerns regarding our handling of your personal information, please put these in writing to General Counsel and Company Secretary via enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au. We will determine what action (if any) we should take and will respond to you as soon as we can.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Revision, Feedback and Contact Details

We may revise this Policy from time to time and we encourage you to review the Policy regularly in this regard. We welcome your comments and feedback relating to this Human Resources Privacy Policy.

Please contact us via:

General Counsel / Company Secretary

Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service Limited

PO Box 230

New Lambton NSW 2305

Ph: 02 4952 0000

Email: enquiries@rescuehelicopter.com.au

Policy last revised: December 2023

View our previous privacy policies here.