1. About HFESA
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia Inc (HFESA) is the professional organisation of ergonomists and human factors specialists in Australia. Its purpose is to promote the principles and practice of ergonomics throughout the community.
Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people.
The HFESA is managed through an Executive and Board, comprising representatives from all branches.
The HFESA is one of 42 federated societies worldwide that comprises the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).
2. Collecting Information
Personal Information
HFESA's policy is to protect members' privacy and personal information while complying with relevant legislation. The HFESA is required to comply with the Privacy Act, 1988 and the National Privacy Principles included in the Privacy Act (Private Sector) Amendment Act 2000, which form an addendum to this policy.
Personal information is collected by HFESA for the primary purpose of maintaining a register of members, as required by the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 [ACT]. HFESA also collects information for secondary purposes, including communicating with members on professional matters and enabling members to communicate with each other.
The personal information HFESA collects and stores is limited to:
Contact Information
- Name - preferred, titles, postnominals
- Address - private, business and mailing
- Phone/s, fax, email and website details
Employment and Educational Details
- Qualifications, education and academic history, skills
- Work history - employers, positions
Other Information
When you visit this website, our web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical or maintenance purposes:
- Your server or IP address (the name or number which uniquely identify the computer through which you are connected to the Internet)
- The address of the referring site
- The date and time of your visit
- Your top level domain name (eg .org.au, gov.au etc)
- The address of the pages accessed and the documents downloaded
- The type of browser you used
When you use a form on our website, we may store the information submitted in that form in order to help us provide you with a service. If you provide information to us via one of our website forms, your IP address may be stored with the form submission data for security purposes.
If you have access to the client login area of our website, we may store additional information about you in our website database such as your name, your contact details, and other information related to the services that we provide to you, for the purpose of personalising our service to you and offering a more relevant service.
If you post a note or comment on one of our feedback or community communications systems - such as our forums or our blogs - the information that you submit in the comment form will be recorded in our website database in connection with the topic or discussion upon which you made the comment.
3. Failure to Provide Required Information
Failure to provide the information sought by HFESA for the purposes detailed above will prevent HFESA processing membership applications and/or may prevent access to specific services (upgrade to professional membership, provisions of benefits and membership discounts).
4. Security of Your Personal Information
To prevent any unauthorised access to personal information, HFESA has installed computer and network security, including encryption and password protection processes. Cookies are activated on the website to record aggregate visit details - they are not utilised for identification purposes.
Hard copies of any information are stored in a locked office and equivalent off site secured storage areas. Electronic copies of information are stored with an offsite computer data storage contractor.
5. Disclosure of Information
Personal Information
Personal information will only be used or disclosed by HFESA as allowed by the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Privacy Principles included in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act, 2000. This includes compliance with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 to:
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maintain and provide an accessible register of all members, their contact details and their membership number, and
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maintain and provide contact details for all Board members.
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The Secretariat has access to all personal information provided. Authorised office holders of HFESA have access to limited data for specific purposes, e.g. determining grades of membership. Contractors will have access to contact details for specific purposes e.g. mail distribution of Ergonomics Australia, the professional journal of HFESA.
Financial information will be used for the purposes of:
- obtaining fees for services and products only on member authorisation, and
- transferring money to the member's account for reimbursement of approved expenses.
HFESA may also have cause to provide member contact details for debt recovery.
Other Information
We will not disclose information you provide to us or any information that identifies you or your browsing activity in our web server logs to a third party party without your consent, unless required to do so by law.
The information we collect is used in the following ways:
- We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our website. Your IP address is used to gather broad demographic information in our web server log files, but it is not logged in our web server logs against your personal information.
- If your IP address was stored as part of one of our form submissions, we only use this connection to assist with keeping our website and your information secure from unauthorised access or tampering.
- If you provide us with your email address in one of our website forms - for example our email subscription form, or our request for services form - we will use that email address for the purpose of contacting you in relation to the relevant service.
- Any details you provide to us (including but not limited to your email address) will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided them.
- If you post a note or comment on one of our feedback or community communications systems - such as our forums or our blogs - that information will be disclosed to other users who have access to the same website page. If the page is publicly visible, the information you submitted will be publicly visible.
6. Members Access to Their Personal Information
Personal information is currently retained in a hard copy file and in the members' section of the HFESA Website. Members can access their personal information via the members' portal on the website and determine the level of ‘visibility' of their contact details to other members.
Members may print contact information from the website.
Members may also view or seek copies of information retained in their personal file. An administrative fee may be charged for providing this service.
7. Changing Personal Information
Members are responsible for renewing and updating contact details via the members' portal on the Website. Each member is prompted to provide this information at initial logon
Members may print the amended information from the website.
For members who prefer not to use the website, there remains the option of writing formally to the Secretariat advising of any required changes.
8. Withdrawing Consent
Members may alter their ‘visibility' status [consent to disclosures] either in writing or via the member's portal. HFESA will then ensure that all personal information is used in accordance with member instructions. This exemption cannot apply where HFESA is required by law to provide such disclosure.
If members do not object to the uses or disclosures as stated above, or withdraw their consent online through the member's portal, HFESA will accept this as having received your express consent.
9. Complaints
For any purpose associated with privacy matters including the lodgement of a complaint, HFESA can be contacted at the Secretariat. All complaints should be addressed IN-CONFIDENCE to the Federal President.
10. Use of Contractors / Suppliers and Others
In the provision of services to members, HFESA will have occasion to engage contractors and suppliers, including the provision of secretariat support.
Where such contactors will have access to information on members, contractors will be required to confirm compliance with this policy and/or provide details of the measures they employ to protect the integrity of information provided to them.