Privacy Policy – AU

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited (“HarperCollins” or “we”) respect your privacy and want you to be aware of how we handle personal information received from or about you. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) as well as other applicable laws protecting your privacy. ‘Personal information’ in the Privacy Act and in this Privacy Policy means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or about an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

This Privacy Policy describes our practices in connection with personal information collected through all our services including through email, mail, fax, websites, online servers, mobile sites, applications (“apps”), widgets, surveys, competitions and customer services. In this Privacy Policy, the word ‘you’ refers to all those that interact with HarperCollins including subscribers to our newsletters and alerts, visitors to our websites, purchasers of our products, our employees and contractors, authors and unregistered or registered users of our services.
Where appropriate, we may handle personal information relying on exemptions that are available under applicable privacy laws, including, for example, the employee records exemption in the Privacy Act and provisions in the Privacy Act concerning the sharing of personal information among related bodies corporate.

This Privacy Policy covers the following:
1. How we collect and use personal information
2. How we protect personal information
3. How you can access your personal information
4. How you can opt out
5. Other Important information
6. Contact Us

1. How we collect and use personal information

HarperCollins collects personal information needed for our business operations and to provide our services to you. We will generally collect your personal information directly from you. However, we may collect information about you from a related company or a third party, such as one of our contractors or service providers.
Generally, we will tell you why we are collecting personal information and how we plan to use it when we collect it or these things will be obvious when we collect the information. Where possible you may have the option of interacting with us anonymously. We will usually make it clear whenever this is an option. If you choose not to provide certain personal information to us, we may not be able to provide you with the services you require.

The following are the main types of personal information collected by HarperCollins and the main purposes for which it is collected:
Registration information is the information you provide to HarperCollins in the course of acquiring or registering for our services. Registration information may be collected when you create an account as a customer or user of our services, become a subscriber to our newsletters/alerts/blogs or enter a competition. Registration information is likely to include your name, contact details, date of birth, address, email, phone number, gender, photograph and “financial personal information” as this term is described below. We may use your registration information to provide our services and products to you as described below, to perform billing, credit and account/client relationship management, to enter into contracts with you and to provide you with marketing material where you have consented to receiving such material.
Financial personal information is the information we collect about your credit history, payments, credit card details, bank account details, such as bank account name, number and BSB, and defaults in the normal course of our business operations including when you order from us. We will collect credit information about you from credit reporting agencies, trade references nominated by you or selected by us and guarantors of your obligations when you order from us and fill out our credit application.
Websites, blogs and posts consist of comments or content that you post to our websites or blogs and the information about you that accompanies those posts or content, which may include a name, user name, comments, likes, tweets, status, profile information and picture(s). Public information and posts are always public, which means they are available to everyone and may be displayed in search results on external search engines. Please note that reviews posted on our blogs may also be linked or posted to our third party social media pages.

Information from third-party social media.

If you access or log in to our services through a third party social media service or connect with us through a third party social media service, the information we collect may also include your user ID and/or user name associated with that social media service, any information or content you have permitted the third party social media service to share with us, such as your profile picture, email address, followers or friends lists, and any information you have disclosed in connection with that social media service. We do not collect your passwords other than in relation to our own services. When you access our services through third-party social media services or when you connect services we provide to you to third party social media services, you are authorising us to handle such information and content in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Activity information – cookies and other technologies.

When you access and interact with us through our online services, we may collect certain information about your use of our online services. For example, in order to permit your connection to our websites, our servers receive and record information about your computer, device, and browser, including potentially your IP address, browser type, and other software or hardware information. If you access our services from a mobile or other device, we may collect a unique device identifier assigned to that device, geo-location data, or other transactional information from that device.
Cookies and other tracking technologies (such as browser cookies and local storage, pixel beacons, and Adobe Flash technology including cookies) are comprised of small bits of data or code that often include a de-identified or anonymous unique identifier. Websites, apps and other services send this data to your browser when you first request a web page and then store the data on your computer so that such websites, apps and other services can access information when you make subsequent requests for pages from that service. These technologies may also be used to collect and store information such as pages you have visited, content you have viewed and search queries you have run and in relation to your usage of our services and other websites you have visited.
Third parties that support our services by providing services, such as allowing you to share content or tracking aggregate HarperCollins services usage statistics, may also use these technologies to collect similar information. We do not control these third-party technologies and their use is governed by the privacy policies of those third parties using such technologies.
Information from other sources. We may also collect personal information about you from other sources, such as commercially or publicly available sources and data providers, as well as information from our business partners or related and affiliated companies in Australia or internationally.

