Overview
Jesus Youth Australia ("we", "us", "our") operates the JY Australia Safeguarding Platform at safeguarding.jesusyouth.org.au and the JY Safeguarding mobile application. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information through our platform.
We are committed to protecting the privacy of all users, particularly children and young people in our care, in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Information we collect
We collect the following categories of personal information:
- Parent/Guardian information: name, email address, phone number, Google account details used for authentication
- Child information: name, date of birth, gender (Male or Female), residential address, separately entered suburb or locality, medical conditions, allergies, medications, photo/video consent preferences, emergency contact details
- Volunteer information: name, email address, phone number, state, Working With Children Check (WWCC) number and expiry date, safeguarding training completion dates
- Attendance records: sign-in and sign-out times, session dates, dropper/collector details
- Incident records: safeguarding incident details as required by Australian Child Safe Standards
- Concern reports: what you choose to tell us through the public "Report a concern" form, which may include details about a child or young person, about the people involved, and your contact details if you provide them. Reports can be made anonymously. To prevent abuse of the form we keep a salted, one-way hash of the sending network address, stored separately from your report, only while the sending limit applies: about an hour for a single connection, or until the end of the day for the overall limit. It is then deleted automatically; automatic deletion is normally completed within a further 24 hours. The hash cannot be turned back into the address.
How we use your information
We use personal information solely for the following purposes:
- Managing attendance and ensuring the safety of children during ministry programs
- Verifying volunteer Working With Children Check clearances
- Tracking safeguarding training compliance
- Communicating with parents and volunteers about program activities
- Maintaining records for child safeguarding and mandatory reporting obligations
- Generating compliance reports as required by Australian Child Safe Standards
Data storage and security
All data is stored on Google Cloud Platform (Firebase) in the Sydney, Australia data centre (australia-southeast1). Data is encrypted in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest.
We implement the following security measures:
- Authentication via Google Sign-In or secure email link (no passwords stored)
- Role-based access controls (parents see only their own children, officers see only their assigned state)
- Attendance and incident records are immutable and cannot be deleted
- Sensitive information (medical details, WWCC numbers) is stored in protected Firestore collections
Data sharing
We do not sell, trade, or share personal information with third parties. Data is only accessible to:
- Parents/guardians (their own children's information)
- Ministry leaders (attendance for their assigned group)
- Regional Safeguarding Officers (volunteer and child records within their state)
- Regional Coordinators (group management within their state)
- National Safeguarding Officer (oversight across all states)
We may disclose information to authorities if required by law, including mandatory reporting obligations under Australian child protection legislation.
Data retention
We retain personal information for as long as it is needed to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Specifically:
- Active child registrations are retained while the child participates in programs
- Parents may deactivate their child's registration at any time through the platform
- Attendance and incident records are retained permanently as required for safeguarding audit purposes
- Concern reports are retained as safeguarding records on the same basis as incident records.
- Volunteer WWCC records are retained for the duration of their involvement plus any mandatory retention period
Your rights
Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Update your contact details, medical information, and emergency contacts through the platform
- Withdraw consent for photo/video at any time
- Request deactivation of your child's registration
Children's privacy
We take children's privacy seriously. Children do not create accounts or interact with the platform directly. All child information is managed by their parent/guardian and authorised safeguarding personnel. We collect only the minimum information necessary to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in our care.
We ask for each child's gender to plan rooming and supervision at events. Parents can record or correct it, and the suburb or locality, from the parent dashboard.
Authorised regional coordinator and safeguarding officer event Day Sheets include gender and suburb or locality rather than the full residential address, alongside parent contact details for event communications and emergencies. These confidential files must not be forwarded outside authorised event safeguarding personnel and must be deleted within seven days after the event ends. Existing records without a separately supplied gender or suburb are marked as not collected; we do not infer gender from a name, or a suburb from a street address, and we do not send addresses to an external lookup service.
Cookies and analytics
The platform does not use cookies for tracking or advertising. We use browser local storage solely to remember your sign-in email for convenience. No third-party analytics or advertising services are integrated into the platform.
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact:
Jesus Youth Australia - Safeguarding Team
Email: safeguarding@jesusyouth.org.au
Website: jesusyouth.org.au
Complaints
If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles, you may lodge a complaint with us at the contact details above. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.