Privacy policy 

1. definitions and interpretations
   1. Definitions
2. In this Privacy Policy, unless, the context otherwise requires:
   1. Cotton Australia/we/us/our means Cotton Australia Limited ACN 054 122 879;
      1. Personal Information has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act;
      2. Permitted General Situation has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act;
      3. Permitted Health Situation has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act;
      4. Privacy Act means Privacy Act 1988 (Cth);
      5. Sensitive Information has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act; and
      6. You means a natural person.
   2. Interpretation
3. In this Privacy policy, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1. A reference to:
      1. one gender includes the other genders;
         1. the singular includes the plural and the plural includes the singular;
         2. a person includes a natural person, partnership, body corporate, joint venture, association, government, authority, agency or other entity;
         3. a party includes that party's executors, administrators, successors and permitted assigns;
         4. a document is to that document as amended, novated or replaced from time to time;
         5. “including" and similar expressions are not words of limitation;
         6. a statute, regulation or provision of a statute or regulation ("Statutory Provision") includes:
            1. that Statutory Provision as amended or re-enacted from time to time; and
            2. a statute, regulation or provision enacted in replacement of that Statutory Provision, or if relevant, the predecessor to that statute, regulation or provision;
      2. where a word or expression is given a particular meaning, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of that word or expression have a corres­ponding meaning;
      3. if a party consists of more than one person, this Privacy Policy applies to them jointly and each of them severally;
      4. headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation or form part of this Privacy policy;
      5. words defined in the Privacy Act have the same meaning in this Privacy Policy.
4. respecting your privacy
   1. This Privacy Policy explains how Cotton Australia:
      1. handles your Personal Information;
         1. manages Personal Information provided to Cotton Australia or collected by Cotton Australia; and
         2. can be contacted if you have any privacy concerns about your Personal Information.
      2. Cotton Australia is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).
5. What kinds of personal information does cotton australia collect?
   1. Cotton Australia may collect different types of personal information from you, depending on how you interact with us. In addition to the types of information Cotton Australia may collect from you listed below, Cotton Australia may collect and hold additional Personal Information about you which is reasonably necessary for one or more of Cotton Australia’s functions or activities.
      1. The kinds of Personal Information Cotton Australia collects and holds about you could include (but is not limited to):
         1. identification information such as your:
            1. name;
            2. postal or street address;
            3. email address;
            4. telephone numbers;
            5. date of birth;
         2. other information that we consider necessary for the provision and promotion of our products and services and the operation of Cotton Australia;
         3. financial details;
         4. photographs, film and/or recordings or any other digital representation;
         5. device information, such as which browser you use, your operating system language and how you use your device; and
         6. your location or activity including IP address and geolocation data based on the GPS on your mobile device (when accessing our services), and whether you have accessed third party sites.
6. What sensitive information does cotton australia collect?

Cotton Australia may only collect Sensitive Information about you with your consent (unless the collection of such information without obtaining your consent is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order or a Permitted General Situation or Permitted Health Situation exits) and which is reasonably necessary for one of Cotton Australia’s functions or activities.

1. when the law authorises or requires cotton australia to collect information

Cotton Australia may collect Personal Information about you because we are required or authorised by an Australian law or court or tribunal order to do so. Cotton Australia will endeavour to tell you if this is the case and let you know the details of the law, court or tribunal order.

1. how does cotton australia collect and hold your personal information?
   1. We assume, unless you tell us otherwise, you consent to the collection of Personal Information and Sensitive Information that you provide to us (either directly or indirectly) for use and disclosure by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
      1. Personal Information collected by Cotton Australia: Cotton Australia collects Personal Information in a number of ways. For example, Cotton Australia will generally collect Personal Information directly from you such as through the completion of forms, face-to-face meetings and interviews, emails, telephone calls, digital devices and other electronic means. In addition, when you use Cotton Australia’s websites we may collect information about your IP address, location or activity.
      2. Personal Information collected from third parties: In some circumstances Cotton Australia may collect Personal Information about you from a third party. For example, we may collect publicly available information about you from public registers such as ASIC’s registers or from third parties such as a reference, the BMP certified entity that you are employed by or an owner of.
      3. Cotton Australia may combine Personal Information it collects from you with Personal Information we collect from third parties.
      4. Anonymity: If it is lawful and practicable to do so, you may deal with Cotton Australia anonymously or by using a pseudonym. For example, when you make a general enquiry to Cotton Australia. However, in some cases where it is unlawful or impracticable for Cotton Australia to deal with you without you identifying yourself or if you are using a pseudonym and you do not identify yourself, Cotton Australia may not be able to deal with you.  
2. How will cotton australia use the personal information you provide?

Cotton Australia collects, holds uses and may disclose Personal Information so we can:

1. provide information;
   1. provide services;
      1. consider an application made to Cotton Australia;
      2. process applications;
      3. respond to your enquires, requests, complaints, conduct market research, take any required legal action;
      4. identity you or verify your authority to act on behalf of an entity dealing with us;
      5. run our business and perform administrative and operational tasks;
      6. conduct marketing;
      7. comply with our obligations under applicable laws, regulations and codes.
2. What will cotton australia do if it receives personal information it did not ask for?
   1. If Cotton Australia receives unsolicited Personal Information, Cotton Australia will endeavour to within a reasonable period of receiving such information determine whether or not the information is relevant for the functions or activities of Cotton Australia and whether it is permitted or required to retain it and in doing so may use or disclose the Personal Information for the purposes of making the decision or whether it should destroy it.
      1. If Cotton Australia is required to retain the unsolicited Personal Information it will endeavour to handle the Personal Information the same way as if it had collected the Personal Information.
3. what if you do not want to provide cotton australia with your personal information?

