Privacy Policy

Float Therapy Association Australia & New Zealand ABN 8471 3793 197 (FTAANZ, we, our or us) appreciates the importance of protecting your personal information and recognises the trust placed in us when you supply your personal information to us. 

FTAANZ will control the collection, security, quality, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). 

This Privacy Policy explains in general terms how FTAANZ protects the privacy of your personal information under the Australian Privacy Principles.

Definition of personal information

The expression ‘personal information’ is defined in the Privacy Acts as information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.

Collection and use of personal information

The kinds of personal information that we collect and hold about you depends on the transactions you undertake with us. 

The kinds of information that we collect and hold may include: 

  • name 
  • contact details (i.e. contact address(es), contact number(s), email address) 
  • date of birth 
  • insurance details (e.g. type of insurance and expiration date) 
  • registration categories (e.g. one tank, two or more tanks, franchee) 
  • centre details (i.e. current place of employment, work as a sole trader or individual) 
  • professional interest/practice areas/settings 
  • business type and services 
  • credit card details
  • other information relevant to the float industry that may be of interest to FTA ANZ 
  • your internet service provider, computer or mobile device when use of our website or mobile app and you have enabled ‘cookies’, ‘web beacons’ and/or other technologies

Typical situations when FTAANZ will collect personal information from you, is if you:

  • apply to join FTAANZ as a member or register as an FTA ANZ professional
  • register or renew through the website
  • register for an event
  • Connect with suppliers or manufacturers
  • use our website

Promote your program or event

As far as possible, FTAANZ will collect your personal information directly from you unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so.  If FTAANZ collects information about you from someone else, FTAANZ will, whenever reasonably possible, make you aware that FTAANZ has done this and the circumstances of that collection.

In particular, FTAANZ will collect personal information about you in the following circumstances:

Collection from third parties

FTAANZ will collect personal information from external service provider to whom FTAANZ  has contracted out for specific purposes.  FTAANZ will also collect personal information from third parties who offer products and services to FTAANZ’s members or registrants.

FTAANZ will also collect personal information for handling complaints about members and registrants.

If you obtain services from third parties in conjunction with membership or registration with FTAANZ, the third parties may provide personal information such as the general nature of the work and costs, as far as it is permitted by law.

If you use our website, we may utilise ‘cookies’ and any other technologies, which enable us to monitor traffic patterns and to serve you more efficiently if you revisit our website / mobile app.  A cookie or similar technology does not identify you personally but may identify your internet service provider, computer or mobile device.  You can set your browser or mobile device to notify you when you receive a cookie or web beacon and this will provide you with an opportunity to either accept or reject it in each instance.

Generally, the purpose of collection and holding personal information, and the minimum information you need to provide, will be conveyed to you at the time of collection.

If we collect sensitive information about you, we will only do so with your consent, unless consent is not required by law.  Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act and includes information about your membership in a professional association such as FTAANZ, health information and race origin.

You do not need to identify yourself when you deal with us (e.g. enquiring about membership or registration) but there are certain situations where we will only deal with individuals who identify themselves (e.g. providing fitness services).  However, if you choose not to provide the personal information requested, we may not be able to provide you with the products/services you require.

Unsolicited personal information

If we receive unsolicited personal information about you, we will, within a reasonable period after receiving the information, determine whether or not we could have collected the information under the privacy laws if we had solicited the information. If we could have collected the personal information, we will ensure that this Privacy Policy is complied with in relation to that information and will notify you:

  • that the unsolicited personal information has been collected;
  • the circumstances of that collection; and
  • refer you to this Privacy Policy.

If we could not have collected the personal information had we solicited it, we will destroy the information or ensure it is de-identified as soon as practicable.

Purpose of collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information

The purposes of collecting, storing, using and disclosing your personal information may be to: 

  • that the unsolicited personal information has been collected;
  • the circumstances of that collection; and
  • refer you to this Privacy Policy.
  • verify your identity
  • fulfil our functions as the peak body of the float industry
  • provide the products and services you have requested
  • administer and manage service offerings, including charging, billing and collecting debts
  • research and development of FTAANZ’s products and services
  • maintain registration and membership records
  • gain an understanding of your information and communication needs to provide you with a better service
  • provide access to information about current and future services and benefits
  • conduct research surveys and consultation to identify and analyse the ongoing needs of members and the industry
  • provide FTAANZ partners with information so that they may contact you in relation to their products and services
  • handle complaints about members or registrants
  • handle and conduct disciplinary proceedings on members
  • inform the public of your membership or registration status
  • publish a Register of FTA ANZ Professionals, Business Directory and Industry Directories (which are explained further below)
  • tell you about products and services that may be of interest to you

If we could not have collected the personal information had we solicited it, we will destroy the information or ensure it is de-identified as soon as practicable.

Direct marketing 

We may use or disclose your personal information for the purpose of direct marketing.  That is, to promote our products or services or those of third parties. 

