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Privacy Policy

Emergency Action Alliance understands the importance of protecting personal information we receive from supporters and donors.

We are committed to handling your personal information in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Personal information is collected, held, used and disclosed by Emergency Action Alliance as set out at below.

Information we collect

The kinds of personal information that Emergency Action Alliance collects and holds typically include:

  • Your name, address, phone numbers, email addresses
  • Your bank account, or credit card details which are always encrypted once collected
  • A history of your donations, emails, letters and other interactions with Emergency Action Alliance
  • Your interactions with Emergency Action Alliance related websites

How we collect information

Emergency Action Alliance collects your personal information directly from you when you provide it to us over the phone, in correspondence, in person, via our website and related social media platforms, including when you make a donation or sign up to receive information or in response to Emergency Action Alliance fundraising appeals.

We also collect information from third parties including organisations who conduct fundraising on behalf of Emergency Action Alliance, in person or through telemarketing and/or individuals who personally conduct fundraising for us, or organise workplace giving. Third party organisations based in Australia are also bound by the Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles.

If someone makes a donation on your behalf, and asks that you receive information about their gift, we will collect the personal information they provide about you.

When it is necessary to collect your personal information, including from a third party, we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that you are notified in compliance with the Privacy Act.

It is possible in some circumstances to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym when you deal with Emergency Action Alliance, for example when you make a donation to Emergency Action Alliance. However, if you choose not to provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to provide you with an official tax-deductible receipt, or assist you fully with your query or complaint.

When EAA is planning, reviewing, or changing any activity that involves the handling of personal information (for example launching a new fundraising initiative), EAA will use the Privacy Risk Assessment Checklist to ensure any personal information will be protected in line with the Privacy Act.  Please see the Privacy Risk Assessment Checklist in Annex 1 at the end of this document

Unsolicited personal information

If we receive personal information that we did not solicit, we will determine whether it is necessary for our functions. If not, we will destroy or de-identify it in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Purposes of collection, use and disclosure

Emergency Action Alliance uses your personal information to carry out our charitable, aid and related activities.

For example, we may use your personal information to:

  • Process or confirm your donation and issue a receipt
  • Send you information about how your donation was used
  • Update you if we have information that may affect your support
  • Confirm who you are when you contact us
  • Keep you informed about our work including by mail, email, SMS or telephone
  • Respond to your questions, comments, compliments or complaints
  • Inform you about new opportunities to support our work
  • Analyse donor activity in order to improve our effectiveness including for quality assurance
  • Report on our activities including producing our Annual Report

Emergency Action Alliance relies on the generosity of our sponsors and donors to fulfil our mission. Therefore, we may also use your personal information for direct marketing purposes to promote our upcoming events, appeals, projects or other activities. However, where we do use your information for this purpose, we will always provide a simple means for you to opt out of receiving these communications.

Emergency Action Alliance may disclose your personal information to:

  • financial institutions in order to authorise your payments
  • an authorised legal representative nominated by you
  • mailing house, marketing, and telemarketing service providers
  • courts, law enforcement agencies and government or other organisations as required by law.

Overseas disclosure of personal information

Emergency Action Alliance may disclose or store personal information with reputable cloud-based service providers that assist in the administration and management of our organisation. These providers may operate data centres located outside Australia, including in countries such as the United States and others.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient of personal information:

  • Complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) or equivalent standards.
  • Is bound by contractual obligations that include privacy, confidentiality, and data protection clauses.
  • Implements robust security protocols, including encryption, access controls, and monitoring systems.

Examples of such providers may include Google Cloud, Microsoft, or other secure platforms used for data storage, communications, and analytics.

Where it is not practicable to ensure compliance with the APPs, we will seek your explicit consent before disclosing your personal information overseas.

