Privacy

1. We respect your privacy

We respect your right to privacy and are committed to safeguarding the personal information of our members and website visitors. We adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This policy sets out how we collect and treat your personal information.

"Personal information" is information we hold which is identifiable as being about you.

2. Collection of personal information

We collect the following information as part of your membership and participation in BSSA:

First and last name
Email address
Mobile phone number
Postcode (required)
Optional: Home address and/or apiary address
Payment records via Stripe, EFT, Square or cash
Event bookings and attendance records
General website and app usage information (analytics)

Providing home or apiary addresses is optional. Members may opt-in to allow sharing of this data internally (e.g. for swarm collection, bio-security alerts, or committee coordination).

3. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information from you when:

You fill out membership or event registration forms
You interact with our website or mobile app
You make payments via Stripe, EFT, Square, or cash
You opt in to specific services or volunteer roles
You communicate with us by email, phone, or in person

We may receive information from third parties (e.g. Stripe, Member Jungle) and treat that information in accordance with this Policy.

4. Use of your personal information

We use your personal information to:

Administer your membership
Communicate important updates (e.g. meetings, renewals, alerts)
Coordinate local swarm collection and bee health initiatives
Advocate for policies relating to bee bio-security (e.g. Varroa, AFB)
Improve our website, services, and event organisation

We may contact you via email, SMS, phone, or mail.

5. Disclosure of your personal information

Your information is never shared without your permission. With your explicit opt-in, we may:

Share your contact/address data with designated BSSA committee members or swarm coordinators
Include your details in internal-only directories for beekeeping coordination

We may disclose personal information if legally required (e.g. subpoena, law enforcement).

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not transfer your data to overseas recipients unless required by our software providers (e.g. Stripe). If international data handling occurs, we aim to ensure compliance with Australian privacy laws.

6. Security of your personal information

We are committed to securing your personal data via:

Encrypted payment processing (Stripe, Square)
Secure hosting through our membership platform (Member Jungle)
Controlled internal access to data by authorised committee members only

Despite our best efforts, no method of internet transmission is 100% secure. You acknowledge this risk when interacting with our systems.

7. Access to your personal information

You may request access to or correction of your personal information by emailing us at office@bees.org.au. We may charge a small admin fee.

We may refuse access where permitted under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), but we’ll always provide reasons.

8. Complaints about privacy

If you have a concern or complaint about how we handle your data, please email office@bees.org.au. We take complaints seriously and aim to respond promptly.

If you are not satisfied with our handling, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

9. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this policy at any time. Updates will be posted on www.bees.org.au and, where appropriate, communicated by email.

10. Website & App Usage

When visiting our website or mobile app, we may collect basic technical info (e.g. browser, device, referral site) and use cookies to improve your experience.

You may disable cookies in your browser, but this may impact functionality.

Our site may link to external websites — we are not responsible for their content or privacy practices.