Search

Privacy Policy

Two women walking side by side, supporting each other

1. Purpose
The Equality Institute (EQI) is committed to respecting the privacy of all individuals and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers and website visitors. This policy sets out how we collect, treat, and manage your personal information adhering to the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and to the extent applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

2. Scope
This policy relates to personal information EQI obtains from and about individuals interacting with its websites, online and offline channels, and third-party vendors.

3. Definitions
For the purposes of this policy Personal information is information we hold which is identifiable as being about you. This includes information such as your name, email address, identification number, or any other type of information that can reasonably identify an individual, either directly or indirectly.

Order information refers to the information required to make or attempt to make a purchase through our website, including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment information (including credit card numbers), email address, and phone number.

Device information refers to automatically-collected information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device.

4. Policy
The Equality Institute collects personal information from you in a variety of ways, including when you interact with us electronically or in person, when you access our website and when we engage in business activities with you. We may also receive personal information from third parties. If we do, we will protect it as set out in this Privacy Policy. By providing us with personal information, you consent to the supply of that information subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

4.1 Collection of Personal and Order information
EQI collects and retains personal information and order information necessary to assist us in achieving our purpose, managing our relationships, fulfilling any order obligations, and keeping people informed of our activities. We collect personal information only by fair and lawful means. Whenever reasonably possible, we will collect personal information directly from the individual.

4.2 Collection of Device information
4.2.1 Website
When you come to our website (www.equalityinstitute.org), we may collect certain information such as browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site. This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site, such that we can improve our service. Additionally, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to our website, and information about how you interact with it.

4.2.2 Cookies
Our website may from time to time use cookies to analyses website traffic and help us provide a better website visitor experience. “Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are not malicious programs that access or damage your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website. For more information about cookies, and how to disable, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Please note that we do not alter our websites data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser.

4.3 How we use information collected
EQI may use personal information collected from you to provide you with information about our products or services. We may also make you aware of new and additional products, services and opportunities available to you. We will use personal information only for the purposes that you consent to. This may include to:

  • provide you with products and services during the usual course of our business activities;
  • administer our business activities;
  • manage, research and develop our products and services;
  • provide you with information about our products and services;
  • communicate with you by a variety of measures including, but not limited to, telephone, email, SMS or mail; and
  • investigate any complaints.

We use the Device Information that we collect to help us screen for potential risk and fraud and more generally to improve and optimise our website, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns. We use the Order Information that we collect generally to fulfill any orders placed through the website including processing your payment information, arranging for shipping, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations.

4.4 Third parties
Personal information collected by third-party vendors on EQI’s behalf, either through online or offline channels, will be subject to that vendor’s own privacy policy and practices. Third-party vendors collecting personal information on behalf of EQI will identify themselves to individuals as such, to enable them to make informed decisions about when and how they disclose their personal information. We will take reasonable measures, contractual and otherwise, to ensure that third-party vendors contracted on our behalf will safeguard personal information to the same standard as EQI; however we cannot control or be held liable for the business practices of third-party entities to whom personal information is provided.

We use Shopify to power our online store and we use Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Site. You can read more about how Shopify uses your Personal Information here: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy and about how Google uses your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our website, to read the privacy statements of every website that collects personal identifiable information.

4.5 Disclosure of personal information
We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy. Personal information is only supplied to a third party when it is required for the delivery of our services.

We may from time to time need to disclose personal information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request.

We may also use your personal information to protect the copyright, trademarks, legal rights, property or safety of the EQI, www.equalityinstitute.org, its customers or third parties.

Information that we collect may from time to time be stored, processed in or transferred between parties located in countries outside of Australia.

If there is a change of control in our business or a sale or transfer of business assets, we reserve the right to transfer to the extent permissible at law our user databases, together with any personal information and non-personal information contained in those databases. This information may be disclosed to a potential purchaser under an agreement to maintain confidentiality.

We would seek to only disclose information in good faith and where required by any of the above circumstances.

By providing us with personal information, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the types of disclosure covered by this Policy. Where we disclose your personal information to third parties, we will request that the third party follow this Policy regarding handling your personal information.

4.6 Your rights
Individuals have the right to request access to and correct personal information we hold about them, subject to exceptions listed in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Upon request, and within the parameters of the legislation, EQI will provide individuals with access to this information. If you would like a copy of the information which we hold about you or believe that any information we hold on you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, please email us at admin@equalityinstitute.org.

To protect the integrity and security of the information we hold, we may ask that you follow a defined access procedure, which may include steps to verify your identity. There may be cases where we are unable to provide the information you request, such as where it would interfere with the privacy of others or result in a breach of confidentiality. In these cases, we will let you know why we cannot comply with your request.

4.6.1 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the European Union (EU)
The EQI will comply with the principles of data protection set out in the GDPR for the purpose of fairness, transparency and lawful data collection and use.

If you are a European resident, you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. If you would like to exercise this right, please contact us on the details provided in this privacy policy. We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on any of your requests.

Additionally, if you are a European resident we note that we are processing your information in order to fulfill contracts we might have with you (for example if you make an order through the website), or otherwise to pursue our legitimate business interests listed above. Additionally, please note that your information may be transferred outside of Australia, including to Canada and the United States through third part providers.

We do not collect or process any personal information that is considered "Sensitive Personal Information" under the GDPR, such as personal information relating to your sexual orientation or ethnic origin unless we have obtained your explicit consent, or if it is being collected subject to and in accordance with the GDPR.

You must not provide us with your personal information if you are under the age of 16 without the consent of your parent or someone who has parental authority for you. We do not knowingly collect or process the personal information of children.

4.7 Security of your personal information
The EQI is committed to ensuring that the information you provide to us is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure information and protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unlawful access, modification and disclosure.

The transmission and exchange of information is carried out at your own risk. We cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us, or receive from us. Although we take measures to safeguard against unauthorised disclosures of information, we cannot assure you that personal information that we collect will not be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy.

4.8 Complaints
If you have any complaints about our privacy practices, please feel free to send in details of your complaint to admin@equalityinstitute.org. We take complaints very seriously and will respond shortly after receiving written notice of your complaint.

4.9 Changes to policy
Please be aware that we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time changes to reflect our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. All modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on our website or notice board. Please check back from time to time to review our Privacy Policy.