Legal
Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, store and protect your personal information.
Multicultural Communities Support Center Inc ("MCCSC", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). By using our website or services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
1. What information we collect
When you register, request support, volunteer, donate or contact us through this website, we may collect:
- Identity and contact details: first and last name, preferred name, email address, mobile number, and gender.
- Address details (optional): street address, suburb, state and postcode.
- The type of support you are seeking and any notes you choose to provide about your circumstances or needs.
- Visa and residency status (optional), where relevant to the support or referral you are requesting.
- Employment and qualification information (optional), where you are seeking employment or skills-pathway support.
- A photograph, only if you choose to enable your device camera and capture one during registration. Providing a photo is entirely optional and you can register and access all services without it.
- Website usage information collected automatically when you visit our site, such as your IP address, browser type, pages visited and referring URLs. This information is collected in aggregate and is not used to identify individuals.
Sensitive information
Some of the support categories you may select — for example, family or domestic violence support, disability or NDIS-related support, mental health or psychosocial support, or health-related guidance — mean the information you give us may be "sensitive information" under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including health information. A photograph may also be considered sensitive information. We only collect sensitive information with your express consent and where it is reasonably necessary to provide the support or referral you have requested. You may decline to provide sensitive information; however, this may limit our ability to connect you with the most appropriate service.
2. How we collect your information
We collect information directly from you when you:
- complete a registration or support request form on this website;
- contact us by phone, email or in person;
- attend a program or appointment with MCCSC; or
- subscribe to our newsletter or participate in our community activities.
The optional photograph is captured by your own device's camera, only after you click to enable it, and is only transmitted to us when you submit the form. We do not activate your camera without your explicit action.
We may also receive information about you from third parties — for example, if a family member, carer, support worker or referral partner contacts us on your behalf with your knowledge and consent.
3. Why we collect and use your information
We use your information to:
- respond to your support request and provide or arrange the services you have asked for;
- refer you, with your knowledge and consent, to appropriate specialist or partner services;
- verify identity at appointments where required (this is the sole purpose of any optional photograph);
- maintain accurate records of the support we provide and your interactions with us;
- communicate with you about your support, appointments, programs or events;
- improve and develop our programs and services through de-identified reporting and analysis;
- meet our legal, funding, and reporting obligations to government bodies and funding organisations; and
- send you updates or newsletters about our services and community activities, where you have consented to receiving them.
We will not use your information for a purpose that is unrelated to the above without your consent, unless we are required or authorised to do so by law.
4. Disclosure of your information
We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to third parties. We may disclose your information to:
- Specialist or partner service providers, with your knowledge and consent, where a referral to another organisation is appropriate to meet your needs;
- Government departments and funding bodies, where required for reporting, compliance, or by law — for example, the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, or similar bodies;
- IT and data service providers who assist us in operating this website, processing forms, and storing data securely. These providers are required by contract to handle your information only for the purposes we specify and in accordance with applicable privacy law;
- Emergency services or authorities where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to the life, health or safety of any person; and
- Professional advisers such as lawyers and accountants, where required in the course of their services to MCCSC, under confidentiality obligations.
Where we refer you to an external organisation, that organisation's own privacy policy will apply to the information they collect and hold about you.
Overseas disclosure
Our website and form submissions are hosted on services that may process data on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States (for example, via Cloudflare Pages and Formspree). We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipients of your personal information are subject to privacy obligations broadly equivalent to the APPs. By using this website and submitting a form, you acknowledge and consent to this potential overseas disclosure.
5. Storage and security
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:
- using encrypted connections (HTTPS) for all data transmitted through this website;
- restricting access to personal information to MCCSC staff and volunteers who need it to carry out their role;
- requiring staff and volunteers to maintain confidentiality; and
- reviewing and updating our security practices as technology and risks change.
Registration form data submitted through this website is received and stored by MCCSC staff. Optional photographs submitted with registration forms are stored only for the purpose of identity verification at appointments and are deleted once they are no longer needed for that purpose.
While we take all reasonable precautions, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.
Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide the support you have requested and to meet our legal and funding obligations. When your information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it securely.
6. Access and correction
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct any information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make an access or correction request, contact our Privacy Officer using the details in section 9 below.
We will respond to your request within 30 days. In some limited circumstances, we may decline to provide access or make a correction — for example, where doing so would unreasonably affect the privacy of another individual, or where we are required to retain the information by law. If we decline, we will tell you why in writing and explain how you can seek a review of that decision.
We do not charge a fee for making an access or correction request, but we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing access in certain circumstances.
7. Withdrawing consent
Where we rely on your consent to collect or use your personal information, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us using the details in section 9. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any use of your information that occurred before you withdrew it. However, withdrawing consent may affect our ability to continue providing support to you.
8. Anonymity and pseudonymity
Where practicable, you have the option of contacting MCCSC or making a general enquiry without identifying yourself. However, if you wish to access specific support services, we will generally need to collect sufficient information to connect you with appropriate help and to maintain a record of the support provided. We will tell you at the point of collection whether providing your information is required or optional.
9. Cookies and website analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience and to understand how our site is used. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. You can disable cookies through your browser settings; however, doing so may affect the functionality of some parts of this website. We use aggregated, anonymised analytics data only and do not use it to identify individual visitors.
10. Children's privacy
Some of our services support children and young people. Where a child is registering for or accessing MCCSC services, we collect information about the child only with the consent of a parent, guardian or other responsible adult. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 15 without verified parental or guardian consent. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately using the details below.
11. Complaints
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer first using the details in section 12 below, so we can try to resolve your concern directly.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days. If we cannot resolve it within that timeframe, we will keep you informed of progress.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
- Website: oaic.gov.au
- Phone: 1300 363 992
- GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
12. Contact us
For all privacy questions, access requests, correction requests or complaints, please contact our Privacy Officer:
- Privacy Officer: The Director, Multicultural Communities Support Center Inc
- Email: info@mccsc.org.au
- Phone: 0414 45 45 33
- Address: Suite E, 111 Main Street, Blacktown NSW 2148
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. The current version will always be available at mccsc.org.au/privacy.html. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.