To clear all tracking stored in your browser (including cookies and local storage) for this domain, click here.

Information in relation to job applicants, employees, contractors, authors and other contributors.

When you apply for a job with us, we may collect information to assist us in deciding whether or not to make you an offer of employment or engage you under a contract. This information may include information collected from you or from recruitment consultants, your previous employers and others who may be able to provide us with information relevant to your employment with us. This information may also include information collected from criminal background checks.
We will also collect personal information about you, as and when required for our general business operations, if you are employed by or contracted to us or making submissions such as manuscripts to us as an author or other contributor.
Some of this information may include sensitive information such as information related to racial or ethnic origin, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background or trade union membership. Such information will only be used in compliance with applicable laws and regulations including workplace and equal opportunity laws. Other than where necessary, we ask that you do not otherwise disclose any sensitive information to us.

Information in relation to other persons who deal with us.

We will also collect personal information about individuals who are, or are employed by, our suppliers (including service and content providers), contractors, dealers, related companies, agents and corporate customers. As required, this information may include an individual’s name, contact details and other information necessary for us to conduct business or maintain our relationship with that individual. We use the information we collect from and about you for these additional purposes:

To provide you with our services and products.

We may use personal information we collect from you to provide you with customer support, assist you with your inquiries as well as allow service and content providers to assist us in providing and managing our services.

To contact you.

We may periodically send promotional materials or notifications which we believe may be of interest to you where you have expressly provided us with your consent to receive such materials. Promotional materials may include invitations to participate in various activities or special offers.

To provide co-branded services and features.

We may offer co-branded services or features, such as competitions or other promotions together with a third party (“Co-Branded Services”). These Co-Branded Services may be hosted by us or by a third party. By virtue of these relationships, we may share the information you submit in connection with the Co-Branded Service with the third party. The third party’s use of your information will be governed by the third party’s privacy policy. We will advise you when this is occurring or obtain your consent to share your personal information in these circumstances.
To measure and improve our services and features. We may use certain non-personal information (e.g., the identity of your Internet browser, the type of operating system you use, your IP address and the domain name of your internet service provider) to optimise our products and services including our webpages for your computer. We may use such non-personal information for internal purposes, including but not limited to improving the content of our sites. We may also use personal information in aggregate form to improve our products and services including our websites and make them more responsive to the needs of our customers. This statistical compilation and analysis of information may also be used by us or provided to others as a summary report for marketing, advertising or research purposes.

To comply with the law.

We may use information about you as required or permitted by law. We may also use your personal information in other ways as disclosed at the point of collection.

We may disclose your personal information to:
Our service providers (including technical infrastructure providers) and contractors but only to help us to provide our services to you and perform our business operations. We may make your information available to certain third party service and content providers who help us manage or provide our services or provide us with related services. These third parties may be located in a range of different countries including in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and India. We generally require these service and content providers to comply with relevant privacy laws and not to use personal information which we provide for any purpose other than the specific service they are providing to you and/or us.
Our business partners. Where you have expressly consented to this, we may share your information with business partners to permit them to send you marketing communications consistent with your choices.
Companies related to HarperCollins. We may share your information with our related companies both in and outside of Australia, including in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and India. Users who visit our related companies’ services should still refer to the separate privacy policies of those companies, which may differ in some respects from this Privacy Policy. Where we share your information with our related companies, they may use your information in the same way that we can under this Privacy Policy.

Credit reporting bodies and debt collection companies.

We may disclose credit information (including default information) and personal information about you to credit reporting bodies and debt collection companies where you are in payment default.
Other users of HarperCollins services and social media accounts. If youaccess or log in to our services through a third party social media service or connect with us through a third party social media service, we may share your user name, picture, tweets and likes, as well as your activities and comments, with other users of our services and with your friends associated with your social media service. By logging in with or connecting your HarperCollins account with a social media service, you are authorising us to share information we collect from and about you with the social media service provider and other users including your friends. The social media service’s use of the shared information will be governed by the social media service’s privacy policy. If you do not want your personal information shared in this way, please do not connect your social media service account with your HarperCollins account and do not participate in social sharing on our services.
Regulatory bodies or other parties if required to in order to comply with Australian or foreign law. If you are a competition winner we may disclose your information to relevant regulatory authorities as well as publish your details in accordance with the competition terms.

Third parties who provide prizes for competitions or reader offers.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties with whom we provide Co-Branded Services including competitions and promotions. We generally require these third parties to comply with relevant privacy laws and not to use personal information which we provide for any purpose other than the specific service they are providing to you and/or us.

