Privacy Policy

Privacy is a fundamental human right that underpins freedom of association, thought and expression, as well as freedom from discrimination. Privacy includes the right to be able to control who can see or use information about you. Your right to privacy isn’t absolute, sometimes other concerns are given priority, such as the safety of you or others, or the interests of justice.
STEPS Group of Companies (STEPS) complies with obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). STEPS is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act which regulate how organisations collect, use, disclose and store personal information, and how individuals may access and correct personal information held about them.
Personal information in the Privacy Act, means information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable,
STEPS collects, uses, and stores a range of personal information for the purposes of delivering services. Personal information will not be disclosed to third parties without consent, except where permitted or required under the Privacy Act.
The following principles apply within this policy:

• Consent to collect, store and disclose information will be in writing.
• Where possible, STEPS collects personal and sensitive information directly from you. In some situations STEPS may obtain or disclose your personal information to a third-party source. If this occurs, we will take reasonable steps to ensure you are aware of why this information is being shared.
• STEPS only uses personal information for the purposes for which it was given to STEPS or for purposes which are related to STEPS’ functions or activities.
• Information collected from clients, business partners, members, donors, members of the public and workers will be limited to that which is relevant and necessary to their involvement with STEPS.
• Any information collected for a particular purpose (the primary purpose) will not be used for another purpose (the secondary purpose) unless:
  • Consent has been received to the use or disclosure of the information; or
  • The individual would reasonably expect STEPS to use or disclose the information for the secondary purpose and the secondary purpose is directly or closely related to the primary purpose.
• On request, clients will be provided with access to an independent support person or advocate of their choice to assist them in all matters relating to the collection, storage, disposal and accessibility of personal information.
• STEPS will manage unsolicited personal information as per the requirements of APP Chapter 4 (Dealing with unsolicited personal information).
• Reasonable access to information held about individuals and to the mechanisms through which any incorrect or inaccurate information can be corrected may be provided upon request.

If an individual does not wish to provide personal information, STEPS may not be able to provide a service.
This Policy was ratified by the Board on 26 April 2023.