PRIVACY POLICY

The Bridge Project ("TBP", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly. This policy explains what personal information we collect through thebridgeproject.com.au (the "Site"), how we use and store it, and the choices and rights you have.

 

TBP is operated by Natalia Hogan (ABN 72722926315) as a sole trader based in the Newcastle region of NSW, Australia.

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As a small business, TBP currently falls under the small business exemption in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) in most circumstances. We've chosen to handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) anyway, because a large part of what we do involves supporting young people, and we think that standard is the right one to hold ourselves to regardless of what's strictly required.

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1. What personal information we collect

What we collect depends on how you interact with the Site:

• Referral and contact form: if you reach out for support or ask a question, we collect your name and whichever contact details you choose to provide (such as email address and/or phone number), along with anything you tell us about what you're looking for help with.

• Newsletter sign-up: if you subscribe for updates, we collect your email address (and name, if you provide one).

• Event registration: if you register for a TBP event or campaign, we collect your name, contact details, and any other information the registration asks for - for example, team/school details, or an emergency contact if the event involves physical activity.

• Donations and payments: if you make a donation or payment through the Site, our payment provider collects your payment details directly to process the transaction. TBP does not receive or store your full card or account number - we only receive confirmation of the payment and, where relevant, your name and contact details.

• Automatically collected information: the Site is built on Wix, which uses standard analytics and cookies to help us understand how the Site is used (for example, pages visited and general location/device information). We don't currently use additional tools like Google Analytics or Facebook/Meta Pixel - if that changes, we'll update this policy before we do.

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2. If you're under 18

Much of what TBP does is for young people aged 12–25, so a good part of the information described above may come directly from someone under 18 - that's expected, and it's part of how our support model works.

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Where it's possible and appropriate, we encourage young people to involve a parent, guardian or another trusted adult when reaching out to us. We also recognise that isn't always possible or safe — some young people contact us specifically because they can't or don't want to involve family. We won't withhold support or refuse to act on a young person's own request just because a parent or guardian hasn't been involved, and we'll always use judgement about a young person's safety and best interests in how we handle their information.

 

3. Sensitive information

"Sensitive information" includes things like health/medical details, and is treated with extra care. If an event registration ever asks for medical, dietary or emergency-contact information (for example, for safety reasons at a physical event), we'll only use that information for the purpose it was collected - such as responding to a medical situation at the event, and we'll ask for your clear consent to collect it at the time.

 

4. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries and provide referral/support navigation services.

• Register you for, and run, events and campaigns you sign up to.

• Process donations and payments, and provide receipts where applicable.

• Send newsletter updates, if you've subscribed (you can unsubscribe at any time — every email includes an unsubscribe link, in line with the Spam Act 2003).

• Understand how the Site is used, so we can improve it.

• Meet our own legal, safety and reporting obligations.

We don't sell personal information, and we don't use it for purposes unrelated to the above without asking you first.

 

5. Who we share it with

We don't share personal information with third parties except where necessary to run TBP and deliver our services:

• Wix (our website and hosting platform): stores the information the Site collects on our behalf, and may process it on servers located outside Australia as part of its standard hosting infrastructure.

• Payment providers: process donations and payments made through the Site (they receive your payment details directly; we don't).

• Service and mentoring partners: where a referral involves connecting you with another support service, or where mentoring is delivered through a subcontracted partner organisation, we share only the information needed to make that connection or provide that support, and we expect our partners to keep it confidential.

• Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, or where we reasonably believe it's necessary to protect someone's safety.

 

6. Photos, stories and social media

If we'd like to share a photo, story or testimonial from a school visit, event or program on our website or social media (such as Instagram or LinkedIn), we'll ask for separate, specific consent first - from a parent/guardian for anyone under 18, and from the individual themselves where appropriate. You can withdraw that consent and ask us to remove content at any time by contacting us (see "Contact us" below).

 

7. How we store and protect your information

We take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure, including relying on the security measures built into Wix's platform and our payment provider's systems. No online system is completely secure, but we limit access to personal information to what's needed to run TBP, and we only keep information for as long as we reasonably need it for the purposes described in this policy (or as required by law, such as standard financial record-keeping).

 

8. Your rights

You can ask us to:

• Tell you what personal information we hold about you.

• Correct information that's wrong or out of date.

• Delete your information, where we're not required to keep it for legal or safety reasons.

• Unsubscribe from newsletter or marketing communications at any time.

To make any of these requests, contact us using the details below. We'll respond as quickly as we can.

 

9. Cookies

The Site uses cookies (via Wix) to help it function properly and to give us basic analytics about how it's used. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the Site may not work as well if you do.

 

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example as TBP's programs, website features or legal obligations change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent version. We encourage you to check back periodically.

 

11. Contact us

If you have a question about this policy, want to exercise any of the rights above, or have a privacy concern, contact us at bridgeprojectau@gmail.com.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.