Introduction
The Science Teachers Association New South Wales is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association regulated by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth) (ACNC Act).
STANSW is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which regulate how personal information is collected, used, stored and disclosed.
STANSW complies with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of any eligible data breach.
This Privacy Policy describes how STANSW manages personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act, including the APPs, and other applicable Australian privacy laws.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to outline our privacy practices including how we collect and manage personal information, how it may be accessed and corrected, and how to make a complaint on a breach of privacy.
Our primary goal in collecting personal information is to facilitate communication between the Association and our many stakeholders, including members in order to provide the best possible service.
This policy also explains the rights of individuals in relation to their personal information and how those rights may be exercised.
Definitions
Personal Information “information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.”
Members are those who have once been or are currently financial members of The Science Teachers Association NSW.
Non-members are those who are not financial members of The Science Teachers Association NSW.
Stakeholder refers to any person, student, committee member, association, corporation or organisation that has relationships, whether formal or informal, with The Science Teachers Association NSW.
Consent means voluntary, informed, current and specific agreement by an individual to the collection, use or disclosure of their personal information.
Eligible Data Breach has the meaning given in Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Scope
This policy applies to Council, all committees, staff, stakeholders and volunteers. The STANSW Executive has overall responsibility for the management of legal compliance obligations across the organisation and the upholding of a positive compliance culture.
This policy applies to all personal information handled by STANSW, whether in electronic or hard copy form, and includes information held by third-party service providers engaged by STANSW.
Policy Statements
1. We recognise the importance of protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information (PII) collected about our members and other stakeholders.
2. We commit to using personal information only for the stated purpose for which it was provided. Consent will be sought and gained before The Science Teachers Association NSW would disclose any information to a third party.
3. We take reasonable steps to implement practices, procedures and systems that will ensure we comply with Privacy Laws and to deal with related enquiries and complaints, including mandatory training for all our staff.
4. Where required, STANSW will seek express and informed consent, particularly when collecting sensitive information or disclosing information to third parties.
5. STANSW takes additional care when collecting personal information about children under 18 years of age. Parental or guardian consent will be obtained where required, including for the collection and use of images.
6. By providing personal information to The Science Teachers Association NSW, members consent to the use, storage and disclosure of that information as described in this privacy policy.
7. The Privacy Act requires The Science Teachers Association NSW to include specific matters in this privacy policy. These are addressed and set out in Appendix A below.
8. The Science Teachers Association NSW may, from time to time, review and update this privacy policy to take into account new laws and technology, changes to operations and practices and to ensure it remains appropriate to the changing environment we operate in. We will notify individuals by posting an updated version of the policy on our website.
9. We acknowledge and support the right of members’ and stakeholders’ to report, if there is a belief that their privacy has been breached in any way. Contact email [email protected].
10. Continued engagement with STANSW after a policy update constitutes acknowledgement of the updated policy.
11. This privacy policy along with Appendix A also constitutes the ‘Privacy Management Plan’ for the purposes of section 33(2) of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW)
12. In the event of a suspected or actual data breach, STANSW will act promptly to assess, contain and mitigate any risk, in accordance with our internal cyber security procedures (See related Cyber Security Policy).
Privacy Complaints
STANSW supports the right of individuals to make a complaint if they believe their privacy has been breached.
Privacy complaints should be made in writing to:
Executive Officer
Email: [email protected]
STANSW will:
• acknowledge complaints within a reasonable timeframe;
• investigate the complaint promptly and fairly; and
• provide a written response outlining the outcome.
If an individual is not satisfied with STANSW’s response, they may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Data Breaches
In the event of a suspected or actual data breach, STANSW will promptly:
• assess the breach;
• take steps to contain and mitigate risks; and
• notify affected individuals and the OAIC where required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
(See related Cyber Security Policy.)
Responsibilities and policy owner
Approving Authority: Council
Governing Authority: Executive
Responsible Officer: Executive Director
Authorisation
21 February 2026
THE SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION NSW
Appendix A
When does The Science Teachers Association NSW collect PII?
The Science Teachers Association NSW collects personally identifiable information when you:
a) apply for The Science Teachers Association NSW membership.
b) register for The Science Teachers Association NSW Professional Learning Events
c) communicate with STANSW by email, website or other means;
d) work or volunteer with STANSW; act as contractors, sponsors or judges;
I) sponsor The Science Teachers Association NSW projects.
J) volunteer as a The Science Teachers Association NSW Young Scientist Judge marker.
K) to satisfy all legal obligations and to allow The Science Teachers Association NSW to discharge its duty of care.
L) Respond to surveys or questionnaires distributed by The Science Teachers Association NSW
M) Participate in activities that involve collection of shared knowledge or opinions (eg workshops, collaboratives and roundtables).
What Personal Information does The Science Teachers Association NSW collect?