You expressly consent to the use or disclosure of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.  You also expressly consent for FTAANZ to disclose your personal information to our business partners or other third party providers to facilitate their sending direct marketing communications to you.

You may ask us to identify the source of the personal information that we use or disclose for direct marketing purposes.  You can do this at any time by contacting us via the details set out at the end of this Privacy Policy.

If at any time you do not wish to receive any further direct marketing communications whether from us or from third parties, you can ask us not to send you any further direct marketing communications and not to disclose your personal information to third parties for that purpose. You can do this at any time by using the “unsubscribe” facility included in a prominent statement in the direct marketing communications or by contacting us via the details set out at the end of this Privacy Policy.

Disclosure of personal information to third parties

In addition for the direct marketing purposes referred to above, we may disclose your personal information to third parties, which may include:

  • external service providers to whom we have contracted out functions, such as printers, mailing houses, advertising agencies, but only for the purpose of providing the service we have contracted out
  • our business partners that provide products and/or services to our members and/or registrants
  • government and regulatory authorities and other organisations, as required or authorised by law
  • our professional advisors
  • our related companies
  • other professional bodies

In these situations, FTAANZ prohibits the third party contractors from using personal information about you except for the specific purpose for which FTAANZ supply it.  We will not disclose your personal information to business partners as described in this section above, if you advise us that you do not wish us to. Please refer to our contact details set out below.

Other than the above, FTAANZ will not disclose your personal information without your consent unless disclosure is either necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety, authorised or required by law, reasonably necessary to enforce the law or necessary to investigate a suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct.

FTAANZ may disclose your personal information through a Register of FTAANZ Professionals (Register) and Directory (Business Directory) [and Industry Directories (Industry Directories)].  The Register and Directories are available to be searched by the public through our website.

The purposes of the Register are:

  • to enable consumers, employers, health funds, health professionals or other parties to:
    • check whether a professional is registered with FTAANZ and to search for a professional by location, role (registration category), knowledge and skills
    • understand and recognise the specific expertise (qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience) that are available in the fitness industry
    • understand professional scope of practice, code of ethics and associated professional roles and responsibilities
  • to promote compliance with evidence based industry standards and currency of registration including continuing education and first aid and CPR obligations
  • support high quality and safe delivery of professional services

The purposes of the Business Directory are to:

  • enable consumers, employers, health funds, health professionals or other parties to:
    • check whether a business is a member of FTAANZ and to search for a business by location and service type
    • understand and recognise the diversity of services that are available in the fitness industry
  • promote compliance with FTAANZ’s Business Principles and Guidance for Fitness Businesses, and evidence based industry standards
  • support high quality and safe delivery of fitness business services

The purposes of the Industry Directories are to:

  • enable FTAANZ professionals or FTAANZ business manager/owners to search for and find the products or services they need to deliver successful, high quality and safe fitness services
  • provide suppliers and approved CEC providers with a platform that will enable them to increase their profile and promote their products or services to the industry

You may opt out of having your personal information published through any of the Register or Directories at any time by writing to us.

If your details are published in the Register or Directories, and you choose to withdraw your consent to have your personal information published in the Register or Directories, employers and potential clients will not be able to confirm your registration or membership status unless they contact us directly.  In addition, if you are a registrant or a member and choose to withdraw your consent to allow third parties to contact you via the Register, health fund providers may not be able to refer clients to you.

If you are no longer a member of ours or registered with us, we will retain and disclose your personal information for the purposes described above for a two year period before deleting or de-identifying it.

How FTAANZ holds personal information

Once we have collected personal information from you, FTAANZ transfers data to our servers in Sydney for storage and processing.  You consent to that transfer.  As the Register and Directories are publically available online, it can be viewed on the internet unless you have told us that you do not want your information to appear in the online Register and Directories.

Please also refer to our policy on data quality and security below.

Data Quality

We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that personal information about you collected by us is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, the accuracy of that information depends to a large extent on the information you provide. 

We require that you: 

  • let us know if there are any errors in your personal information; and 
  • keep us up-to-date with changes to your information.

Data security

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is protected from misuse, loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

If we no longer need your personal information for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed or required by law, we will take reasonable steps to destroy the information or ensure that the information is de-identified.

Access and correction of personal information

You can request access to, or ask us to correct, personal information about you that we hold by making a request in writing to FTAANZ.  We will respond to your request within a reasonable period after the request is made.

Members and registrants can access and update their contact details and profiles by logging in to our website.

Resolving your concerns 

If you wish to gain access or seek correction to your personal information, have complaints about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) or a registered APP code (if any) that binds FTA ANZ, or you have any questions or concerns on how your personal information is handled, please address the issues to:

Privacy Officer

  1. info@floattherapy.org.au

FTAANZ will respond to your request, complaint or inquiry within a reasonable period.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

FTA ANZ may amend this Privacy Policy as our business requirements or the law changes.

For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit the Office of Australian Information Commissioner’s website on www.privacy.gov.au