If Cotton Australia does not collect your Personal Information or you do not provide your Personal Information to Cotton Australia, Cotton Australia may not be able to:

1. provide you with information;
   1. provide you with a service;
      1. manage or administer the service to you;
      2. verify your identity;
      3. progress your application or an application of an entity you act on behalf of; or
      4. carry out one or more purposes for which it collects, uses, holds and discloses personal information.
2. Who might Cotton Australia disclose personal information to?
   1. Cotton Australia may use your Personal Information to send you information and publications (such as newsletters and magazines, websites and social media platforms). You can contact us at any time (see details below) if you no longer wish to receive marketing or publication materials from us.
      1. There are a range of people and organisations to whom Cotton Australia may disclose Personal Information. The particular party Cotton Australia discloses Personal Information to will depend on the dealings you have with us. For example, Cotton Australia may disclose Personal Information, held about you to:
         1. organisations involved in debt collecting, including purchasers of debt;
         2. people providing services to Cotton Australia;
         3. recipients of Cotton Australia publications, such as newsletters and magazines, marketing and promotional material including on websites and through social media platforms;
         4. service providers that maintain, review and assist with the development of our business, business systems, procedures, technology infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems, marketing, operational, professional and other services;
         5. other organisations involved in our normal business practices, including our agents, contractors, accountants, auditors, lawyers and other external advisers;
         6. government or regulatory bodies as required or authorised by law;
         7. a successor and assign;
         8. a buyer of its business;
         9. anyone you authorise Cotton Australia to disclose information to; or
         10. anyone to whom we are required to or authorised to disclose the information to by law.
      2. Sending information overseas: Cotton Australia may disclose Personal Information about you to overseas recipients, for instance, when storing Personal Information with technology service providers which are situated outside Australia. Cotton Australia will endeavour to only disclose Personal Information to overseas service providers when it is necessary for the services they provide to us.
      3. The countries in which these overseas service providers are likely to be located is the United States.
3. Management and security of personal information
   1. We mostly hold Personal Information electronically in our IT systems, secure servers and databases, but we also may hold Personal Information in paper records.
      1. We may store Personal Information physically or electronically with third party storage providers.
      2. The security of your Personal Information is important to Cotton Australia and we take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including by:
         1. maintaining appropriate document storage and data security policies;
         2. taking reasonable steps so access to personal information is only provided to authorised persons;
         3. password access rights to computerised records.
      3. Cotton Australia’s staff are also required to respect the confidentiality of Personal Information.
      4. If Cotton Australia holds Personal Information it no longer need and we are not required by law to keep it, we will endeavour to destroy or de-identify the Personal Information.
4. Access and correction of personal information
   1. You can request access to any Personal Information which Cotton Australia holds about you and request Cotton Australia to correct any inaccuracies in Personal Information it holds about you by making a request in writing to Cotton Australia (see details below). Cotton Australia will endeavour to respond to a request to access your Personal Information within a reasonable period after the request is made.
      1. Cotton Australia will require you to verify your identity and specify what information you require. Cotton Australia cannot give you information about anyone else.
      2. Making a request is free, however, Cotton Australia may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of verifying your request and locating, retrieving, reviewing and copying any material requested. The fee will not be excessive, and Cotton Australia will endeavour to advise the likely cost in advance.
      3. Cotton Australia will endeavour to allow access or make the changes requested by you to your Personal Information, unless, we consider the Privacy Act or another relevant law requires us to withhold the information, or not make the changes. If we cannot provide you with access to that information, we will endeavour to provide you with written notice explaining the reasons for refusal. If we refuse you access or to correct your Personal Information, you can make a complaint about this, by following the complaint procedures in this Privacy Policy (see details below).
      4. The Privacy Act permits an organisation to deny access to Personal Information in certain circumstances, including where giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals.
      5. Please contact us if your contacts details change of if you believe we hold incorrect information about you.
5. Enquiries and complaints
   1. If you would like further information about the way Cotton Australia manages the Personal Information it holds, or if you have a concern that you believe Cotton Australia has breached the Australian Privacy Principles please contact:

General Manager - Operations

Level 4, 247 Coward Street

Mascot NSW 2020

talktous@cotton.org.au

02 9669 5222

1. Cotton Australia will endeavour to investigate any complaint, and respond to you as soon as we can. We will endeavour to try to do this within 10 working days of receiving your complaint. If this is not possible, we will endeavour to contact you and let you know when we will respond to your complaint. We will endeavour to notify you of the making of a decision in relation to your complaint as soon as is practicable after it has been made.
   1. Cotton Australia will endeavour to deal with all complaints fairly and promptly, however, if you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (in writing):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

1300 363 992

enquiries@oaic.gov.au   

1. Using other websites

Cotton Australia’s websites may contain links or references to other websites to which this Privacy Policy may not apply. You should review the Privacy Policy of each of those websites and assess whether those policies are acceptable to you before using those websites.

1. Changes to this Privacy Policy
   1. Cotton Australia may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy to take account of new laws and technology, changes to Cotton Australia’s operations and practices and to make sure it remains appropriate.
      1. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will be published on our website.
      2. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 30 June 2023.