Privacy Policy

Date: July 2025 (added provision for displaying images and video in the lodge)

Objective

To clearly lay out how the club treats personal information and respects privacy

Policy

Who are we

Australian Alpine Club Falls Creek Inc (AACFC)

c/o Proacct
PO Box 166
Heidelberg Vic3084
(03) 9880 9600

AACFC is a member of the national Australian Alpine Club (AAC)

AACFC is not subject to the Privacy Act but supports its aims

Personal Information that we collect

1. For all members or membership applicants

• • Name
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Address
  • Date of joining the club

2. For guests or others who have contacted the club, as required

• • Name
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Address

3. And, where appropriate

• • Family relationships
  • Emergency contacts
  • Information about your health that may be relevant to your stay at the club’s lodge
  • Results of screening checks of applicants for membership
  • Bank account or credit/debit details where the independent secure payment gateway was not used
  • Photos and videos of you or your guests while in the lodge, at Falls Creek and surrounds, and at other AACFC or Australian Alpine Club functions
  • Security cameras may record you in the vicinity of entrances to the lodge and storage areas. Security camera footage will be retained for long enough to support any investigation into incidents at the lodge or in its vicinity and may be made available to police or other authorities.
  • Other information that may be legally required from time to time

4. AACFC may also store

• • Information about the status of your payments to the club, or to your affiliated club
  • Information about any issues raised from a disciplinary perspective

When you stay at the lodge or participate in AACFC functions, you consent to have your photo or video image recorded and used in any club website, newsletter or promotional material or displayed in the lodge.

Photos or videos that you provide to the club directly or by references to photo and video hosting services (eg by hashtags) may be published on the club website or social media or used in the club newsletter or displayed in the lodge.

How we collect and store your personal information

1. Personal information is collected when you provide it directly to the club or its agents, or through its booking system, website, forms or other information systems. It may also be collected when provided by a member who is booking you into the lodge or by observations made by other members or agents of AACFC or its affiliates.
2. Personal information may be stored in the membership register and extracts thereof, the booking system, the accounting system and email systems and online forms. It may also be held by individual committee members, eg the membership officer to process applications for membership.
3. Banking details are not stored by AACFC after transactions have completed.
4. Third party providers may store your personal information on servers outside of Australia and may be subject to laws of foreign governments.

Why we need personal information

1. The club is required to maintain a member register which includes contact details for members. Members are required to advise the club of changes to contact details.
2. The club must be able to communicate with members for essential matters including subscription invoices, notices of general meetings, bookings, emergencies.
3. The club’s primary means of communication is email. Without providing an up-to-date email address you may not receive essential communications from the club.
4. The club will also communicate with members for newsletters and other less critical matters. You can opt out of receiving non-essential emails but you may not see useful information about the club, lodge conditions or using the club’s facilities and services.
5. At times the club also communicates via SMS and phone. Without up-to-date phone details you may not receive such communication promptly.
6. Other information is used to enhance the booking system capabilities or required to support the membership application process, financial management and disciplinary processes.
7. Club newsletters, website and promotional material are made more interesting by the inclusion of photos and videos of members and guests. Images and videos may also be displayed in the lodge.

How we use your personal information

1. Personal Information is collected solely for the purpose of managing the club and AAC nationally and to enable contact with members and guests.
2. Personal information is only shared or made available to third parties to support that purpose, e.g.

• Our accountants (currently ProAcct)
• The third party maintained web based booking system for AAC Falls Creek
• The provider of bulk email services
• Other Australian Alpine Club projects and the AAC National Council & Executive
• Other authorities where legally required to do so or for the welfare of members or guests

3. Members have the right to inspect the members register and to update or correct entries as they relate to themselves by contacting the secretary. Some details may be withheld for privacy reasons.
4. Photos and videos may also be used in any club website, newsletter or promotional material or displayed in the lodge.
5. The public area of the club website will generally refrain from publishing surnames of members and their guests. Exceptions will be made when communicating news such as club office bearers, life members, death notices. Surnames of members may be published in newsletters which are addressed to individuals.

How can I verify the personal information held by AACFC or lodge a complaint

Much of the information held is stored in the club’s booking system. You can view and update your member record at aacfallscreek.cbdweb.net.

• You may contact the secretary at secretary@aacfallscreek.com to
  Request to see your personal information held by the club
• Ask for corrections to your personal information

You may contact the chairperson at chair@aacfallscreek.com if you wish to lodge a complaint about the handling of your personal information.

What about social media

The club uses social media to communicate with members and potential guests. Some material that appears on the club’s social media may be posted by members or general public, not just committee members. If you are unhappy with any information posted about you that appears in the club’s social media, you may contact the secretary as above. If it is within the power of committee members to remove inappropriate material, this will be done. However, the nature of social media is that this may not within the control of the club and you will need to contact the person or organisation who posted the inappropriate material, or the social media provider. For the most serious matters, you may be able to report to the Australian eSafety Commissioner via esafety.gov.au.

When posting to social media likely to be seen on club social pages and feeds, members and their guests should avoid

• Identifying other members and guests in their social media posts
• Anything that is likely to upset a subject of the post
• Abuse of other members, including any form of sexual harassment, bullying or vilification

Review

This policy is subject to Committee review from time to time.