The Biodiversity Council is an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities. We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Statement sets out the way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information.

What is personal information and why do we collect it?

Personal information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of personal information we commonly collect includes your name and contact details (such as your email address). We may also collect additional information during certain campaigns, such as your suburb and electorate.

We collect and process personal information about individuals for the purpose of sending information and announcements related to the Biodiversity Council as well as biodiversity science, news and policy information. This includes newsletters and information on upcoming events and opportunities (such as opportunities to comment on public policies).

You do not have to provide us with your personal information, but this will mean we won’t be able to contact you with relevant information that may be of interest to you.

When we collect personal information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.

How we collect and process your personal information

The “processing" of personal information refers to all activities relating to the management of your personal information, from its collection and use, through to its storage and disposal, and everything in between.

We collect personal information you provide to us directly via our website or through forms hosted by technical systems that we manage (such as applications used for sending newsletters, social media marketing, advocacy campaigning, fundraising or webinar hosting). We will only collect personal information by lawful and fair means.

We will process your personal information as necessary for our legitimate interests, in accordance with applicable privacy laws, and only under the following circumstances:

• for the primary purpose for which it was collected; or
• a related purpose which you might reasonably expect; or
• where you have consented to the processing; or
• if we are required or permitted to do so by law.

We will not share your personal information with third parties, such as other organisations.

Since we use technical systems to collect and manage your personal information that are built and managed overseas (such as Facebook, which hosts data globally), your personal information may be stored in a country other than Australia. Other than for this reason, we do not share personal information outside Australia.

Security of personal information

Your personal information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

When your personal information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your personal information (unless we are required to retain it by law or a court/tribunal order).

It is important to us that your personal information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to communicate effectively with you.

Your rights

You may request access to, or correction of, your personal information we hold, or exercise your individual rights as applicable under relevant privacy laws, unless this would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others.

If the lawful collection of your personal information is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of our processing of your information prior to you withdrawing your consent.

Contact

All queries or complaints regarding our Privacy Policy, or requests for access to, deletion, or correction of, personal information should be directed to the Biodiversity Council Communication and Engagement Manager: enquiries@biodiversitycouncil.org.au.

If you are making a complaint, you will need to provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint as well as any supporting evidence and/or information. We will investigate the issue and determine the steps that we will undertake to resolve your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with our determination, you can contact us to discuss your concerns or contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints.

Policy updates

Our Privacy Statement will be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary from time to time.

Last updated: September 2025