What kind of personal information do we collect?
Personal information, including sensitive information, that Engineers Australia collects and holds includes, but is not limited to:
- Members’ official and preferred names, titles, post-nominals, personal awards, address, telephone, e-mail and facsimile contact details (private and business), date of birth, gender.
- Members’ qualifications, education and academic history, work experience and skills, occupation, employer information, insurance details, areas of practice, areas of interest, details of complaints and disciplinary action.
- Membership information relating to Technical Societies, Colleges, Registers and Special Interest Groups.
- Financial details including credit card numbers, bank account information, financial status of membership, and subscriptions to Engineers Australia publications.
- Assessment records created when a member applies for a certain membership grade. This can include Curriculum Vitaes (CVs), Engineering Practice Reports (EPRs) Competency Demonstration Reports (CDRs) and Migration Skills Assessments.
- Information required to nominate members for honours and awards.
- Information from persons who participate in Engineers Australia sponsored seminars, conferences or other events and programs.
How we collect your personal information
We collect most personal information direct from you, for example, when you fill in an application for admission, readmission, concession or direct debit, a qualifications assessment or Chartered Status assessment application. Information may also be collected direct from you when you deal with us personally, over the telephone, send a letter, or visit the web site.
Information is collected from you when you nominate for an award, are invited to the grade of Fellow or Honorary Fellow, or stand for election for a position on National Congress, Council, a Committee or constituent group. Information is also collected from you when you participate in an Engineers Australia survey.
There may be occasions when a third party provides information about you, such as when you are nominated for an honour or award, or when a complaint is made against you.
We also collect information about members and non-members who register for Engineers Australia events, seminars and conferences.
How we use your personal information
We will use your personal information to provide you with a particular product or service and to contact you about matters pertaining to membership of Engineers Australia. This includes (but is not limited to) the following:
- Assessing membership applications, chartered status applications and migration assessments.
- Processing payments of applications and assessments.
- Making decisions relating to nomination or election to a position on Council, National Congress, Committee or other constituent group.
- Providing membership services such as Engineers Australia Magazine, e-News, and other member benefits.
- Inviting you to partake in Division events, technical seminars, professional development activities and networking activities.
- Contacting board/panel and committee members to distribute business papers.
We may use your personal information for purposes related or ancillary to the main reason we collect it, such as:
- Internal accounting and administration.
- Regulatory reporting and compliance.
- Helping us to identify and inform you about other services that may be of benefit to you
In the event of a complaint against you we use personal information provided to us to investigate the complaint in accordance with the procedures set down in Engineers Australia’s Disciplinary Regulations.
As a not-for-profit organisation, Engineers Australia needs to enter into sponsorship arrangements with third parties from time to time. This allows us to keep membership fees at a low level, and to provide a greater range of services. When we enter a sponsorship agreement, we may use your personal information to provide you with information about products, services and promotions offered by our sponsors.
Disclosure of your personal information
Engineers Australia may disclose personal information and sensitive information as defined by the Privacy Act, held about you to:
- A membership committee/ board or panel to assess applications and investigate complaints;
- Members authorised to vote on candidates elected to office bearing positions and judging committees for awards and honours;
- Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for migration related issues;
- Australian Education International – NOOSR for migration statistical reporting;
- Members on the same Committee or group; and
- A person or agency when you are nominated for an honour or award.
We disclose a member’s mailing details (i.e. name and address) to our wholly owned subsidiary companies, Engineers Media for the purpose of mailing to you the monthly Engineers Australia magazine. We also may disclose member’s mailing details to Engineering Education Australia Pty Ltd for the purpose of mailing training and education course information to you.
With your consent, we disclose information to companies that participate in Engineers Australia Member Benefits Program. These partnership companies offer special rates or benefits on commercial services such as credit cards, car hire and insurance. These offers are popular and are taken up by many members. The suppliers are reviewed regularly, and a full listing is contained in the member services section of the website.
With your consent, we disclose name and address details to providers of goods and services deemed by Engineers Australia to be of benefit to members. These offerings include products, services, conferences of a technical nature or in a geographical grouping targeting engineering purchasers and practitioners.
With your consent, we disclosure your membership status of Engineers Australia to third parties. Third parties include employers, statutory authorities, customers or members of the public. Third parties could ask for confirmation of your membership grade, chartered status or currency of membership. This question does not relate to registration on the National Engineering Registers.
Engineers Australia may disclose personal information when we contract out specialised functions and activities. These may include printing of renewal invoices, membership cards, and arrears notices, and conference information. We may also provide names and addresses to a mailing house to mail information to you. In these situations, we prohibit the third parties from using personal information about you except for the specific purpose for which we supply it.
Engineers Australia makes certain registers and lists publicly available. For instance, if you are recorded on a register or other listing, such as the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER) or the National Engineering Technologists Register (NETR), or if you are an office bearer on Council, National Congress, a committee, or panel, we disclose personal information such as name and contact details through various means, either through publications, websites or verbally to members of the public.
We treat all personal information held about you as confidential. This applies except where disclosure of your personal information is compelled by law, in the public interest, or with your consent.
In the event of a complaint against you, disclosure of personal information is restricted to those authorised under the Disciplinary Regulations and Manual of Investigation and Procedures.
Consent
Members have been asked to agree or disagree with four basic questions regarding the use disclosure of personal information. The questions relate to:
- Disclosure to third parties of a member’s membership status of Engineers Australia.
- Name and address information being used for the purpose of mailing offers by endorsed partners that participate in Engineers Australia’s Member Benefits Program.
- Name and address information being used for the purpose of mailing offers by other providers of goods and services deemed by Engineers Australia to be of benefit or interest to members.
- Use and disclosure of information being used for the purpose of receiving the weekly Engineers Australia electronic newsletter.
For those who did not complete the survey, Engineers Australia has assumed a “no” response. Members may change their preferences at any time, by logging into the member services area of the website, www.engineersaustralia.org.au, or by contacting members services on (02) 62706555.
Accuracy of your personal information
If we have accurate personal information about you, it enables us to provide you with the best possible service. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date whenever we collect or use it.
If you find that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us immediately. Alternatively, you may correct this yourself through the member services section of the website.
Access to your personal information
You may access limited personal information through our secure the member services section on our website. Alternatively, on request, we will provide you with access to your personal information. Your request will be dealt with in a reasonable time and we may charge you a small administration fee for sending the information to you.
Security of your personal information
Engineers Australia protects any personal information that we hold about you from misuse and loss. We protect your privacy by restricting access to your personal information to those staff or authorised office bearers who need it, either to process information or to provide you with membership services. Our staff and office bearers are responsible for handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act.
Your personal information may be stored as hardcopy documents, or as electronic data. We maintain physical security over our paper and electronic data stores and premises. We also maintain computer and network security. For example, we use firewalls (security measures for the Internet) and other security systems such as user identifiers and passwords to control access to computer systems.
Engineers Australia will keep your information for as long as it is needed to provide you with the products and services you have requested from us. We will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information when we no longer need it.
Our online applications available to members from the website undergo extensive security testing by external professional companies to ensure your data is protected to the highest level against potential hacking. All data transmitted between web browsers and our online applications are protected by encryption.
Resolving your concerns
If you believe that the privacy of your personal information has been compromised, you are entitled to complain. If you have a complaint, contact the area where you believe the breach has occurred. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, forward a written complaint to:
The Privacy Officer
Engineers Australia
11 National Circuit
Barton ACT 2600
A written complaint must include a return address, and identify the conduct that is the basis for the complaint. There are no fees for lodging a complaint.