Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment

Privacy Policy

1. Aims and Objectives

The Dowdens Group is committed to meeting statutory obligations regarding the Information Privacy Principals extracted from the Privacy Act 1988.

The objective of this policy is to outline how personal information is used, collected, stored and controlled within the Dowdens Group. It will also state how violations of this policy will be managed.

Personal Information is information or an opinion relating to an individual which can be used to identify that individual.

Due to an exemption in the Privacy Act 1988, this Policy does not apply to the Dowdens Group’s treatment of an employee record, where that treatment is directly related to the current or former employment relationship between Dowdens Group and the individual.

2. Who do we collect information from?

The type of information we may collect and hold includes (but is not limited to) personal information about:

Employees and prospective employees
Suppliers and their employees
Customers and their employees
Contractors and prospective contractors
Partner Organisations
Directors
Officers of Government departments
Other people who come into contact with us

3. What personal information do we collect?

In general, the type of personal information the Dowdens Group collects and holds includes (but is not limited to):

Names
Physical and postal addresses
Contact details
Medical information
Training records/qualifications
Date of birth
Salary details
Bank and credit details
Tax file numbers
Licence numbers
Employment history
Other information which may assist us in providing our services

4. Method of collection

The method of collection will generally be by way of:

Forms filled out by people
Resumes, job applications
Face-to-face meetings / conversations
Interviews
Business cards
Telephone conversations
Electronic mail
Surface mail
Air mail
Dowdens Group Websites
Competitions
Direct marketing campaigns
Social Media

5. Guidelines

The Dowdens Group only obtain information in order to perform its core business activities and functions and to meet legal obligations. The information that we collect, must be collected lawfully and in a fair way that cannot be seen as unreasonable intrusive. This information should be kept accurate, stored securely and destroyed when it’s no longer required.

5.1. Purpose for which we collect and use your information

Information may be used and disclosed for the primary purpose for which it was collected and for other reasonable purposes which relates to the primary purpose and in any other circumstances authorised by the Privacy Act 1988. Generally the following are applicable:

Perform the core business activities (Sales and Services)
Complying with legislative and regulatory requirements
Administrative functions
Customer satisfaction and research
Marketing purposes in terms of informing you about our products, services and events
Health and safety
Help manage and enhance our services
Internal communication campaigns

5.2. Personal information disclosed to third parties

We will not intentionally disclose (we will also take reasonable steps commercially to prevent accidental disclosure of) your personal information to third-parties, whether for such third parties marketing purposes or otherwise, subject to the following exceptions:

We are required by legislation, laws and regulations of any nation, state or other applicable jurisdiction
We may disclose information to third parties who deliver products and information from us to you (such as couriers and the like)
We may disclose your personal information with your permission to third parties
We may disclose your personal information in the course of litigation or in avoiding anticipated litigation, but only to the extent necessary to do so
Should we merge or sell a major part of our assets or equity to a third-party, personal information may be disclosed to and owned by the merged entity or third party

5.3. Sending information overseas

We will not send your personal information to recipients outside of Australia without:

Obtaining your consent (in some cases this consent will be implied); or
Otherwise complying with the National Privacy Principles.

5.4. Sensitivity

Some personal information which we collect is ‘sensitive information’. Sensitive information includes:

Information relating to a person’s racial or ethnic origin
Political opinions
Religion
Trade union or other professional or trade association membership
Sexual preferences
Date of Birth
Criminal record and
Health or genetic information about an individual

Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was provided or a directly related secondary purpose, unless you agree otherwise, or where certain other limited circumstances apply (e.g. where required by law).

5.5. Management of personal information

The National Privacy Principles require us to take reasonable steps to protect the security of personal information. We are required to respect the confidentiality of personal information and the privacy of individuals. We take steps to protect personal information held from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure (e.g. by use of physical security and restricted access to electronic records). Where we no longer require your personal information for a permitted purpose under the National Privacy Principles, we will take reasonable steps to delete, de-identify or destroy it.

5.6. Accurate and up-to-date information

Dowdens Group endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete and up todate.

We encourage you to contact us in order to update any personal information we hold about you
Employees are able to gain access to their personal information and can update their details by contacting the People, Performance and Training Department.

5.7. You have the ability to gain access to your personal information

Subject to the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act 1988, you may gain access to the personal information which Dowdens Group holds about you by contacting us. We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. However, in the case of personal information we collect from our clients for the purposes of providing our services to those clients, access to that personal information will usually be the responsibility of the relevant

client.

6. General Outline for Dowdens Group Staff to Ensure Compliance with Privacy Legislation

A duty of confidentiality extends to all records and information on current and former customers and staff. Staff must not divulge information concerning a customer to anyone other than the customer, unless the customer has requested in writing the release of the information. Dowdens Group must have a policy document outlining its information handling practices and make this available to anyone who asks. As customers may see comments or remarks on files or correspondence you must not make frivolous or derogatory notations on any records. Stick to factual statements and no damage or embarrassment will result. Security of information extends to the field, home office and dynamic office environment. Where arrangements exist for Dowdens Group employees to conduct work outside of Dowdens Group buildings, the employee is to ensure security is sufficient to prevent unauthorised access to information.

6.1. Guidelines for Compliance:

Check fax numbers carefully to avoid unintentionally sending a fax message containing customer information to the wrong number
Make sure you effectively destroy waste paper which contains customer information
Dispose of old records in a secure way
Do not disclose information to outside parties
Be especially careful when being asked for information from family members of the customer
Do not act on any changes unless notified in writing with the authorisation signed and dated
Never discuss information in public places, especially where there is a risk of being overheard
Do not provide information over the telephone unless the person has been correctly identified
Lock unattended vehicles containing work related documentation or electrical equipment such as laptops
Password-protect mobile phones
Avoid retaining hard copies of work related documentation in the home environment
If hard copy documentation is retained in the home environment, ensure it is stored securely to prevent access by unauthorised individuals
If issued with Information Technology equipment for off-site use (e.g. laptops, e-mail enabled mobile phones), ensure to comply with Dowdens Group’s electronic security measures such as user ID’s and passwords.

7. Sanctions and Breach of Policy

Dowdens Group Staff who violate this policy will be in breach of the Dowdens Group Code of Conduct and the Privacy Act 1988 and may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

Breach of the Privacy Act may:

Embarrass customers, suppliers, employees and could result in legal action
Attract unfavourable publicity
Damage our brand and create unease about our ability to keep customer information secure

8. Review of Policy

The Privacy Policy is available for all staff to view and download from the Dowdens Group Knowledge Base. This policy will be monitored on a regular basis to ensure it remains current and practical to the Dowdens Group and continues to align with relevant legislation.

_________________________

Steven Dowden

General Manager

End Notes and References

Privacy Act 1988.
Australian Privacy Principles
Information Privacy Principles
Dowdens Group Code of Conduct
Recruitment Privacy Statement

While every effort is made by the Dowdens Group to ensure information in our Code of Conduct is current and compliant with legislation at the time of writing, changes in information and related materials are subject to variation without notice.

Contacting us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Policy, we encourage you to contact us using the details below:

[email protected]

This document was last updated on December 3, 2024