Privacy Policy & Complaints

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Limited (The Healing Foundation) is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who engage with us.

This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and how you can make a complaint.

The Healing Foundation collects and manages personal information through a range of activities, including our programs, training, research, events, consultations, surveys, advocacy work, funding activities, recruitment processes, communications, and digital services, including our website.

Scope

This policy applies to all individuals who engage with The Healing Foundation, including:

• Stolen Generations Survivors and descendants

• Community members

• Program participants

• Event attendees

• Research participants

• Survey respondents

• Training participants

• Employees and job applicants

• Contractors, consultants and volunteers

• Donors, stakeholders and partners

• Visitors to our website and digital platforms

This policy covers personal information collected through:

• our website and online services

• events, forums and conferences

• training and programs

• surveys, research and evaluation activities

• consultations and engagement activities

• telephone, email and written correspondence

• social media channels

• funding, grant and partnership activities

• recruitment and employment processes

• any other interaction with The Healing Foundation

Collection of Personal Information

We may collect personal information when you:

• participate in training, workshops or programs

• attend conferences, forums, webinars or community events

• participate in surveys, evaluations or research projects

• contribute to consultations, focus groups or co-design activities

• apply for employment or volunteer opportunities

• submit funding, grant or partnership applications

• subscribe to publications, newsletters and updates

• contact us by phone, email, social media or post

• engage with us through advocacy, communications or media activities

• use our website or other digital services

Depending on the nature of the engagement, we may collect:

• demographic information

• organisational affiliation and professional information

• attendance and participation records

• feedback and survey responses

• photographs, video recordings or audio recordings (with consent where required)

• any other information you voluntarily provide

• The personal information we collect may include your name, contact details and login credentials. Where relevant to your engagement with us, we may also collect sensitive information, including health or cultural information. We will collect sensitive information only with your consent or where required by law.

When you use our website or digital services, we may automatically collect technical and usage information such as browser type, device information, IP address and pages viewed. We use this information to analyse usage trends, maintain security and improve our services.

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

• Delivering programs, services, and information you request.

• Communicating with you about events and initiatives.

• Conducting research, reporting, and evaluation.

• Ensuring website security and performance.

• Improving our programs, services and participant experience

• Managing complaints and feedback

• Complying with legal, regulatory and funding obligations

We will not use or disclose your information for secondary purposes without your consent, unless required or authorised by law.

Third-Party Service Providers and Cross-Border Disclosure

We may disclose personal information to third-party service providers such as IT hosting, payment processors and analytics providers, where this is necessary to support our services. These providers may access only the information required to perform their functions and must comply with strict confidentiality obligations.

If personal information is stored or processed outside Australia, we will take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected in line with the APPs.

Data Security and Retention

We take reasonable measures to protect personal information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access or disclosure. This includes secure systems, restricted access, and staff training.

Personal information is retained only as long as necessary for its purpose and securely destroyed or de-identified when no longer required.

Access and Correction

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated. Please submit your request in writing to info@healingfoundation.org.au. We will respond within a reasonable period and will not charge you for making an access or correction request.

Complaints

If you have a concern or complaint about how we have handled your personal information, you can use the complaints process set out below.

The Healing Foundation is committed to handling complaints fairly, respectfully and in a culturally safe, trauma-informed way. We welcome feedback about our services, staff conduct and organisational practices, and we aim to make our complaints process accessible to everyone.

Your right to complain

If you are unhappy with any part of our service, you have the right to make a complaint. You can make a complaint yourself or ask a support person or representative to help you.

Who can make a complaint

Anyone can make a complaint, including community members, stakeholders, employees, contractors and volunteers.

Complaints can be made:

• verbally

• in writing

• through a support person or representative

What you can expect

When you make a complaint, we will:

• treat you with respect, fairness and confidentiality

• respond in a culturally safe and trauma-informed way

• acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days

• work to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, usually within 30 days where practical

• keep you informed about the progress of your complaint

• explain the outcome clearly, including any available review or appeal options

• We will take reasonable steps to ensure that no one is disadvantaged for making a complaint.

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint in any of the following ways:

• Online: complete the Contact Us form on our website and select “Feedback” as the enquiry type

• Phone: 02 6272 7500

• Email: info@healingfoundation.org.au

• Post: PO Box 4363, Kingston ACT 2604

Information to include

To help us respond to your complaint, please include:

• your name

• your contact details

• your preferred contact method

• details of your complaint

• any supporting documents

• the outcome you are seeking

Support and accessibility

We want our complaints process to be easy to understand and accessible to everyone.

If you would prefer, you can ask another person or organisation to support or represent you in making your complaint. This could include a family member, advocate, legal representative, community representative or another trusted person.

Review and further action

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may ask for a review. In some cases, an external review or investigation may also be available.