Consumers Health Forum
Policy Name: Privacy Policy
Date of Approval: 5 May 2026
Approved By: Chief Executive Officer
1. Policy briefs & purpose
Consumer Health Forum (CHF) Privacy Policy explains how our organisation protects your Personal Information. Along with our Collection Statement, our Privacy Policy lays down the principles by which we collect, store, use and disclose any Personal Information you provide to us or we collect from other sources.
Our Privacy Policy also informs consumers, prospective consumers, stakeholders and any other individuals whose Personal Information is collected, stored, used or disclosed by CHF, about how:
we protect that information
they can access and correct their Personal Information held by us
they can lodge complaints or make any related enquiry.
2. Scope and definitions
All CHF staff are required to comply with this policy.
3. Policy elements
Why we collect, hold, use and disclose information about people
We collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information from individuals in order to fulfil our role as Australia’s peak health consumer representative body and to assist our work in representing the interests of Australian healthcare consumers. Please see below for further information on the specific types of Personal Information that we collect and hold, and the purposes for which we use, hold collect and disclose Personal Information.
What Personal Information we collect, and why
We collect Personal Information about our members, Governing committee members, advocates, consumer representatives, potential consumer representatives, potential staff, stakeholders and other individuals who from time to time contact CHF for advice or participate in CHF activities.
The types of information collected typically include, but are not limited to:
contact details (name, address, telephone number, email address, next of kin)
age, date of birth, gender
Health Information
banking/ details
role/health services provided
connection with CHF
We will take reasonable steps to inform you of the purpose for which we collect your information and explain all the relevant matters of that collection.
We will not use your information for an unrelated secondary purpose unless we obtain your written consent or an exception under law applies, such as it is impracticable to obtain your consent and we believe that collecting, using or disclosing your information is necessary to lessen a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or if the disclosure is required by law.
Consumers
We collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information about consumers in order to assist our work in representing the interests of Australian healthcare consumers.
Stakeholders
We collect hold, use and disclose Personal Information about employees, volunteers and officers from our stakeholders:
to assist our work in representing the interests of Australian healthcare consumers
to pursue collaborative projects and matters of common interest
to distribute information about our activities and publications by way of direct communications/marketing to improve our health system and the health of our clients
where we collect Personal Information about your interests, in order to personalise your interactions with us.
Website visitors
If you visit our website, we will collect information such as your IP address, internet service provider, the web page directing you to our website and your activity on our website. Although this information is usually anonymous, and we do not use it to identify individuals, this information might contain details that identify you because of the nature of internet protocols. This information is also used for statistical purposes to assess and improve the CHF website, and for the purpose of personalising your website visit or to enable remarketing website functionality.
Collecting this information helps us ensure that our information has reached our target audience.
Members and their representatives
We collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information regarding CHF members and their representatives in order to comply with our Constitution and to maintain a membership register under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). We need these details so that we can send out notices of general meetings so members can exercise their rights, administer membership rights, process membership documents, and ensure compliance with applicable legal and regulatory obligations.
We may also supply our membership list to government in order to comply with funding requirements. We also use our member lists to distribute information about our activities and identify people interested in a directorship.
The type of information collected can include:
name
contact details (address, phone, email)
proxy, attorney or representative appointments
class of member
date membership commenced
date membership ceased (for past members).
Prospective employees and directors
We collect Personal Information about prospective employees and directors, that can include their skills, interests, qualifications and experience. We collect, hold, use and disclose this information to:
assess their suitability for potential employment or directorships with us
match them to suitable projects or roles.
Other individuals
CHF may also collect and use Personal Information from other types of individuals for our operational, human resources, research referral or other corporate activities.
We may collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information about individuals from the general public in order to facilitate our research, advocacy and policy. This information is generally de-identified as soon as it is collected.
How we collect your information
Collecting Personal Information
We may collect Personal Information through our marketing, business development, operations, human resources, research, or other activities.
We have a general policy to collect Personal Information directly from you, unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so.
If you are a health provider or stakeholder, we may collect your Personal Information from colleagues, other health providers, other stakeholders, or clients.
In some cases, we collect your Personal Information from public sources (for example national health practitioner register, internet) or through your memberships.
Consumers
CHF collects Personal Information about consumers directly from them unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so
We also collect information about consumers from:
consumers, clients and stakeholders their representatives through forms, agreements, mail, email, telephone, in-person inquiries and website inquiries
our stakeholders and those who we subcontract to
referrers and third parties
publicly available sources of information.
