Privacy Policy

Blind Low Vision NZ collects information about our supporters, donors, clients and website users, including:

• Personal and health information that you provide voluntarily when completing forms, such as enquiring about Blind Low Vision NZ services, making a donation, or enquiring about volunteer or work opportunities.
• Website usage information through tracking your individual click behaviour.
• Aggregated website traffic information collected by our web server or third party systems we subscribe to.
• Through the recording of your image on CCTV footage in and around some of our offices.
• Aggregated data: this information is generated by our systems as they track traffic through our website. This information does not identify you personally and is not linked to the personally identifiable information that you may have provided.

When we send emails, we may track behaviour such as who opened the emails and who clicked links. This allows us to measure the performance of our email campaigns and to improve their relevance and content.

Wherever possible information is collected directly from the individual themselves.  You are not obliged to provide information although, without it, we may not be able to provide the response or services requested. Sometimes it is necessary to collect information from others such as a treating health practitioner or a family member.  We will discuss with you the services sought and the kind of information required to provide those services.

 

• The aggregated data (not sensitive health information or personally identifiable information) may be shared with third parties such as advertisers or business partners.
• Your personally identifiable information may be shared with third parties when we are authorised or required to do so by law – for example you may consent to disclosure.
• Blind Low Vision NZ sometimes employs contractors, service providers and other third parties to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include print service providers, mail houses and major delivery companies. They have access to the limited personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not keep, use or disclose it for other unauthorised purposes. Our agreements with them protect the information that we collect from any unauthorised use.
• If you are eligible to receive services from Blind Low Vision NZ, we will share your contact details with blindness consumer organisations that provide advocacy services and support – unless you ask us not to.
• We may disclose your information where disclosure is directly related to the purpose for collection of the information.  We will not share your personal information with any other third parties unless legally authorised to do so, for example, where you give your permission.

We have collected your personal information and/or health information in order to provide the best possible service to you.  To this end, we may use the information that you provide for the following purposes, depending on the context in which it is provided:

• to help provide you with services you have requested.
• to assess your eligibility for services provided by Blind Low Vision NZ and to ensure you receive the disability services and supports you are entitled to.
• to assess your eligibility to become a governing member.
• to process your donation or any other transactions you make on our site.
• to offer the most relevant information suitable to you and your interests.
• to improve our website so we can give you a better online experience.
• to measure the performance of our email campaigns and improve their relevance and content.
• for safety and security purposes.
• for staff and business management.
• for associated funding, administration and quality improvement purposes.
• for any other purposes for which you give us permission.

The Privacy Act of 2020 gives you the right to access and correct your personal information.

Please feel free to email generalenquiries@blindlowvision.org.nz or call our Customer Services team on 0800 24 33 33 to talk to us about your personal information or the communication we send you. If you are a donor, you can also email supportercare@blindlowvision.org.nz or call our Supporter Care team on 0800 787 743. We are happy to provide / update / amend any personal information that we hold about you, at any time.

Blind Low Vision NZ communicates with clients, donors and others through different media, depending on the context.  Communication occurs in many ways, including face-to-face, by telephone, letter, email, text and by social media.  Methods of communication change over time, but ensuring safe transmission of personal information is important to us.

Sensitive personal information such as clinical details will only be requested or disclosed by secure means such as direct discussion or letter.  Less sensitive information, such as an appointment reminder, may be sent by text unless you specify otherwise.  General communications, such as notification of public events, may be communicated by social media.  We will assume that, where you have provided contact details, the particular form of communication is acceptable, unless you specify otherwise.  Please let us know if you have any request or concern regarding how we communicate with you.

From time to time, Blind Low Vision NZ will send you communication that we feel is appropriate to the nature of your relationship with us. For example, if you are receiving services from us, you will receive information about services that may be of interest to you.  If you donate to us then you will receive information about how your donations are having an impact and future donation appeals. If you are a voting member of Blind Low Vision NZ, you will receive information related to governance.

Any group electronic communication we send you (for example, either by email or text), except for messages confirming a transaction with us or a one-on-one communication, will always have an unsubscribe facility.

If at any stage you feel that you are receiving communications of any kind from us that you do not want, please call us on 0800 24 33 33 and let us know. Alternately if you are a donor, you can also email supportercare@blindlowvision.org.nz and if a client, you can also email generalenquiries@blindlowvision.org.nz

NB: If you wish to reduce all unsolicited mail or phone calls, you can register with the Marketing Association’s service.

A cookie is a small file that resides on your computer and is recognised by our server when you visit our site. A cookie does not provide us with any personally identifiable information. It does provide details of your IP address, the computer platform that you use (e.g. Mac or Windows), the browser that you use (e.g. Microsoft Explorer or Netscape) and what domain you are accessing our sites from. It helps Blind Low Vision NZ by:

1. Tracking traffic patterns to and from our site.
2. Ensuring that the most relevant content is being shown.

If you would rather we did not use cookies with you, you can refuse them by turning them off in your browser and/or deleting them from your hard drive. You will still be able to visit our site.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to inform, optimise, and serve ads on the internet based on someone’s past visits to our website. Personally identifiable information is not stored by us or any third-parties.

You are free to opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Opt Out page. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

We partner with Microsoft Clarity and Microsoft Advertising to capture how you use and interact with our website through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay to improve and market our services. Website usage data is captured using first and third-party cookies and other tracking technologies to determine the popularity of products/services and online activity. Additionally, we use this information for site optimisation, fraud/security purposes, and advertising. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement

We work diligently to protect the security of your personal information, including credit and debit card information.

Our servers are protected by appropriate controls, user authentication protocols, and so on. Our personnel are permitted to access information related to the work they undertake.

When you submit personal information including credit card details, a secure server is used. We protect your information during transmission by using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which encrypts your information when transmitted over the Internet. You can check that the SSL is active by looking for the padlock symbol on many browsers.

We also follow the PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) protocol. i.e. we meet all PCI requirements to ensure that we process, store or transmit credit card information securely.

It is important for you to protect against unauthorised access to your password and to your computer. We recommend that you logout when you have finished, especially if using a shared computer.

If you are concerned that your information may have been inappropriately accessed or disclosed please let us know.

Blind Low Vision NZ is governed by the Privacy Act (2020), the Health Information Privacy Code (1994), the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act (2000) and the Health and Disability Commissioner Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights Regulations (1996).

Find out more information about the Privacy Act and codes.

Find out more information about the HDC Health and Disability Code of Rights.

Blind Low Vision NZ has CCTV surveillance in operation in some internal and external areas of its buildings. Notices informing building users of CCTV surveillance are displayed in those areas.

The purpose of the cameras is to ensure the health and safety of our staff and visitors and to deter, or to provide means of immediate detection of criminal offences committed in those areas. Captured data would also be shared with Police, if necessary.