Privacy policy

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our activities. Depending on how you interact with the Site, this may include:

• Contact details you submit through forms, such as your name, email address, phone number and postal address.
• Message content you provide in enquiry, contact or subscription forms.
• Technical information collected automatically, such as your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring page, pages visited and time spent on the Site.
• Cookies and similar technologies used to keep the Site working correctly and to understand how it is used (see Section 6).

We do not require you to identify yourself to browse the Site.

Sensitive information

We do not collect sensitive information (as defined in the Privacy Act) unless you volunteer it to us and it is reasonably necessary for our activities, or we are required or authorised by law to collect it. Where we do collect it, we rely on your consent.

We collect personal information:

• directly from you, when you complete a form, subscribe to updates, or contact us by email or phone;
• automatically, through server logs and analytics when you visit the Site;
• from third parties, only where you have consented or where the law permits.

We use personal information to:

• respond to your enquiries and provide the information or services you have requested;
• send you newsletters, updates or other communications you have opted in to receive;
• operate, maintain, secure and improve the Site;
• keep internal records and meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

We will not use your personal information for a purpose unrelated to the one it was collected for unless you would reasonably expect it, you have consented, or the law requires it.

If you have opted in, we may send you marketing communications by email. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. You can also opt out at any time by contacting us using the details in Section 12. We do not sell or rent your contact details to third parties for their own marketing.

We may disclose personal information to:

• Service providers who help us run the Site and our operations, including our web hosting provider, email delivery services, analytics providers, and form or CRM software;
• Professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers and lawyers, where necessary;
• Government bodies, regulators or law enforcement, where required or authorised by law.

We require our service providers to handle personal information consistently with this policy and applicable privacy law.

Overseas disclosure

Some of our service providers store or process data on servers located outside Australia. Before disclosing personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it in a manner consistent with the APPs.

The Site uses cookies. Some are strictly necessary for the Site to function (for example, session and security cookies). Others help us measure traffic and improve content.

We use Google Analytics, Usermaven and Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors use the Site. These tools collect information such as the pages you visit, how long you stay, your device and browser type and your approximate location. Microsoft Clarity also records how you scroll, click and move around a page, through session recordings and heatmaps. We use this information in aggregate to improve the Site, not to identify individual visitors. These providers may store or process the data outside Australia.

You can set your browser to refuse some or all cookies, or to alert you when a cookie is set. Blocking cookies may affect parts of the Site.

The Site may contain links to external websites, social media pages or embedded content such as videos or maps. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third parties. We recommend you review their privacy policies before providing them with personal information.

We store personal information in secure hosted systems and take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, software updates, and restricting access to authorised personnel.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If we suspect a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will respond in line with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, including notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where required.

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, or for as long as we are required to keep it by law. When it is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Contact us using the details in Section 12.

We will respond within a reasonable period, normally 30 days. We may need to verify your identity first. If we refuse a request, we will explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or mishandled your personal information, please contact us first using the details below. We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available at https://maranathachurch.org.au/privacy-policy and the “Last updated” date at the top will reflect the most recent change. Material changes will be communicated on the Site.