At the Deaf Society, we want your experience to be useful and professional.

When you request a paid service from the Deaf Society, we will need to have your name and billing details and also details for the assignment we will be completing. This enables the Deaf Society to carry out the service that you have paid for and to bill you accordingly.

We take care to protect your privacy, when you contact us in any way.  The Deaf Society never rents, sells, lends or gives away its customer list.

A professional service
The Deaf Society only collects information that is necessary for what we do. We always outline who we are, the purpose of our communication and what we intend to do with your information. We will always answer any questions you have in regard to your personal information. We only collect information by lawful and fair means.

How do we use your personal information?
The information that we collect from you is used to:

• provide you with the service that you have requested
• bill you for the service that you have utilised
• respond to your enquiries
• internal reporting and statistical data
• gain your feedback on the service that we have provided

We do not keep a list of customers for use for any other purpose. 

Protection of personal information
The Deaf Society does not pass any one's personal information to a third party (unless required by law), without the customer's permission. The only instance in which a third party may have your personal information is during mail house distribution of our appeals and information mailouts. The organisations which conduct mailing activities on our behalf are also bound by confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. They will not use your information for any other purpose than that specified by the Deaf Society.

The Deaf Society may also disclose your details when locating an interpreter or a presenter to provide a service to you. The details disclosed will be minimal and only of the nature for the service to be provided effectively.

The Deaf Society takes all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

Storage of personal information
All personal information that is kept is filed by date. It is kept on the Deaf Society premises or at the Deaf Society's secure storage unit for a period of 7 years at which time it is destroyed.

At all times, any notes, forms, files containing personal information will be secured in a central locked filing cabinet and can only be accessed by Deaf Society service staff and the Executive Directors.

All computer generated correspondence is created and stored on password protected computers, ensuring that no unauthorised access can occur.

Clients and unauthorised visitors are not allowed access to the main office area, thereby eliminating any opportunity to access files and computers stored in this area.

In the event that files need to be transported between Deaf Society offices, they will be hand delivered by a service staff member or delivered by registered post. If a file must be taken to a meeting it will be secured by the staff member at all times and returned to the central files at the completion of the meeting. At no time will the file be left unattended.

Can I access my own information?
The Deaf Society is happy to allow you access to any of your personal information that is recorded at the Deaf Society. You may also contact us to correct any of your personal details.

Telephone /TTY contact with DSNSW
When contacting the Deaf Society by voice telephone, the conversation will not be recorded in any way (eg. audio recording). If you contact the Deaf Society by TTY, the conversation may be recorded via a TTY printer. If the contents of the conversation are to be recorded for a message or to be kept on file, they will be handwritten as would be the case in a voice conversation. Immediately after the message/file note has been written, the printout will be discarded.

Contacting DSNSW
The Deaf Society takes the issues of privacy and confidentiality very seriously. If you would like to discuss our policy or enquire about your personal information currently on our files, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are concerned or would like to make a complaint about our privacy procedures, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have any unresolved concerns, you may have them addressed in accordance with the Deaf Society complaints procedure.