Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Elliott Midland Newspapers Pty Ltd – ABN 91 004 608 226

Elliott Midland Newspapers (EMN) is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act as well as other applicable legislation. The term ‘personal information’ has the meaning given to it in the Act.

This policy does not address issues associated with personal information and its use and collection in the course of journalism. EMN relies on the media exemption under the Privacy Act. For details regarding Australian Press Council Privacy Standards, please refer to www.presscouncil.org.au/privacy-principles

You may view this Privacy Policy at any of the websites owned by the company or you may request a copy by contacting classifieds@midnews.com.au or phoning 03 5422 1488.

What information we collect and how we collect it:

Personal information is any information that can be used to personally identify you. The personal information we collect depends upon the reason we are dealing with each other.

When you transact with us, we will collect your personal information which may include your phone number, name, address, credit card details, identity and transaction details for the following reasons, including but not limited to:

  • Subscribing to our services;
  • Placing an advertisement with us over the phone or over the counter;
  • Entering a competition;
  • Ordering a photograph;
  • Completing a survey;
  • Contributing a letter to the Editor;
  • Attendance at an EMN function;
  • Applying for a job at EMN;
  • When you access services via coupons published in our newspapers or on our websites.

By using any of the above “EMN services” you agree to the terms and conditions of this Policy.

You may choose to transact with EMN anonymously, for example paying cash for an over-the-counter transaction, however if you don’t identify yourself, we may not be able to provide the service or product you are seeking.

Why do we collect personal information?

We collect your personal information so that we can process your transaction with us, to complete an administrative function, to provide you with required products and services, for customer relationship purposes, to promote our services to you, to assist us to develop new products, services, customer offers, and to respond to queries and complaints.

When you provide the above information to EMN, you are consenting to EMN contacting you for the purposes outlined above. You can opt out of being contacted by EMN by contacting our Privacy Officer at classifieds@midnews.com.au or 03 5422 1488 or writing to our Privacy Officer at 3 Market Street, Kyneton VIC 3444 to advise us that you no longer wish to receive this contact. For online communications, you may use the unsubscribe preference.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to:

  • Our employees, related corporate entities, contractors or external service providers for the operation of our business, fulfilling requests by you, and otherwise provide products and services to you, including: web hosting providers, IT systems administrators, mail houses, newsagents, payment processors, data entry service providers, electronic network administrators, debt collectors, and professional advisers such as accountants, solicitors, business advisors and consultants;
  • Our existing or potential agents, business partners or joint venture entities or partners;
  • Our sponsors, or promoters of any competition that we conduct or promote via our services;
  • Specific third parties authorised by you to receive information held by us;
  • Regulatory or government bodies in order to comply with laws and regulations;
  • Referees whose details have been provided by prospective applicants.
  • Parties as required or permitted by any law (including the Privacy Act).
  • Prior to disclosing any of your personal information to another person or organisation, we will take all reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that:
  • The person or organisation has a commitment to protecting your personal information at least equal to our commitment, or
  • You have consented to us making that disclosure.

How we protect personal information:

EMN will take all reasonable administrative and technical steps to ensure that personal information required to be held is stored or archived securely to prevent loss, theft or unauthorised use or disclosure.

We will retain your information for a time period sufficient to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer period of retention is required or allowed for by law.

We will securely destroy or de-identify any information that is no longer required.

We request that you do not supply us with any sensitive personal information (for example, ethnic origin, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background etc.). If you do so, you consent to us collecting and handling that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Cookies

We may collect your personal information through use of cookies. A ‘cookie’ is a small file of letters and numbers downloaded onto your computer when you access a website.

This enables us to recognise your computer when you log in and greet you each time you visit any of our websites and you may not need to log-in or register once again. We also use cookies to keep track of products or services you view, so that we can inform you of news about these. Cookies also assist EMN to measure traffic patterns so that we can improve our online services to you.

If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can alter your browser settings so that your computer will not accept them.

We may also log your IP address to analyse trends, traffic and gather demographic information.

We may also collect information which is not considered personal information relating to your activity on our websites or we may collect anonymous information from you in response to surveys. This information assists us to report statistics, administer our services, diagnose concerns and problems and improve our service to you. This information will not identify you or anyone else in any way.

Links

Our websites may contain links to other websites which are operated by third parties. These third party websites are responsible for their own content and for informing you about their privacy policies.

Marketing Information

We may send you marketing communications and other information regarding services or products that we believe you may be interested in. We will use your preferred method of communication if you have selected one, or this information may be delivered using email, mail or SMS.

You may opt-out of receiving these communications at any time, using opt-out methods such as “unsubscribe” links or by contacting us as set out below. If you opt-out, we will ensure that your name is removed from our mailing list. We will not provide your personal information to any other organisation for this purpose unless we have your express permission.

Competitions:

All competition prizes need to be picked up in person at 13 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine.

When you enter any online Castlemaine Mail competition, we will collect your name and email address. We may contact you in future by email for marketing purposes, but you can opt out of receiving marketing emails by contacting us (see below) or clicking the unsubscribe link on any email.

One entry per email address, per competition. When there are multiple prize draws for the same competition, entrants can’t win more than once prize.

No staff or family of staff of the Castlemaine Mail are able to enter the competition and all rights will be at the discretion of the management of Elliott Midland Newspapers.

Digital Subscriptions:

1. Subscription Agreement: By subscribing to The Castlemaine Mail online, the subscriber agrees to the terms and conditions set forth herein, which may be updated from time to time without notice. Subscription access is for personal, non-commercial use only.

2. Payment and Renewal: Subscription fees will be charged on a pre-pay basis on the day the subscription begins and will cover the use of the service for a monthly or annual subscription period as indicated. Subscriptions automatically renew unless the subscriber cancels the service before the end of the current subscription period. Subscribers will receive a reminder about automatic renewal in the weeks prior.

3. Cancellation Policy: Subscribers may cancel their subscription at any time by accessing their account settings. Upon cancellation, access will continue until the end of the current paid term. Subscription fees are non-refundable.

4. Content Usage: Subscribers are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access The Castlemaine Mail content for personal use only. Reproduction, distribution, or use of content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.

5. Privacy Policy: Subscriber personal information will be handled in accordance with this privacy policy, outlined above. This includes the collection, use, and sharing of subscriber data as necessary for providing and improving the service.

Changes to our Private Policy

We may change this privacy policy from time to time. Any updated versions of this privacy policy will be posted on our websites. This privacy policy was last updated in September 2022.

Access to Your Information, Complaints and Queries

If you wish to access, review or have questions or would like to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer by:

Email: classifieds@midnews.com.au

Mail: 3 Market Street, Kyneton VIC 3444

Phone: 03 5422 1488

And set out details of your questions or complaints. All complaints will be dealt with fairly and in a timely manner and a response will be provided within 30 days of receipt of such complaint or request. If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.