Title
Enhancing the
quality of life for all Queensland
communities
This document sets out the privacy policy of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Queensland Division ("IPWEAQ") ABN 84 244 523 relating to the collection, storage and use of ‘personal information’ as defined by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cwth) (“Privacy Act”).
IPWEAQ reserves the right to amend or modify this privacy policy at any time without prior notice or consent.
In accordance with the Privacy Act, ‘personal information’ means any information by which an individual could be identified. The personal information collected by IPWEAQ varies according to the circumstances in which the personal information is collected. This may include, but is not limited to, the collection of the following information:
- First name, surname, preferred name, pseudonym, post-nominal, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, gender, qualification details, education and academic history, work experience and skills, occupation, employer details, insurance details, next of kin, awards received and areas of interest;
- Membership information relating to branches, working groups and committees;
- Photographic identification, including driver's licence and/or passport;
- Financial details including credit card numbers, bank account information, financial status of membership and subscriptions to publications owned or controlled by IPWEAQ;
- Assessment records created when a person applies for a certain membership grade or assessment. This can include Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) and Registered Professional Engineer Queensland (RPEQ) Reports;
- Relevant details required to nominate members and projects for honours and awards;
- Details of persons who participate in sponsored seminars, conferences or other events and programs which are run or managed by IPWEAQ;
- The IP address and time stamp of any visit to IPWEAQ websites, as well as demographic and technology data related to the use of those websites; and
- Survey and contact information in relation to attendance at IPWEAQ (or affiliate) events or activities.
IPWEAQ collects the personal information of members through:
- The use of, and interaction with, the information and services provided on the IPWEAQ website including the authenticated self-service portal environment, linked applications and digital services including online enquiry, feedback or other forms;
- The use of, and interaction with, the information and services provided on IPWEAQ campaigns, competitions, events, initiatives or other applications, websites and digital services including online enquiries, feedback or other forms;
- Interaction and enquiries generated through our social media channels which include Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter;
- Applications for IPWEAQ membership, skills or qualification assessment, RPEQ assessment or other membership maintenance or payment transaction;
- Applications for technical society memberships, or maintenance or payment transactions;
- Enrolment, registration or attendance at conferences, events or other Continuing Professional Development sessions;
- Nominations for awards or standing for a position on the IPWEAQ Board, Branches, Committees or constituent groups;
- Inclusion on any National Registers owned or administered by IPWEAQ;
- Interaction with subsidiary companies and/or the use of products and services;
- The provision of customer service and support, including dealings with Member Services by telephone, email, or written correspondence;
- Complaints made against IPWEAQ members;
- Requests for follow-up information, requests to join a mailing list or to be contacted for further information about IPWEAQ products or services;
- Responses to surveys or research conducted by IPWEAQ or by third party providers on IPWEAQ's behalf; and
- The process of developing a feature news story for a magazine, electronic newsletter, event promotion or online newsroom or other IPWEAQ website content.
IPWEAQ collects the personal information of non-members through:
- The use of, and interaction with the information and services provided on the IPWEAQ website including digital services such as online enquiry, feedback or other forms;
- Interaction and enquiries generated through our social media channels which include Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter;
- Application for IPWEAQ membership, skills or qualification assessment;
- Application for a technical society membership, or other technical society membership maintenance or payment transaction;
- Enrolment, registration or attendance at conferences, events or other Continuing Professional Development sessions;
- Interaction with subsidiary companies and/or the use of products and services;
- Complaints made against IPWEAQ members;
- Requests for follow-up information, requests to join a mailing list or to be contacted for further information about IPWEAQ products or services;
- Responses to surveys or research conducted by IPWEAQ or on IPWEAQ's behalf;
- The process of developing a feature news story for a magazine, electronic newsletter, event promotion or online newsroom or other IPWEAQ website content; and
- Applications for employment with IPWEAQ.
IPWEAQ will use personal information to provide a particular product or service and to contact members and non-members about matters pertaining to membership, membership enquiries or enquiries about other IPWEAQ products and services. This includes but is not limited to the following:
- Assessing membership applications, RPEQ applications and other assessments;
- Providing general membership support and for processing payments of applications and assessments;
- Making decisions relating to nomination or election to a position on the Board, Branches, Committees or other constituent groups;
- Providing membership services such as magazines, electronic newsletters, event alerts and other member benefits;
- Sending marketing and promotion material or electronic communications for products, services or events which members and non-members have requested to receive;
- Invitations to partake in events, technical seminars, professional development activities and networking activities;
- Contacting Board, Branch and committee members to distribute business papers; and
- Distributing magazines owned or operated by IPWEAQ.
