Privacy policy

Last updated: to be set on publication.

1. About this policy

The Society for Natural Capital Accounting (“SoNCA”, “the Society”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a not-for-profit professional association incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory under the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT).

This policy explains what personal information we collect through our website at naturalcapitalaccounting.org and in the course of our activities, how we use and protect it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to members, prospective members, event participants, subscribers and general visitors to our website.

We respect your privacy and handle personal information in a way that is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). As a small not-for-profit, some of these obligations may not currently apply to us as a matter of law, but we have chosen to follow them as a matter of good practice. Because the Society has members and correspondents internationally, we also aim to meet the expectations of comparable frameworks such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where they apply to you.

2. What information we collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our activities as a professional association.

Information you provide to us

This includes information you give us when you:

• apply for or renew membership — for example your name, email address, postal or organisational address, professional background, area of practice and any concession category you claim (such as student status);
• pay membership fees or event fees — payment is processed by a third-party payment provider (see section 5); we do not store your full card details;
• register for the annual meeting, webinars or other events;
• subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list; or
• contact us through a web form or by email, in which case we collect your name, email address and the contents of your message.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, our site and its hosting and analytics providers may automatically record standard technical information, including your IP address, browser type, the pages you view, referring pages and the date and time of access. This is used to keep the site running properly and to understand aggregate visitor traffic. Where possible, IP addresses are anonymised.

Cookies

Our site may use small text files (“cookies”) stored on your device to help the site function and to measure aggregate usage. You can disable or delete cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work as intended if you do.

This site stores one item locally in your browser: your choice of light or dark theme. It is not sent to us and is not used to identify you.

We do not seek to collect sensitive information (such as health, racial or political information) and ask that you do not send it to us.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• process and administer membership, including verifying eligibility and any concession claimed;
• collect fees and issue receipts;
• provide member services and run our forum, events and the annual meeting;
• send you newsletters, notices of meetings, and information about the Society's activities (you can unsubscribe at any time);
• respond to your enquiries; and
• meet our governance, record-keeping and legal obligations as an incorporated association.

We will only use your information for the purpose for which it was provided, or for a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, unless you consent otherwise or we are required or permitted by law.

4. Consent and choice

By providing information to us you consent to us handling it as described in this policy. You can withdraw consent or change your preferences at any time — for example by unsubscribing from a mailing, or by contacting us using the details in section 11. Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide membership or services to you.

5. Disclosure and third parties

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

We share personal information only with trusted service providers who help us operate, and only to the extent needed for them to perform their service. These may include providers of:

• website hosting, which stores site files and server logs;
• payment processing, for membership and event payments;
• email and mailing services, which deliver newsletters and manage subscriptions;
• form and contact services, which deliver messages you send us; and
• analytics, which provide aggregate visitor statistics.

These providers are required to handle your information in accordance with their own obligations and to use it only for the services they provide to us. We may also disclose personal information where required or authorised by law, or to protect the rights, property or safety of the Society, our members or others.

6. Overseas disclosure

Some of our service providers may store or process information on servers located outside Australia. Where this occurs we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with this policy. As the Society grows internationally, we will keep our arrangements for cross-border handling of personal information under review.

7. Storage, security and retention

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We hold most information electronically through the providers described above.

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, or as required for our records as an incorporated association and to meet legal obligations. When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it.

8. External links

Our website contains links to external sites that we do not operate, including partner organisations and technical resources such as the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the content or privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any site you visit.

9. Your rights

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. You can also ask us to stop sending you communications. To make a request, contact us using the details in section 11. We will respond within a reasonable period. There is generally no charge for making a request, though a reasonable cost may apply in some cases.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights — for example under the Australian Privacy Principles or, if you are in the European Union or United Kingdom, under the GDPR, including rights to erasure and to object to certain processing. We will honour these rights where they apply to you.

10. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be able to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au, or with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

11. Contact us

For any questions about this policy, to update your details, or to make a request or complaint, please contact:

The Public Officer
Society for Natural Capital Accounting
inquiries@naturalcapitalaccounting.org
naturalcapitalaccounting.org

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our activities or in the law. The current version will always be available on our website, and we will note the date it was last updated at the top of this page.