Use of AI Tools (e.g. Copilot)

Emergency Action Alliance may use AI-powered tools, such as Copilot, to support our operations, including donor engagement, communications, and internal analysis. These tools assist with:

  • Drafting donor communications and campaign materials.
  • Analysing donor interactions and preferences to improve supporter experience.
  • Generating insights from anonymised donor data to inform strategy and reporting.
  • Supporting administrative and operational tasks to enhance efficiency.

We ensure that:

  • AI tools are used only in secure environments and for purposes aligned with our charitable mission.
  • Any personal information processed by AI tools is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
  • Donor data used in AI-assisted processes is limited, anonymised where possible, and not used for automated decision-making that could have legal or significant effects on individuals.
  • Third-party AI service providers are required to meet our privacy, security, and ethical standards, including through contractual safeguards.

If you have questions or concerns about how your donor information may be used in AI-supported processes, please contact our Privacy Officer.

Cookies, our website and your privacy

In order to understand how people arrive at the Emergency Action Alliance website and related social media platforms and how they use it, we rely on cookies provided by third parties. This enables us to assess the effectiveness of our online advertisements. Cookies do not reveal personal information, such as your name, address, phone numbers or email address. You can adjust your browser to disable cookies, but this may restrict your ability to access certain areas of our website.

Cookies are small text files which are downloaded to and stored on your device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website owners to provide you with a good experience while you browse, and also to provide information which can help website owners to improve websites.

Our site uses cookies to:

  • make our site work
  • collect anonymous data on how users navigate our site, which helps us to improve it
  • allow you to share our content on social networks
  • help us provide relevant advertising to those who may be interested in it.

We do not use cookies to:

  • collect any personally identifiable information
  • pass personal identifiable data to third parties.

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be performance cookies or advertising cookies.

Controlling the use of cookies:

If you do not wish to receive any cookies you may set your browser to either prompt you to accept cookies on each visit or refuse all cookies.

Most internet browsers automatically accept cookies unless you change your browser settings. If you wish to restrict, block or delete the cookies which are set by any websites, you can generally do this through your browser settings. These settings are usually found in the ‘options’ or ‘preferences’ menu of your internet browser.

Please note however, that if you set your internet browser preferences to block all cookies, you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.  Unless you have adjusted your internet browser settings to block cookies, our site will set cookies.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them on a wide variety of desktop browsers, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.aboutads.info/choices

How we hold and protect information

Emergency Action Alliance understands the importance of protecting your personal information from misuse, interference and loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We use security encrypted response forms to protect the personal and financial information you provide us over the Internet.

Data is currently stored in the United States with Google Cloud. Data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Data is secured with a combination of firewalls, passwords and Multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Only authorised staff have access to your information and only when it is required.

Emergency Action Alliance will destroy or de-identify your personal information when we no longer need it for the purpose for which it was collected unless the law requires otherwise.

Government Identifiers

Emergency Action Alliance does not adopt, use or disclose government-related identifiers (such as Medicare or tax file numbers) in accordance with APP.

Training

All staff and volunteers who handle personal information receive regular privacy and cybersecurity training. They are also required to adhere to strict confidentiality obligations.

Accessing and correcting your personal information

You are entitled to access and request correction of your personal information held by Emergency Action Alliance. To request access or correction, please contact us using the details provided below and include your name, postal and email address and phone numbers.

Opting out of future communication

If you don’t want to receive communications or marketing materials, please contact us using the contact details below.

Making a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint about our privacy practices, please submit a written complaint to the email or mailing address provided below. In general, we will respond to your complaint within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a written complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. For more information about the Australian Information Commissioner visit www.oaic.gov.au.

Emergency Action Alliance updates this privacy policy from time to time. The most up to date version is published on our website at emergencyaction.org.au/privacy and is also available by post or email on request.

Contacting us

If you want to contact us for any reason in relation to Emergency Action Alliance’s privacy policy or have a complaint about a privacy breach, you can contact our Privacy Officer as below:
privacyofficer@emergencyaction.org.au

Or write to us at:
Emergency Action Alliance
Att: Privacy Officer

Level 8
162 Goulburn Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010