myOTsa is dedicated to managing and safeguarding the rights of clients, ensuring their privacy is upheld and that personal information is used solely for the purposes for which it was collected.

All personal information held by myOTsa is protected under the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012.

Policy
myOTsa is committed to protecting the right to privacy of clients and representatives of partner agencies.  We prioritise our clients' rights to privacy in the collection, storage, and use of their information, including details about their needs and the services provided to them.

myOTsa adheres to the requirements of the NDIS (Quality and Safeguards) Commission and follows the guidelines of the Australian Privacy Principles in our information management practices.

We ensure that each client understands and agrees to the personal information being collected, including any recorded material in audio or visual format.

myOTsa will communicate confidentiality policies to each client using the language, mode of communication, and terminology they are most likely to understand.

myOTsa will ensure that:

- We meet our legal and ethical obligations as a service provider in protecting clients' privacy.
- Clients receive information about their rights concerning privacy and confidentiality.
- Clients are provided with privacy and confidentiality during interviews or discussions of a personal or sensitive nature.
- Clients are made aware of confidentiality policies in terms they can easily comprehend. If necessary, we will seek out interpreters and             utilize accessible materials, such as those available on the NDIS website.

This policy applies to all records, whether in hard copy or electronic format, containing personal information about individuals, as well as to interviews or discussions of a sensitive personal nature.

Procedures

Dealing with Personal Information

In handling personal information, myOTsa will:

- Ensure clients’ privacy during interviews or discussions of personal or sensitive matters.
- Collect and store only the personal information necessary for the organisation's operations and activities.
- Use fair and lawful methods to collect personal information.
- Obtain consent from individuals before collecting personal information.
- Inform individuals about the type of personal information held, its purpose, and how it is collected, used, disclosed, and accessed.
- Ensure that all collected or disclosed personal information is accurate, complete, and current, and provide individuals with the opportunity     to review or correct inaccuracies about their information.
- Take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.
- Properly dispose of or permanently de-identify personal information that is no longer needed or for which legal retention requirements have    expired.
- Make certain that clients understand and agree to the personal information being collected and its purpose.
- Inform clients regarding the rationale behind any recordings made in audio or visual formats; such recordings require written consent.

Client Records

Client records are confidential to clients and staff members directly involved in delivering services. Information may be shared with other parties only with the client's consent or that of their advocate, guardian, or legal representative. All client records will be maintained in a securely protected database accessible only to staff engaged in service delivery for that client.

Responsibilities for Managing Privacy

All staff are responsible for managing the personal information they access during research, consultation, or advocacy work.

The owner of myOTsa is accountable for the content in all myOTsa publications, communications, and on the website. Responsibilities include:

- Obtaining appropriate consent for the inclusion of any personal information about individuals, including myOTsa personnel.
- Ensuring information from other agencies complies with privacy principles.
- Including a clear privacy statement on the website outlining conditions for collecting personal information from.

The owner of myOTsa is also responsible for:

- Ensuring all staff are familiar with the Privacy Policy and procedures for handling personal information.
- Providing clients and relevant individuals with information about their privacy rights.
- Addressing any inquiries or complaints regarding privacy issues.

Privacy Information for Clients

During the initial assessment, clients will be informed about the information being collected, how their privacy will be protected, and their rights concerning that information.

Privacy for Interviews and Personal Discussions

To ensure clients' privacy while discussing sensitive or personal matters, the myOTSA will:

- Collect only the personal information necessary for service provision.
- Ensure all information is provided voluntarily.
- Store this information securely in the myOTsa database.

When in possession of records containing personal information, myOTsa will ensure:

- Records are protected from loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure through reasonable security measures.
- If necessary to provide a service, all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent unauthorised use or disclosure of the records.

myOTsa will not disclose personal information to a third party unless:

- The individual has given consent.
- Disclosure is required or authorised by law.

The following gives a simple overview of what kind of personal information we collect, why we collect them and how we handle your data when you are visiting or using our website. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found below.

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?

The data collected on this website is processed by myOTsa.

How do we collect your data?

Some data is collected when you provide it to us.  This could, for example, be data you enter in a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit and use our website. This data is primarily technical data such as the browser and operating system you are using or when you accessed the website. This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Other data can be used to analyse how visitors use the site.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it your data is corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time via our contact form if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. 

When visiting our website, statistical analyses may be made of your surfing behavior. This happens primarily using cookies and analytics. The analysis of your surfing behavior is usually anonymous, encrypted and pseudonimised, i.e. meaning that we will not be able to identify you through this data. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. Detailed information can be found in the following privacy policy.

Some of our web pages use cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain any viruses. Cookies help make our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called "session cookies." They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain in your device's memory until you delete them. These cookies make it possible to recognise your browser when you next visit the site.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

The website provider automatically collects and stores information which are automatically transmitted by your browser to us in "server log files". These are:

- Browser type and browser version

- Operating system used

- Referrer URL

- Host name of the accessing computer

- Time of the server request

- IP address

This data will not be combined with data from other sources.

Should you send us questions via the a contact form on our website, we will collect the data entered in the form, including the contact details you provide, to answer your question and any follow-up questions. We do not share this information without your permission.

We will retain the data you provide in the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request).