We may use personal information for purposes related or ancillary to the main reason we collect it, such as:
- Internal accounting and administration;
- Regulatory reporting and compliance;
- Providing benefits to members through commercial partners; and
- Identifying other services that may be of benefit to members (subject to members being able to opt-out of receiving any further such communication).
When a person becomes a member of IPWEAQ, certain personal information must be collected in order to verify the person’s identity for membership status, verify engineering credentials and ascertain their appropriate membership category, status and branch. The personal information of members is stored electronically and is accessible by members with a secure login on a database.
IPWEAQ may provide certain personal information about members to any person who might enquire. The personal information which may be provided about members without seeking any additional consent from that member includes the following:
- the fact that a member is a member of IPWEAQ;
- the category, grade and title of membership;
- whether the member is entitled to use a title eg RPEQ and the year in which the member became entitled; and
- In the event of a complaint made against a member, we use the personal information provided to investigate the complaint
As a not-for-profit organisation, IPWEAQ will enter into sponsorship and commercial benefit partnership arrangements with third parties from time to time. When we enter into a sponsorship agreement or commercial partnership, we may use personal information to provide members with information about products, services and promotions offered by our sponsors or benefit partners. We will never knowingly provide personal information to third parties without consent and will never sell contact details for commercial benefit.
IPWEAQ holds a number of social media accounts on platforms which include Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
IPWEAQ is bound by the privacy policies of the various social media platforms and does not use those platforms to gather personal information for use in other forms. Where the content on any of our social media accounts is deemed to be in breach of our Privacy Policy, we will take prompt action to address the situation with the person directly or by removing the offending material.
IPWEAQ will use personal information for the purposes of direct marketing where we have obtained express consent to do so. We are not permitted to send Direct Marketing communications unless we have your consent and we are required to comply with specific privacy legislation including the Spam Act 2003 (Cwth) and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cwth).
Where consent has been provided to use personal information, that consent will remain current until we are advised otherwise. Opting out of these communications can be facilitated by updating communications preferences in our membership program or by informing us by email or telephone.
Members of IPWEAQ are entitled to receive an electronic copy of our quarterly Bulletin. Members opt-in to receiving the magazine by becoming members of IPWEAQ and, by so doing, give authority for IPWEAQ to provide their name and address to any external publisher from time to time for the purpose of distributing the magazine. Opting out of these communications can be facilitated by informing IPWEAQ by email or telephone that they no longer wish to receive this publication.
Where consent has been given, IPWEAQ may include the disclosure of names and addresses for the purpose of communicating by mail and electronically on training and education course information of relevance to the recipient. Members can, at any time, opt out of receiving any additional material.
We may disclose high level statistical information to companies that participate in an IPWEAQ Member Benefits Programs. These partnership companies offer special rates or benefits on commercial services such as credit cards, car hire and insurance. The suppliers are reviewed regularly, and a full listing would be made available in the member services section of the IPWEAQ website.
With the consent of members, we disclose name and address details to providers of goods and services deemed by IPWEAQ 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.
IPWEAQ may disclose personal information to third party conference organisers for specific functions and activities. IPWEAQ may also provide names and addresses to a third party to print renewal invoices, membership cards, arrears notices, and conference information. In these situations, we prohibit the third parties from using personal information about members except for the specific purpose for which we supply it to be used on our behalf.
IPWEAQ makes certain registers and lists publicly available. This includes names of office bearers, Board members, various committees and working groups. The disclosure is usually limited to names and post-nominals but may, where appropriate and with consent, include contact details.
IPWEAQ undertakes to do all things necessary to ensure that stored personal information is accurate, complete and up to date. We regularly audit our data and request members to update records whenever possible.
IPWEAQ has measures in place to protect personal information from misuse and loss. The steps we take to ensure protection include the use of firewalls, encryption, anti-virus software and login and password protection. In addition, access is restricted to authorised personnel and training is provided to staff on the Privacy Act.
IPWEAQ will keep personal information for as long as it is needed to provide members with products and services. We will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently remove personal information no longer needed.