Privacy Policy

 

1. What this policy covers

Firesticks (we, us and our) understands that your privacy is paramount, and we are committed to protecting your privacy in alignment with our aim to support First Nations communities in implementing cultural burning and other land management practices. This policy sets out how we handle information about you.

Unless you notify us otherwise, we will assume that you have consented to the collection of all information which is provided to us for use in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

2. Information we collect about you

Personal information is information or an opinion about a person whose identity is apparent or could reasonably be figured out.

We may collect personal information from you in a number of ways including when you:

  • participate in any event, workshop, research initiative, community partnership, training program or other project or activity organised or run by us or our partners;
  • donate money to us, so we can process your donation and provide receipts;
  • access and use the Living Knowledge Place digital learning platform (LKP Platform);
  • visit our website or sign up for our newsletter; or
  • contact us by any method, such as telephone, email, post, facsimile or in person,

or otherwise as notified to you from time to time, including as described in any collection notice.

The personal information you provide to us will vary, depending on the nature of your interaction with us, but may for example include your name, date of birth, contact details and any communications you send to us. Where possible, we will allow you to interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. However, for most of our functions and activities we usually need your name and contact information.

If you attend or participate in our workshops, programs or projects, we may ask you to provide information:

  • to help us ensure your health, safety and welfare, such as information about your medical conditions, emergency contacts, allergies and dietary requirements;
  • to help us understand and report on community engagement, such as your gender, age, educational and employment background, and whether you are non-Indigenous or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (including who your mob or community is); and/or
  • that is relevant to a specific project or initiative, such as the various educational, community and cultural initiatives, partnerships and programs that Firesticks participates in or leads.

If you help us conduct a workshop or program as a volunteer or in another capacity, we may ask you to complete a National Police Check or Working with Children Check. We may, with your permission, collect information from you or from a third party relating to these checks.

We may also take photos or videos during our workshops and programs.

If you subscribe to, use or access the LKP Platform, you will be required to provide personal information including your name, contact details and credit card information and we may also collect personal data including IP address via tracking and cookies.

There may be occasions when we collect information about you from a third party. In those cases, we will determine whether we would have been entitled to collect such information from you and to the extent we would not have been entitled to do so, we will destroy or de-identify such information as soon as reasonably practicable.

3. How we use information we collect

Personal information collected by us may be used for the following purposes:

  • to respond to your questions or suggestions and provide you with information relating to the services we provide;
  • to promote our work, which we may do by publishing photos or videos on our website, online or in promotional materials or through send email notifications promoting or otherwise relating to projects, activities, fundraising and events (noting that we will not publish content that identifies you without first seeking your consent, or your parent or guardian’s consent, if you are under 18);
  • to develop and evaluate our workshops, programs, projects and initiatives;
  • to fulfil reporting requirements for grants and funding bodies;
  • to improve the quality of our support and services;
  • to administer and facilitate access to the LKP Platform;
  • as part of various educational, community and cultural initiatives, partnerships and programs that Firesticks participates in or leads, such as project that involve collaboration with community and industry stakeholder and documentation of their practices, histories and perspectives; and
  • otherwise as notified to you from time to time, including as described in any collection notice.

Personal Information collected by us in relation to your subscription, use or access of the LKP Platform will be used exclusively by us for the purpose of administering and facilitating your access to the LKP Platform unless further consent is obtained by us.

You may opt out of receiving promotional information from us by notifying us or by using any unsubscribe facility we provide for that purpose.

4. Sharing your personal information

We may disclose personal information to:

  • government and funding bodies, in connection with grant agreements;
  • research partners for collaborative studies, ensuring de-identified data is used where possible; and
  • community stakeholders, where relevant individuals have provided their consent.

We may also disclose information to third party service providers that help us conduct our business and provide systems that we use to manage information collected by us and our partners. Where personal information is shared with these third party service providers, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that they observe the confidential nature of such information, keep such information secure and are authorised only to use personal information that we provide to them for the purposes specified in our agreement with them.

We may disclose your information to a third party service provider referred to above that is located, or that stores or accesses personal information from, outside Australia. Due to circumstances which change from time to time, it is not practicable for us to specify the countries in which such third parties or data are located.

We may also disclose your personal information as permitted or required by law.

5. Our website and LKP Platform

When you visit our website or use the LKP Platform, our web servers may automatically collect certain information, including your IP address, the date and time of your visit, pages accessed and interactions during your visit, the browser and device you are using and the referring website (if applicable).

In using our websites or the LKP Platform, your personal information may be collected through the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance functionality and gather analytical data. Cookies are small text files stored on your device or computer by our website that allow us to analyse website traffic and improve user experience. Most web browsers accept cookies by default. However, you may modify your browser settings to block or delete cookies.

Please note that restricting cookies may impact website or LKP Platform functionality.

We use a third-party service provider, Hotjar Ltd., to analyse user interactions and improve website performance. Hotjar may temporarily store and process IP addresses and may collect data relating to heatmaps, session recordings, and form interactions to help us understand user behaviour on our website. This data is processed in accordance with Hotjar’s Privacy Policy (refer to the section relating to Hotjar-enabled sites).

Additionally, our website and the LKP Platform may implement caching technologies to optimise performance and loading speeds.

Our website and the LKP Platform may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external websites and recommend that you review the privacy policies of each website you visit.

Any personal information collected in relation to your subscription, access or use of the LKP Platform will be collected, stored and processed through Stripe, a third party payments platform, for the purposes of managing subscriptions and payments for the LKP Platform.

6. Accessing and correcting your personal information

We will, on request, provide you with access to the information we hold about you, including for the purpose of correcting or updating that information, unless there is an exception to such disclosure which applies under relevant privacy legislation. If you require access to your personal information, please contact our Privacy Contact as described in section 9 below. You may be required to put your request in writing for security reasons.

7. Protecting your personal information

We are committed to protecting your personal information. We take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information from misuse, interference or loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes the use of technologies and processes such as access control procedures, endpoint protection, threat detection solutions, encryption and physical security to protect the privacy of your personal information.

8. Change of policy

We may modify or amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will display a notice on our website firesticks.org.au/ for a reasonable period after any such revisions have been made. We will keep the current version of this Privacy Policy on that website.

9. Contact information

If you have any queries or complaints with regards to our collection, use or management of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@firesticks.org.au

If you make a complaint, we will endeavour to respond to it as soon as possible. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phoning 1300 363 992 or by email at enquiries@oaic.gov.au.

This Privacy Policy applies to Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation (ABN 53 163 094 146) and was last updated on 18 July 2025