CSI Church Sydney Inc – Privacy Policy

October 15, 2026 · Pastorate Committee

1. Our Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how CSI Church Sydney Inc (the Church, we, us), collects, stores, uses and shares the Personal Information of our congregation members, their families and other people connected with our ministry.

We respect your privacy. We handle Personal Information, as defined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act), in line with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in Schedule 1 of that Act. Where the law does not strictly require it, we follow these principles voluntarily as a matter of good stewardship.

This policy applies to everyone who is on our membership register, attends our services or events, volunteers, or appears in our photographs, videos and live streams. It is set by the Pastorate Committee and may be updated from time to time (see section 12).

2. Consent

By signing the membership declaration, or by continuing to take part in the life of the Church after being given this policy, you consent to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of your Personal Information as described here and as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.

The declaration you sign confirms that the information you gave is true, correct and complete, and that you agree to the privacy clauses set by the Pastorate Committee. It also includes your permission for the Church to publish photographs and videos of you and your family, including children, for ministry purposes.

Your information about your religious affiliation and membership is treated as sensitive information under the Privacy Act. We collect and use it only for membership and ministry purposes, and only with your consent or as the law allows.

Because the Church is run by a small group of volunteers, this consent applies automatically to every congregation member and their family and is recorded in the membership declaration. If you have a concern about how your information or image is used, you can raise it in writing with the Privacy Officer (see sections 9 and 11).

3. Personal Information we collect

(a) Identifiable information. We collect Personal Information that identifies you, including:

•      names, and the names of family members and dependents;

•      important dates, such as date of birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage and membership dates;

•      residential and postal addresses;

•      mobile, home and work telephone numbers, and email addresses;

•      emergency contact details;

•      photographs and video or audio recordings in which you appear, including live-streamed services; and

•      records of your participation, such as attendance, ministry roles, volunteering and pastoral contact.

(b) Sensitive information. Your membership of a church and your religious beliefs and practices are sensitive information. We collect this only where it is reasonably necessary for our ministry and records.

(c) Non-identifiable information. When you use our website or social media pages, we may collect information that cannot identify you by itself, such as your browser and device type, operating system, approximate location, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit.

(d) Information we do not collect. We do not collect credit card details through membership forms. Any online giving is handled by a separate payment provider under its own privacy terms.

4. How we collect Personal Information

We collect Personal Information mainly:

•      directly from you, through membership, baptism, marriage and other registration forms, and when you contact the Church office or clergy;

•      at services, fellowship meetings and church events, where we may take photographs and video;

•      through our website, email lists, event registrations and feedback forms;

•      through our social media pages and live-streamed services; and

•      from a parent or guardian, for children, or from another family member who provides details of your household.

If you choose not to give us some information, we may not be able to keep accurate church records, provide pastoral care, or include you in some church activities.

5. How we use Personal Information

We use your Personal Information only for purposes connected with the life and ministry of the Church, including:

•      keeping the church membership register and other church records;

•      pastoral care, home and hospital visits, and prayer support;

•      sending service notices, newsletters, event details and other church communications by post, phone, SMS, WhatsApp or email;

•      organising services, ministries, Sunday school, youth and volunteer rosters;

•      celebrating milestones such as birthdays, baptisms and anniversaries within the congregation;

•      publishing photographs and videos as described in section 6;

•      meeting legal, insurance, child safety and reporting obligations; and

•      administering the Church as an incorporated association, including meetings and elections.

We will not use your information for a different purpose unless you would reasonably expect it, you consent, or the law requires or permits it. We do not sell your Personal Information or use it for commercial marketing.

6. Photographs, videos and live streaming

Membership of the congregation includes your agreement, and that of your family including children, that the Church may take and publish photographs and videos at services and events. We publish them in official church publications, on our website, on our social media channels, and in live-streamed or recorded services, for ministry purposes only.

When we publish images, we will:

•      use them only to share the life and mission of the Church, never for commercial purposes;

•      avoid publishing a child's full name, home address, school or other identifying details alongside their image;

•      avoid images that are inappropriate, embarrassing or that show a person in a vulnerable situation;

•      remove an image from our website and pages we control, within a reasonable time, when you ask; and

•      display notices at services and events where filming or live streaming is taking place.

Because services are open to visitors, people who sit in areas that are visible to cameras may appear in recordings.

Once an image is on the internet or a social media platform, it may be shared, copied or kept by others. We can remove what we control, but we cannot guarantee removal from copies made by third parties.

7. Disclosure of Personal Information

(a) Disclosure. We keep your Personal Information confidential and do not sell it or share it with third parties, except where:

•      you have consented, including through the photo and video permission in section 6;

•      we must share it to comply with the law, a court order or a subpoena;

•      it is needed to protect the safety of a person, particularly a child, or to report a child safety concern to the proper authority;

•      it is needed by service providers who help us run the Church, such as our website host, email or messaging services, cloud storage providers, insurers and accountants, who must keep it confidential and use it only for our purposes; or

•      another exception in the Privacy Act applies.

(b) Members' directory. We do not share a members' address and phone directory with other members unless you have agreed to be listed in it.

(c) Cross-border disclosure. Some of our service providers and platforms store data outside Australia. This includes social media and video platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp, Church Directory, and cloud storage and email services. These are mainly located in the United States and may also be in other countries. When you consent to publication of images or use of these services, you understand that your information may be handled overseas under the platform's own privacy terms.

8. Security and retention

We take reasonable steps to protect Personal Information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:

•      keeping paper forms in locked storage and digital records in password-protected systems;

•      limiting access to the clergy, Pastorate Committee members and office bearers who need it for their role; and

•      asking anyone who handles member data to keep it confidential and not to copy or share it for other purposes.

No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a data breach likely to cause serious harm, we will act quickly to contain it, notify affected people and report it to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where the law requires.

We keep membership records for as long as you remain a member and for a reasonable period afterwards, as needed for church history, sacramental records and legal obligations. Baptism, confirmation and marriage registers are permanent church records. When other information is no longer needed, we destroy it securely or remove identifying details.

9. Access, correction and withdrawal of consent

You can ask us at any time to:

•      give you a copy of the Personal Information we hold about you;

•      correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date;

•      remove your photo or video from our website and social media pages;

•      delete your information, where we are not required to keep it.

Please contact the Church Privacy Officer (section 11) in writing. We will confirm your identity and respond within a reasonable time, normally within 30 days. If we cannot give you access or make a change, we will explain why in writing.

Please also let us know when your address, phone number, email or family details change so that our records stay accurate.

10. Children and young people

We take extra care with the information and images of children. For anyone under 18, we ask a parent or guardian to provide information on the child's behalf. The parent or guardian's membership declaration applies to their children, including for the publication of photographs and videos.

Parents and guardians can raise concerns about their child's image, or ask us to consider removing it, by contacting the Privacy Officer.

We do not publish a child's contact details, and we take care not to name a child alongside their photograph. Children's ministry and youth activities follow the Church's child safe practices.

11. Enquiries, concerns and complaints

Privacy Officer. Questions, access requests and concerns about this policy can be sent to the current Church Public Officer via email to committee@csichurchsydney.org

If you believe your Personal Information has been misused or disclosed without authorisation, or that we have breached this policy or Australian privacy law, please contact the Public Officer first. We will investigate and reply in writing.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

•      by phone: 1300 363 992

•      by post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

•      online: www.oaic.gov.au

12. Changes to this policy

The Pastorate Committee may update this policy from time to time. The current version is available from our website, and changes take effect when published. Where a change is significant, we will tell members through our usual communication channels.