Privacy Policy

Name	The Social Deck
Phone	0491 617 118 or 0458 228 142
Email	engage@thesocialdeck.com
Website	www.thesocialdeck.com.au

Discussion Board – Privacy Statement

The National Autism Strategy Discussion Board is being managed by The Social Deck PTY LTD (ACN 600 044 728). The Discussion Board is operated by The Social Deck using software licensed from Social Pinpoint.

The Social Deck has been engaged by the Department of Social Services to facilitate community engagement and consultation with respect to the development of the National Autism Strategy (the Consultation)]. As part of the Consultation, the Social Deck is inviting individuals to engage in a discussion and exchange of ideas on the National Autism Strategy Discussion Board (the Discussion Board).

For details on how The Social Deck collects and protects your personal information, please refer to the Privacy Policy below. For details of how Social Pinpoint handles your personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint’s Privacy Policy.

Your personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).

The Social Deck respects and upholds your rights under the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) (“Privacy Act”). More information about how we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy.

This privacy collection notice is designed to ensure you are aware of certain matters in relation to The Social Deck’s collection of your personal information, as required by the Privacy Act.

What is the purpose of the collection?

The Social Deck is inviting participants to provide their views on the National Autism Strategy Discussion Paper. Participant’s ideas and experiences will assist in developing the National Autism Strategy and identifying actions needed to improve outcomes for Autistic people.

Participants are invited to submit their views on this Discussion Board by:

posting their ideas and experiences about the topics in the Discussion Board; and/or

responding to, or commenting on, other people’s ideas and experiences.

Contributing to the Discussion Board is completely voluntary, and there will be future opportunities to provide your thoughts and opinions on the National Autism Strategy if you do not wish to engage in the Discussion Board.

As part of your engagement with the Discussion Board, we will not ask for you to provide your name or contact information (such as your email, phone number, or address). You can choose to remain anonymous.

The Social Deck’s intention is for individuals who wish to submit their views on the Discussion Board to have the choice to not be identified or to be reasonably identifiable. However, even where individuals choose to remain anonymous, it is possible that the individual may still be identifiable due to various factors (such as information they disclose in their posts or responses to other people). Where The Social Deck is able to identify you or can reasonably identify you or another person from anything you post, we will handle your response in accordance with the Privacy Act, as it will be ‘personal information’ that has been collected by The Social Deck. Any personal information provided on the Discussion Board will also be collected by Social Pinpoint and they will also handle this information in accordance with the Privacy Act.

What is ‘personal information’ and ‘sensitive information’?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information. It includes information or an opinion about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of associations or unions, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, or health, genetic or biometric information.

What personal information we collect

Participants are NOT required to disclose any personal information as part of participating in the Discussion Board. Participants do not need to create an account to participate. Participants are required to include a ‘Screen name’ with their response BUT this can be a pseudonym. This allows participants to remain anonymous.

Participants are asked not to provide any personal information about themselves or others through their participation in the Discussion Board. However, it is possible that you may disclose or inadvertently disclose personal or sensitive information through your participation in the Discussion Board. This may include information such as:

Your name and email address;

Whether you are an individual, or someone who works for an organisation (including the name of that organisation);

Identity details relating to your gender, your age, whether you identify as having a disability, and your ethnicity,

Your geographic and demographic information (including your work sector, your housing status, and whether you have experienced family, domestic, or sexual violence or another form of gender-based violence);

Your personal views about the National Autism Strategy, including a statement that those views are from a lived experience; and

Other personal information (including sensitive information, such as information about a disability).

This information is not required to enable you to participate in the Discussion Board. Any posts or responses that you make on the Discussion Board should omit any information that you are not comfortable providing. How we collect your personal information

We will collect information from you directly if you choose to post on the Discussion Board.

Why we collect your personal information

We will use the information you provide in your posts and comments to inform the development of the National Autism Strategy. All views will be considered.

Responses collected through your participation on the Discussion Board will be summarised in a report to Government, that provides them with key themes and aggregated analysis of the topics, ideas, and issues raised by participants. Responses may be quoted or reproduced in the report. Any sensitive or personally identifiable information will be removed from responses before including them in the report.

Who we disclose your personal information to

We may disclose personal information you choose to provide to the following people, organisations or third parties:

Social Pinpoint, the provider of the discussion board software.
The Department of Social Services
entities contracted to provide services to assist The Social Deck or the Department of Social Services with the development of the Strategy, where required (which may include entities contracted to the Department to provide information technology, accessibility, analysis and editing services);
individuals within agencies, organisations and bodies that will be working with the Department of Social Services on the development of the Strategy, including Ministers and their staff, state and territory governments, and advisory groups to the Australian Government;
individuals within agencies, organisations and bodies who are working on autism policy; and related matters
other parties where the disclosure is authorised by law.

All entities that may receive the information are subject to strict confidentiality, privacy, and security obligations.

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