Privacy Policy

Community Gateway values and respects the privacy of the people we deal with. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Australian Privacy Principles, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other commonwealth and state laws as a funded aged care and disability service provider.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, and how we maintain the quality and security of your personal information.

By applying for or using any of the products or services we provide, or providing us with your personal information, you agree to your personal information being collected, held, used and disclosed as set out in this Policy.

How do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information directly from you when you

• Interact with us over the phone
• Interact with us in person
• Interact with us online
• Participate in surveys or questionnaires
• Attend a Community Gateway event
• Subscribe to our mailing list
• Apply for a position with us as an employee, contractor or volunteer.

Collecting personal information from third parties

We may also collect your personal information from third parties or through publicly available sources, for example from

• Your appointed representative or family member
• Allied health providers, medical practitioners or other professional experts
• Our service providers such as subcontractors or associated providers
• Statutory authorities or government departments
• Public registers or websites.

We collect your personal information from these third parties only if we are unable to reasonably and practicably collect the information directly from you, and so that we can provide you with the services you have requested.

How do we use your personal information?

We collect, use, hold and disclose your personal information for many purposes in connection with our activities, including the following

• Provide you with information or services that you request from us
• Enable allied health providers, medical practitioners or other professional experts to provide services to you
• Monitor the suitability of the services we provide
• Improve the quality of the services we offer
• Assess an application for employment or volunteering with us
• Internal administrative purposes
• Marketing and research purposes.

We may send you direct marketing communications and information about our services, opportunities, or events that we consider may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent in various forms, including mail, SMS and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Australian Spam Act 2003 (Cth).

You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by contacting us on 1300 657 473 or customerservice@communitygateway.net.au

Disclosure of personal information to third parties

We may also use or disclose your personal information to third parties in accordance with this Policy in circumstances where you would reasonably expect us to disclose your information. Or where

• You have consented to the use or disclosure of the information
• We reasonably suspect that the use or disclosure is necessary prevent unlawful activity or to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to an individual’s life, health or safety, or a serious threat to public health or public safety
• The use or disclosure of the information is required or authorised by law.

Links to third party websites

Community Gateway website(s) may contain links to websites operated by third parties. If you access a third party website through our website(s), personal information may be collected by that third party website. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party provider or website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party provider or website. Third party providers/websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

How do we protect your personal information?

We hold your personal information in a combination of hard copy and in electronic form. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is kept confidential and secure, including by

• Having a robust physical security of our premises
• Taking measures to restrict access to only personnel who need that personal information to effectively provide services to you
• Having technological measures in place (for example, anti-virus software, fire walls).

Some of the third-party service providers we may disclose personal information to are based in or have servers located outside of Australia. Where we disclose your personal information to third parties overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that data security and appropriate privacy practices are maintained. 

Retention of personal information

We will not keep your personal information for longer than we need to. In most cases, this means that we will only retain your personal information for the duration of your relationship with us, unless we are required to retain your personal information to comply with applicable laws, for example record-keeping obligations.

How to access and correct your personal information

If you wish to access the personal information we hold about you, you should make a request by contacting us and we will respond within a reasonable timeframe. If we aren’t able to provide you with access, we’ll explain why. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate, however we rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information. If you believe that any personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, you can contact us and we will update it.

Enquiries and complaints

For complaints about how Community Gateway handles, processes or manages your personal information, please contact us

• By mail to
  The Privacy Officer
  Community Gateway
  PO Box 1433
  Wollongong NSW 2500

• By calling 1300 657 473

• By email to
  customerservice@communitygateway.net.au

Please note that we may require proof of your identity and full details of your request before we can process your complaint.

Community Gateway will respond within a reasonable timeframe and will endeavour to resolve your complaint. It will not always be possible to resolve a complaint to everyone’s satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with Community Gateway’s response to a complaint, you have the right to contact the Office of Australian Information Commissioner

• By mail to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
• By calling 1300 363 992
• By email to enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Website:  www.oaic.gov.au