Privacy

The Privacy Act:

In Australia we follow the Privacy Act 1988. It deals with a number of privacy rights known as the Information Privacy Principles. These principles govern when and how personal information can be collected by government agencies. The information must only be collected if relevant to the agencies' functions.

Australians have a right to know why the information about them is being collected, and who will have access to the information. Those in charge of storing the information have obligations to ensure such information isn’t lost or exploited. An Australian will also have the right to access the information unless this is specifically prohibited by law.

Privacy Laws

The Privacy Act covers many laws, called Privacy Laws.

Privacy law in Australia includes Federal and state information privacy legislation, some             sector-specific privacy legislation at state level, regulation of the media and some criminal sanctions.

Privacy Laws can be divided into two sections:

General Privacy Laws – have an overall bearing on the personal information of individuals and affect the policies that govern many different areas of information.

Specific Privacy Laws – are designed to regulate specific information. Some of these include:

·         Health Privacy Laws

·         Finance Privacy Laws

·         Online Privacy Laws

·         Communication  Privacy Laws

·         Information Privacy Laws

·         Privacy in one’s home

·         Consumer Privacy Laws

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Source: http://www.wikipedia.com/

Spam

Spam we all get it, we all don’t want it, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) is fighting to get rid of it, the internet highway has major traffic jams because of it and some spam messages spread viruses.

How can you tell a message you are receiving is spam, if it doesn’t identify the person or organisation that is sending the message. If the message doesn’t have a functional unsubscribe facility so you can opt out of receiving the message. If you are sending messages from your organisation then you must have consent from the receiver.

Spam stands for Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages and is not just email on the computers it is also sms and mms messaging on a mobile phone of commercial interest

Ways to avoid spam:

·         Avoid giving your email address out

·         When signing up for something make sure your email is not going to be given to sister companies and if you are not wanting to receive frequent emails then you need to make sure you un tick any unnecessary boxes.

·         You can get spam filtering software on your computer

·         Always delete any suspicious emails as this could stop viruses entering your computer.

The spam filtering software has good points and bad points as some times it can not only filter out the junk mail it can also block a genuine message. So it might be best not to block them but to have them sent to a separate folder. Then you can sort them, and decide for yourself which is Spam and which is a genuine email. You then just delete the emails that you don’t recognise as opening them could lead to further problems.

The ACMA is a government organisation trying to prevent spam. The spam act 2003 says. “It is illegal for unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link to be sent, or cause to be sent. A message has an Australian link if it originates or was commissioned in Australia, or originates overseas but has been sent to an address accessed in Australia.” http://www.acma.gov.au/ The penalties for repeat corporate offenders are very high with fines of up to million dollars a day.

When you are in business you may want to purchase lists of email addresses or mobile numbers so you can market your business. If you do this then you must ask to see proof that these lists have been obtained or where these lists came from. If you send out emails from one of these list without an opt out feature and this person hasn’t given you consent to receive emails. Then you are the one who will get fined under the spam act not the company who sold you the list.

Are you sending spam?

·         You cannot send an email to see if the customer wants to receive emails from you.

·         Pre ticked boxes are not to be used the client has to physically tick the box

·         If you do not hear from the customer you cannot assume this is ok

If in business we make sure we don’t spam and we as clients report spam then perhaps more emails would be read instead of just going to the junk folder.

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What to do with the emails and sms that you believe to be spam:

The only way to stop receiving Spam is to report the offenders to the ACMA so they can deal with the email and warn other people on their web site. They do have a section covering all the latest scams so you can check in every now and again to see what’s new to avoid.

The email that you believe to be Spam should be forwarded to Spam Intelligence Database at report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au

Anti Discrimination

Anti- Discrimination legislations are very important and affect people greatly. They ensure that all people are unable to treat someone differently compared to others, for reasons such as: sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, race, homosexuality or age. There are four types of discrimination which are the following: Direct, Indirect, Harassment and Vilification. 

Direct Discrimination: When somebody treats someone differently because of their sex, marital status, race, age, homosexuality, if they are pregnant or suffer from a disability. An example of this is when an employer doesn’t hire somebody only because they are homosexual. Most public places have a legislation which covers this (accommodation, clubs, sport, advertising, employment, education and more.)   