Website visitors
We collect data from our website using various technologies, including cookies. A cookie is a text file that our website sends to your browser to be stored on your computer that allows us to identify your computer. You can set your browser to disable cookies, although this may mean that our website, or parts of it, may not function properly (or at all) on your computer.
Members
We collect members’ Personal Information directly from the member. If you are a proxy or a representative of a CHF member, we collect your details from you or the appointing CHF member.
Prospective employees and directors
We generally collect Personal Information directly from the prospective candidate, but may also collect information from recruitment agents, recruiters, referrers, referees, CHF officers/employees, and other relevant parties.
Others
We collect Personal Information about other types of individuals directly from those individuals.
We may also collect information about them from:
forms, agreements, general inquiries
researchers or contractors engaged by CHF
public sources
Direct Marketing
Collecting information about an individual for marketing to that individual
We may send you marketing communications if we collect information about you, and you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information for the purpose of marketing (including where you consent to receive marketing communication from us). We will use an opt-out procedure in all our marketing communications. This means you will be able to easily unsubscribe from all future marketing communications.
Cross border transfer or disclosure of information
In the event we engage in cross border transfer of Personal Information, we will ensure that adequate security mechanisms are in place to protect your information. For example, we will enter into a contract with the service provider that ensures the information is used for the limited purpose of storing and managing the Personal Information.
Maintaining integrity, currency and safety of your Personal Information
This section explains how CHF holds your Personal Information, how you can access your Personal Information, update your Personal Information, complain about an alleged breach of the APPs or make any related enquiry.
Correcting and maintaining currency of your information
CHF relies on accurate and reliable information to represent the interests of Australian healthcare consumers. If we are satisfied that any of the information we have about you is inaccurate, out-of-date, irrelevant, incomplete or misleading, or you request we correct any information, we will take reasonable steps to correct the information to ensure the information held by us is accurate, up-to-date, complete, relevant and not misleading. Requests to correct Personal Information held by CHF can be made to the Executive Director People and Culture (CHF’s Privacy Officer) using the contact details listed below.
If we disclose your Personal Information that is later corrected and you ask us to notify the entity that received the incorrect information about that correction, we will take reasonable steps to notify the entity unless impractical or unlawful for us to do so.
Should we refuse to correct the information, we will explain the reasons for refusal. We will also show you the complaint procedure if you wish to lodge a formal complaint about our refusal.
Safety of your information
All Personal Information is securely stored using appropriate physical and/or electronic security technology, settings and applications, and by ensuring staff dealing with Personal Information are trained in our privacy policy and procedures. These are designed to protect Personal Information from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, and from misuse, interference and loss.
Accessing your information or lodging a complaint
Accessing information
You are entitled at any time, upon request, to access your Personal Information held by us unless an exception applies under the Privacy Act. We will respond within a reasonable time after the request is made and we will give access to the information in the manner requested by you, unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. We are entitled to charge you a reasonable administrative fee for giving you access to the requested information.
Should you be refused access to your information, we will explain the reasons for refusal - any exceptions under the Privacy Act or other legal basis relied upon as the basis for such refusal – and, if you wish to lodge a formal complaint about our refusal, we will explain the complaint procedure.
Requests for access to Personal Information held by CHF can be made to the Director, People and Culture, CHF using the contact details listed below.
Lodging a complaint
If you wish to complain about a potential breach of this Privacy Policy or the APPs, please contact our Executive Director, People and Culture. The Executive Director, People and Culture will make good faith efforts to investigate the issue and respond within a reasonable period after the complaint is made. See Contact Information below for more details on how to lodge a complaint.
If you are not satisfied with the way we have investigated and addressed your concerns, complaints regarding unreasonable interference with your privacy can also be made directly to the OAIC. Further information can be found on the OAIC’s website at https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/lodge-a-privacy-complaint-with-us
Contact information
Queries, feedback and complaints about CHF’s systems and processes for handling personal information may be directed to:
Executive Director, People and Culture
Consumers Health Forum of Australia
Email: privacyofficer@chf.org.au
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
1300 363 992
Online complaint form:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=APC_PC&tmFormVersion
AUTHORISATION
Chief Executive Officer
05/05/2026
Consumers Health Forum of Australia
