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Privacy policy 

Your privacy is important to us

1.  About This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out how Viridian Research and Consulting (‘Viridian’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) (ABN 40 485 758 317) will treat Personal Information – how we collect, use, disclose, manage, store, retain and dispose of Personal Information and your rights to access and correct your Personal Information that we hold.

In this policy ‘Personal Information’ has the same meaning as under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’). Although we intend to observe this Privacy Policy at all times, it is not legally binding on Viridian in any way. From time to time, we may regard it as necessary or desirable to act outside this Privacy Policy. Viridian may do so, subject only to any other applicable contractual rights you have and any statutory rights you have under the Privacy Act or other applicable legislation.

 

2.  Our Commitment

Viridian is committed to upholding your rights concerning your Personal Information. We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’) a copy of which can be obtained from The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au. Viridian also adheres to the Code of Professional Behaviour (‘Code’) as outlined by The Research Society, a copy of which can be obtained at www.researchsociety.com.au. Collectively, the Privacy Act and the Code, govern how we collect, use, disclose, manage, store, retain and dispose of your Personal Information.

 

3.  Personal Information We Collect

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. We collect Personal Information from clients (including prospective clients), employees, suppliers (including prospective suppliers), our network, associations, partners with whom we collaborate, the public at large and regulators. The Personal Information we collect could include your:

  • Name;

  • Address (residential, postal or business);

  • Contact number (telephone, mobile);

  • Email address;

  • Gender;

  • Age;

  • Marital status;

  • Family or household structure;

  • Education level and history;

  • Occupation;

  • Employer;

  • Income level;

  • Activities and lifestyle choices; and

  • Behaviours, attitudes and opinions.

The Personal Information we collect may also include audio recordings, video recordings or still images of you and verbal or written testimonials from you.

We may also collect sensitive information including racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.

 

4.  How We Collect Personal Information

This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including through research methodologies (such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, online discussions and workshops), correspondence (such as via phone, email, our website, and your website), from media and publications, from other publicly available sources or cookies.

Where reasonable and practicable to do so, Viridian will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances, we may be provided with information by third parties or a publicly available source (including social media). In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party, seek your consent or assume you would reasonably expect us to collect your Personal Information in this way. Viridian does not collect government-related identifiers unless we are required by law or it is necessary to provide our products and services. If we receive information about you from a third party and it is not information we need in respect of our business activities, we will destroy or de-identify that information (provided it is lawful to do so).

Whilst you may opt not to provide us with your Personal Information, you should be aware that without this Personal Information, we may not be able to do business with you, employ you, seek your input or feedback or provide you with some of the services and/or products you are seeking.

 

5.  How We Collect and Use Cookies

When you visit our website, we may collect a generic record of your visit, excluding any Personal Information that you may submit (e.g. via an online enquiry form). This generic record is a small data file known as ‘Cookies’ and may include the date and time of the visit, pages accessed and documents downloaded, links that directed you to our website and the server address.

We collect cookies to understand visitors and the behaviour of users on our website. We use cookies to collect statistics and aggregate traffic patterns that measure the effectiveness of our online material, evaluate your online behaviour and improve your online experience of our website.

At any time, you can disable cookies in your browser settings, however, this may prevent you from accessing certain parts or features of our website and allow us to improve your user experience.

 

6.  How We Use Personal Information We Collect

Viridian will only use and disclose your Personal Information to conduct our business activities in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This may include using your Personal Information to:

  • Contact you or re-contact you;

  • Invite you to participate in our research activities, including seeking your opinion;

  • Communicate with you about our research activities, including notifying you about research activities and communicating about any rewards or incentives you may be entitled to;

  • Deliver our services;

  • Ensure quality control of our services;

  • Answer your enquiries;

  • Consider receiving goods or services;

  • Meet our legal obligations;

  • Manage and resolve any legal, consumer or commercial complaints or issues;

  • Promote a testimonial from you;

  • Carry out internal functions; and

  • Conduct other purposes as are relevant to this Privacy Policy.

We will not use or disclose your Personal Information for advertising, promotions or direct marketing activities, without prior consent. If you declined to participate in our research activities or have previously participated in our research activities, we may use your Personal Information to re-contact you for a research purpose if we have valid reasons to believe a genuine research concern warrants such re-contact.

 

7.  When and to Whom We Disclose Personal Information

In the course of conducting our business, we may disclose your Personal Information.

We may disclose your Personal Information to:

  • Companies that provide us with goods or services or perform services on our behalf;

  • Professional advisers (such as lawyers or auditors);

  • Payment systems operators, financial institutions, superannuation funds;

  • Organisations authorised by us to conduct promotional, research or marketing activities;

  • Law enforcement agencies or government authorities, upon lawful request to do so;

  • Any persons acting on your behalf including those persons nominated by you, including executors, trustees and legal representatives.

We only disclose Personal Information for the purposes for which it was given to us, or for purposes that are directly related to one of our functions or activities. We do not give it to anyone else unless one of the following applies:

  • You have consented to the disclosure;

  • You would reasonably expect, or have been told, that your information is passed to those individuals, businesses or agencies; or

  • It is otherwise required or authorised by law.

When we conduct our research activities we may rely on third-party service providers to host or store the data we collect, who are located overseas. In most cases, this survey data and research information will not be personally identifiable. In all circumstances, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure any service providers (and their employees and contractors) comply with the Privacy Act and this Privacy Policy and/or are subject to similar privacy laws and that you can enforce those rights.

 

8.  How We Manage, Store and Secure Personal Information

We manage and store Personal Information in computer servers, cloud-based storage facilities, paper-based files and other records. Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. These steps include password protection, access privileges for accessing our IT system, and physical access restrictions to paper files.

When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. Viridian’s usual practice is to de-identify any data used in research activities within 90 days of the completion of a project. Personal Information collected for purposes other than carrying out research activities may be kept for up to 7 years.

You should keep in mind that the transmission of information over the Internet is not completely secure or error-free. In particular, e-mail sent to or from our website may not be secure, and you should therefore take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail.

 

9.  How You Can Access and Correct Personal Information

You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date and we will take reasonable steps to make sure that it is so. If you find that the Personal Information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.

If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.

Viridian will not charge any fee for your access request but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.

To protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.

 

10.  How to Make an Enquiry or Complaint

If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy or wish to get in touch about your Personal Information, please contact us at:

Privacy Officer
Viridian Research and Consulting
PO Box 808, Carnegie, VIC, 3163
admin@viridianresearch.com.au
+61 (0)404 101 190

If you consider your privacy concerns have not been resolved satisfactorily by us, or you wish to obtain more information on privacy requirements, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or visit their website at www.oaic.gov.au.

 

11.  Updates to This Privacy Policy

This policy is effective from July 2023 and replaces all previous versions of our Privacy Policy. We may change this policy from time to time and recommend you review the information on our website regularly.

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