Indirect Discrimination: When somebody or a team of people treat everyone exactly the same, which is a disadvantage to some people. For example if a shop only sold shampoo to people with brunette hair, it is not directly discriminating against one person, but it means a negative effect is reached as there are many people that do not  have brunette hair. This type of discrimination is hard to measure and is measured depending on the specific case.

Harassment: Is any sort of behaviour that is not wanted, not asked for and not returned. Harassment includes things such as: putting someone down, embarrassing/ humiliating them, offending them and intimidating them. It is important to report harassment to your peers, employer, teacher, parents or friends. If harassment is not stoped it can become very serious and have extreme effects. It is a criminal offence to harass someone.   

Vilification: Vilification is the practice of being racist, anti-gay, and anti-AIDS or any act that will encourage hatred or severe ridicule. Encouraging other people or teams of people to hate or ridicule a certain group of people is against the law.

Anti-discrimination legislations are enforced to ensure that there are equal opportunities for all. Practising discrimination in any of the above forms is against the law meaning you can be prosecuted.

Ashleigh Needs

http://emilie.eliamep.gr/policy-briefs-on-anti-discrimination/

O.H.S

Legislation overview for all states acts and national standards

The legislation of OHS (Occupation, health and safety) Covers employees and employers from accidents within a work site if OHS guild lines are followed, every state in Australia has its own OHS act, but a national requirement has to be met to insure safely requirements are met and risk factors within the workplace are managed.

The national legislation is as made to create a safer workplace environment and although the costs involved in making a safer work environment, training of staff members, costs for machinery and other OHS requirements maybe a bit costly, it is a long term investment within your business to prevent workplace accidents and/or cause any health or safety problems for any employees, customers within the business premises, or even the general public.

The manager, supervisor or anyone that is in charge makes sure that they follow the legislation by checking that the following are covered and to OHS standards and anything that is in breach to be deal with as soon as possible. The following is an overview of requirements in the legislation:

·         A Safe premises for employers, employees, customers, and the public.

·         Safe machinery and materials.

·         Safe systems of work.

·         Information, instruction, training and supervision.

·         A suitable working environment and facilities.

OHS inspections are run mostly by a third party, an OHS consultant will inspect the business and check if it is in breach of any OHS requirements and/or any risks are not dealt with, they will write them in a report of the inspection and address any risks that the business may have and if no action is taken about any breaches, the matter is then enforceable by law to provide a safe workplace.

They also provide education, training and advice on OHS to the workplace. You can get information about the OHS obligations and other valuable OHS information regarding the business and its employees.

Employees can report any breach’s or risks within the workplace to a supervisor/manager and they will be able to assess and manage the risk according.

Risk management:

Employers also manage the risk involve within the workplace, risks like:

·         Identifying hazards in the workplace and minimising the risks involved.

·         The work space provided and that there is enough room to carry out tasks.

·         Lighting is enough also to carry out tasks.

·         The lighting on emergency exit signs work and easy to see.

·         The management of noise within the workplace.

·         Electricity, that all ports are safe to use, testing and inspection of equipment and that the wiring is safe and secure and won’t cause any harm.

·         Manual handing and that correct procedures are followed when lifting, carrying, pushing etc.

In conclusion:

Employers are to follow the national and state requirements to insure that the workplace is a safe environment for all within the workplace, fail to do so, the manager/supervisor would be liable for any injury’s to employees, employers or the general public if they fail to provide a safe environment.

Training is provided to staff members to operate any machinery in the workplace and to insure that any risks involved with any tasks is dealt with by removing the risk or managing the risk to reduce to the risks involved.

Reference pages

http://web.aeromech.usyd.edu.au/ohsrm/OHS%20Legislation%20Summary.pdf

http://www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Occupationalhealthandsafety/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Occupationalhealthandsafety/Pages/YourOHandSobligations.aspx

http://www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Occupationalhealthandsafety/Pages/OHandSActsRegulationsandCodesofPractice.aspx

This document was written by Christopher Matowitz