Privacy & Disclaimer Policy

Privacy Policy

The Australian Sociological Association (TASA Inc.) is committed to providing its users with an Internet experience that respects their personal privacy concerns. Our privacy policy and practices have been developed to comply with the Australian Privacy Act 1988, including its amendment in 2014, and the Spam Act 2003.

TASA have teamed up with Club Express to provide you with a membership specific web platform. ClubExpress is fully compliant with the strictest privacy regulations including the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They strictly define what personal data is collected and how it is used; what is shared and why; how personal data is stored and retained; as well as member and non-member individual rights, including the “Right to be Forgotten”. See Club Express’s ‘Security, Privacy and Ownership of Data’.

TASA’s policies are detailed below and we ask you to read them fully. The policy is derived from three pledges that we make to you:

1. We pledge that TASA will maintain transparency in how we use your personal information. In accordance with TASA’s Advertising policy, TASA may forward paid advertisements via its email list as long as it deems the material to be of professional interest to TASA members. TASA will not distribute your e-mail or mailing address or personal details to third parties outside of those listed below, and does not participate in spamming.
2. We pledge that we will provide mechanisms for you to communicate your privacy concerns to us and that we will respond to them thoroughly and thoughtfully.
3. We pledge that TASA will provide the means for you to manage and control the information that you have provided to us. In particular, you can manage your personal details, Membership Directory & Find a Sociologist Directory listings and subscription to TASA mailing lists, such as the weekly eNewsletter and Thematic Group communications, via your online Membership Profile, the TASA Office or Club Express staff (email or phone)

How your Personal Information is used by TASA

TASA only collects personal information about you that is relevant to the membership benefits we provide. We do not collect sensitive information. If we receive unsolicited personal information from you, we will, as soon as practicable but only if it is lawful and reasonable to do so, destroy the information or ensure that the information is de-identified.

• In your Membership Profile, you can set the type of information you want visible to other members in the Membership Directory via a drop-down menu selection. The menu includes ‘Do not list me in the Directory’ and ‘Show all information’ options as well as other options that vary what information is visible to other members. .
• The Membership Directory includes a Thematic Groups search function. The details you select to be visible in the Membership Directory will also be visible in Thematic Group searches you belong to.
• Our website has an Emailing Module built into it that enables TASA members in official association roles, such as the Executive, Thematic Group Conveners, Postgraduate Sub-Committee and ad hoc working groups and committees to email you without being able to see your email address. As noted above, if you elect to show your email address in the Membership Directory, it will be visible to all members.
• If you join a working group or subcommittee, for example a Prize Panel, the Executive Officer will set up a group specific to the purpose so that communication can occur within the website. If the group decide to communicate outside of the website Emailing Module feature then you may need to share your email address with the working group or subcommittee Chairperson.
• If you become a Thematic Group Convenor, the email address in your membership profile is provided to the Professional Conference Organisers for submission reviewing purposes.
• TASA’s Executive Officer and Club Express staff have Super Admin access that enables them to see all the information you provide when joining the association, renewing your subscription or updating your details throughout your membership. Members’ information is only accessed in the course of TASA business. Club Express staff are bound by the General Data Protection Regulations to ensure your information is secure.
• TASA Executive members will have limited access to your membership details to assist in strategic planning. Personal phone numbers and home addresses will remain private unless you list them in the Membership Directory.
• If you receive a hard copy of Journal of Sociology¸ the mailing address you list in your Membership Profile is provided to Sage in the United Kingdom. The Australian Privacy Principles may not apply to the management of your personal information by Sage, who are an overseas entity. TASA and Sage are bound by the General Data Protection Regulations and an official agreement is in place, between both entities, to ensure your information is secure. You can see Sage’s Privacy Policy here. If you would like to opt out of this process, please indicate this in your Membership Profile under the Personal Info section in ‘Additional Member Data’. You will no longer receive a hard copy of Journal of Sociology but may still access the journal electronically, as well as many other journals and resources, as a TASA member.
• If you elect to be in the Find a Sociologist Directory, the details you nominate to be visible will show up on the public facing website. Members and non-members will be able to run directory searches.
• If you apply for Prizes or Awards, the information you provide on the application will be shared with the Prize panel Chair and/or the TASA Executive Committee. This information will be stored by the TASA Office electronically for three years. If you are the recipient of Prizes or Awards, your name will be listed on the TASA Webpage for that Prize or Award, in the members’ newsletter and in Nexus.
• If you apply for TASA funding such as Scholarships or Bursaries, the information you provide on the application will be shared with the Panel Chair/s. This information will be stored by the TASA Office electronically for three years. If you are the recipient of a Scholarship or Bursary your name may be listed on the TASA Webpage for that Scholarship, in the members’ eNewsletter and in Nexus, if you opt-in to being listed.

TASA collects your personal information when you provide it. The only exception is if you are nominated for a TASA Prize or Award by another TASA member. To access the information that TASA holds on you, please contact the TASA Office (03 9 214 5283 - AEST) or Club Express (03 9068 9993 - Central America time) . To correct any information, please log in to your Membership Profile.

Protection of your Personal Information         

Our website uses SSL to ensure that the information you submit on our website is safe and secure. Data stored in the TASA Office is password protected.

Storing and destroying your Personal Information

The ‘live’ Membership Directory, accessible only by members, and the Find a Sociologist Directory, visible to members and non-members, lists current members only. Lapsed members will automatically disappear from both directories.

On July 1 each year, or as close to July 1 as possible, the TASA Office will create a membership directory archive, available in the members section only, of the preceding year (July 1 – June 30)

Personal information of non-TASA members will be securely stored by the TASA Office and used to contact lapsed members, by the Executive, the Executive Officer, & the Thematic Group Conveners, about renewal for a period of no more than 2 years after membership cessation. On July 1 each year, or as close to July 1 as possible, the TASA Office will separate identifying information such as names, email addresses & phone numbers from the rest of the membership information (country, state, gender, affiliation etc) for memberships that have lapsed for 2 years. During this process, the identifying information will be destroyed. The non-identifying information (country, state, gender, affiliation etc) will be kept by the TASA Office as historical membership information.

Disclaimer

In no event shall TASA or any of its affiliates or content providers be liable for any damages whatsoever, including but not limited to any direct, indirect, special, consequential, punitive or incidental damages, or damages for loss of use, profits, data or other intangibles arising out of or related to the use, inability to use, unauthorised use, performance or non-performance of this Web site, even if TASA has been advised previously of the possibility of such damages and whether such damages arise in the contract, negligence, tort under statue, in equity, at law or otherwise.

All material in the Website is true and correct at time of upload to the Internet, but is subject to change without warning. TASA will endeavour to inform users of any changes to products/services and keep this Website up to date.

Questions?

Any questions about our privacy policy or TASAweb should be emailed to: admin@tasa.org.au

Last updated: November 18, 2019.

Kate Huppatz (L) and Steve Matthewman (R) congratulating Michelle Peterie on being the 2018 JoS Best Paper Award winner for Docility and Desert: government discourses of compassion in Australia’s asylum seeker debate.