2. How we protect personal information

HarperCollins uses commercially reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard the information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorised use, disclosure or modification. However, no one can guarantee the complete safety of your information.

3. How you can access your personal information

If you would like to access, review, correct or update your personal information, you may contact us as outlined in section 6 of this policy. In your request, please include your name and contact details and specify clearly what information you would like to access, review, correct or update. We may need to share your information with others who can assist in responding to your request. We will try to respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable. If we deny access in any circumstances, we will tell you why.

4. How you can opt out

Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies, but you can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings but be aware that if you do this you may not be able to continue to receive some of our services. In addition, this may not be sufficient to block or opt-out of all activities which track the usage of a device.
If you want to stop receiving promotional materials, you can change your account settings or follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email or text message. If you have installed a mobile app and you wish to stop receiving push notifications, you can change the settings either on your mobile device or through the app.
If you have linked any of your social media accounts to your account for any of our services, you can cancel that link by changing your account settings.

5. Other Important information

Updates to Privacy Policy.

HarperCollins may modify or update its Privacy Policy from time to time by publishing it on our websites, including (http://www.harpercollins.com.au/privacy-policy). We encourage you to check our website periodically to ensure that you are aware of our current Privacy Policy. If the changes affect any agreement between us, you will be entitled to terminate our agreement, if those changes are not acceptable to you, on reasonable grounds.
Cross-border disclosure. As we have operations in a number of countries, we may disclose information to recipients that are located outside Australia including in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and India. We may disclose personal information to third party service providers including contractors and offshore servers in the course of our ordinary business operations including for the purposes of data storage and management. We may also disclose certain personal information to related companies overseas.

Online links to third party and co-branded sites.

We may establish relationships with business partners that allow visitors to our websites to link directly to sites operated by these partners. Some of these sites may be “co-branded” with our logo; however, these sites may not be operated or maintained by or on our behalf. These sites may collect personal information from you that may be shared with us. This Privacy Policy will apply to any personal information we obtain in this manner. We are not responsible or liable for the content or practices of web sites operated by third parties that are linked to our sites. These links are meant for the user’s convenience only. Links to third party sites do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement or approval by HarperCollins of the content, policies or practices of those third party sites. Once you have left our site via such a link, you should check the applicable privacy policy of the third party site.

Linked services.

Our services may also be linked to sites operated by unaffiliated companies, and may carry advertisements or offer content, functionality, games, newsletters, competitions or applications developed and maintained by unaffiliated companies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of unaffiliated companies, and once you leave our sites or click an advertisement you should check the applicable privacy policy of the other service.
Collection of financial personal information by a payment service. In some cases, we may use an unaffiliated payment service to allow you to purchase a product or make payments (“Payment Service”). If you wish to purchase a product or make a payment using a Payment Service, you will be directed to a Payment Service webpage. Any information that you provide to a Payment Service will be subject to the applicable Payment Service’s privacy policy, rather than this Privacy Policy. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, any Payment Service’s use of information collected through any Payment Service.

Data Retention.

We will retain your information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law. Please be advised that even after you cancel your account, copies of some information from your account may remain viewable in some circumstances where, for example, you have shared information with social media or other services. Because of the nature of caching technology, your account may not be instantly inaccessible to others. We may also retain backup information related to your account on our servers for some time after cancelation for fraud detection or to comply with applicable law or our internal security or other policies. We do not always completely remove or delete all of your information for a number of reasons including due to technical and systems constraints as well as contractual, financial or legal requirements.

Sensitive information.

We ask that you do not send us, and you do not disclose to us, any sensitive personal information (such as information related to racial or ethnic origin, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background or trade union membership) on or through our services unless expressly sought by us or provided to us as a necessary part of your interactions with us. If, however, you do provide any sensitive information, in doing so you consent to us collecting and handling that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Complaint.

If you think we have breached the Privacy Act or other applicable privacy laws, you may complain by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact details set out at the end of this Privacy Policy. When you contact us, please include your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number and clearly describe your complaint. We may need to share your information with others who can assist in investigating and responding to your complaint. We will respond to your complaint as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 5 business days, by making contact with you to inform you whether we have accepted your complaint, need further information or do not think we are in breach. We will also let you know the next steps in resolving your complaint. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, or at any time, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au).

6. Contact Us

Please contact our Privacy Officer to ask for access or correction of your information or if you have a complaint concerning your privacy or if you would like more information about our approach to privacy.
Email: privacy@harpercollins.com.au (no unsolicited email or spam please)
Mail:
Privacy Officer
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: 02 9952 5000