We may collect the following types of personal information depending on how you engage with the Association:
• Name
• Mailing or street address
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Age or birth date
• Profession, occupation or job title
• Credit card details
• Next of Kin
• Health or Medical Information
• Photos
• Work Experience
• NESA Numbers
• Working with Children Identification
• Salary and Payroll
• Complaint Correspondence
• Professional opinions or other information relating to professional practice
• Any information relating to you that you provide to us directly or indirectly through our websites or online presence, through our representatives or otherwise.
How does The Science Teachers Association NSW collect Personal Information?
Email
The Science Teachers Association NSW records email address and personal information in the following instances: when one subscribes to and receives the online newsletters and when feedback is sent via email or electronic forms. For email contact, the Science Teachers Association can identify the email address, server and domain information from the email contact.
Website
While you visit The Science Teachers Association NSW website, The Science Teachers Association NSW can collect the following different kinds of personal information:
a) The Science Teachers Association NSW server makes a record of visits and logs the following personal information: server address top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .net, .edu, etc) time and date of visit to the website pages and documents accessed or viewed type of browser being used.
b) Emails and Electronic Forms: The personal information collected by The Science Teachers Association NSW if you complete and submit one of the electronic forms on our website, will include your email address and may also include some of your personal information. Information collected electronically is stored on a third-party database platform for which we have purchased a license. Some personal information may be stored or processed by third-party service providers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, STANSW will take reasonable steps to ensure that such providers comply with the Australian Privacy Principles or equivalent protections.
c) Cookies: A cookie is a small amount of information stored on your computer by The Science Teachers Association NSW website server. It is information that your web browser sends back to The Science Teachers Association NSW website server whenever you visit it again. Cookies are used to ‘remember’ your browser between page visits. In this situation, the cookie identifies your browser, not you personally. No personal information is stored within The Science Teachers Association NSW cookies.
Purpose and use of collecting PII
The personal information The Science Teachers Association NSW collects from you is used for the following purposes: Website and system administration, including monitoring to prevent security breaches enhancement to the website to the user’s needs communication, statistics, research and development. No attempt is made to identify individual users or their browsing activities other than as disclosed in this privacy statement or as required by law.
Student information is collected by The Science Teachers Association NSW Young Scientist Award program in order to submit projects into the competition, attend state, national and international events.
Personal information from volunteers is collected by STANSW in order to manage volunteer coordination for our conferences and associated activities.
Retention Practices
Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary for its purpose, or as required by law. When no longer required, information is securely destroyed or de‑identified.
Some personal information may be stored or processed by third‑party service providers located outside Australia. Where this occurs, STANSW takes reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients comply with the Australian Privacy Principles or equivalent privacy protections.
Publication of PII
The Science Teachers Association NSW will only publish personal information on this website if it has been collected for this purpose with your knowledge, or if you have otherwise consented to the disclosure. Information and opinions provided in surveys and workshops may be published in reports for internal or external use. All information will be published in a non-identifiable format unless express consent is received. When giving such consent you should be aware that personal information published on this website is widely accessible to users from all over the world, that it will be indexed by search engines and that it may be copied and used by any web user. This means that, once the personal information is published on this website, we will have no control over its subsequent use and disclosure. For example, participation in any open forum services may involve submitting your email address and personal information into the public domain. All personal information collected by The Science Teachers Association NSW is protected by the Privacy Act (Cth) 1988 and any subsequent Federal legislation. Information on the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 can be found on the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website http://www.privacy.gov.au/.
Access to The Science Teachers Association NSW’s record of your PII
Individuals may request access to or correction of their personal information. Requests will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act, subject to any lawful exceptions.
Security of PII
We may hold your information in either electronic or hard copy form. Personal information is stored in secured premises or in electronic offshore databases that require passwords and logins. The Science Teachers Association NSW takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information is protected from loss, misuse, interference or unauthorised access or alteration or disclosure. These include secure storage of paper records and password protected access to computerised records. It is our standard practice to destroy or de-identify your personal information once it is no longer needed.
The Science Teachers Association NSW website does not provide facilities for the secure transmission of information across the Internet. You should be aware that transmitting personal information via the Internet poses inherent risks. You should also note that if you link to a non-Science Teachers Association NSW website from the Science Teachers Association NSW website, you will not be covered by this policy. Therefore, once you leave this website, you should check the online privacy and security statements of the new website you are visiting.
Your options
If you have created a user account on our website, you can change your communication preferences at any time, you will also have the option of unsubscribing from correspondence. by following the instructions at the end of The Science Teachers Association NSW E-News e-mail, or by contacting The Science Teachers Association NSW at any time. You may also opt not to provide certain personal information when completing application/registration and other such forms.
Disclosure of personal information
STANSW may disclose personal information, only with consent;
• to service providers assisting STANSW operations;
• to regulatory bodies where required by law;
Questions and comments
For questions and comments on this policy please contact:
Science Teachers’ Association of NSW
P: 02 9763 2751
E: [email protected]