Privacy Policy

1. Purpose

The Energy Efficiency Council Inc. (EEC) values your privacy, and is committed to complying with its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

2. Scope

This Privacy Policy is effective from 23 June 2022. The EEC carries out its activities in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act. This Privacy Policy summarises how we collect, use and manage your Personal Information, and what information we might collect from you.

Please note that this Privacy Policy does not govern the collection and use of information by companies that the EEC does not control, nor by individuals not employed or managed by the EEC. If you visit a website that we mention or link to, be sure to review its privacy policy before providing the site with information.

3. What information we collect

We only collect Personal Information that is reasonably necessary for the performance of the EEC’s functions and activities.  If you decide not to provide certain Personal Information to us, we may not be able to provide you with a requested service.  By using an EEC service, engaging with the EEC, or providing your information directly to us, you agree to the EEC collecting, storing, using, maintaining and disclosing your Personal Information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise notified to you.

The types of Personal Information that we collect vary depending on which services you use and our relationship with you.  They may include:

1. your name, occupation, company, email address, phone number, billing address and shipping address;
2. your EEC user ID and password;
3. credit card information;
4. any account preference information you provide us;
5. your computer’s domain name and IP address, indicating where your computer is located on the Internet;
6. session data for your login session, so that our computer can communicate with your computer or other device while you are logged in;
7. information provided to us as part of your participation in our events and training program;
8. information provided to us as part of your participation in the EEC Professional Certifications Framework;
9. if you apply for a job with us, your curriculum vitae, which includes your qualifications, experience, education and employment history, and
10. other types of personal information collected from any individuals as part of any of the activities undertaken by the EEC.

You may also provide us with Personal Information concerning other individuals.  In this case, we rely on you to have:

1. informed those individuals that you are providing us with their Personal Information; and
2. advised them of this Privacy Policy.

4. how we collect personal information

Generally, we collect most Personal Information directly from you, for example where you:

1. use our services through our website(s);
2. register for our services;
3. participate in our events and training program;
4. participate in the EEC Professional Certifications Framework; and
5. request customer service or otherwise contact us,

If the EEC holds Personal Information about you that it has collected from different sources (other than through the EEC’s website(s)), this Personal Information may be combined into a single record.

5. How we use and disclose information

5.1 Purposes of use and disclosure

Unless otherwise disclosed during the collection process, Personal Information which we collect from you is used for purposes related to the performance of the EEC’s functions and activities, or for any other purposes which are within your reasonable expectations or otherwise permitted by law.

If you do provide Personal Information to the EEC, either directly or through a business partner (such as another user of the EEC’s products or services or any service provider with whom the EEC contracts to provide its services), we will:

1. not sell or rent it to a third party without your permission. Unless you opt out, however, we may use your contact information to provide you with information we believe you need to know or may find useful, such as (for example) news about our services and modifications to our website terms and conditions, available at and
2. use commercially reasonable measures to protect the information from loss, misuse and unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.

By way of example, we use and disclose your Personal Information for the following purposes:

1. as necessary to provide services you have requested, or products you have ordered, such as (for example) by providing it to a carrier to deliver products you have ordered, or providing information about you under the EEC’s Professional Certifications Framework);
2. to administer, manage, and improve our services, including to perform identity-related checks (if required);
3. to assist in investigating and responding to your complaints and enquiries;
4. in relation to the ;
5. in other ways described in this Privacy Policy or to which you have otherwise consented;
6. as required by law, for example, in response to a subpoena or search warrant;
7. to outside auditors who have agreed to keep the information confidential;
8. as necessary to enforce our website terms and conditions, available at eec.org.au/legal, or to comply with or enforce any other agreement you have with us (including for the EEC’s Professional Certifications Framework);
9. as necessary to manage our business and assets, including any restructure, merger or sale of our business or assets or any part of them; and
10. as necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of the EEC, its users, or others. This may include (for example) exchanging information with other organisations for fraud protection and/or risk reduction.

We may also use and disclose your Personal Information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act.

5.2 Usual disclosure to third parties

As part of the uses and disclosures set out in section 5.1 above, we may disclose your Personal Information to the following third parties:

1. organisations which facilitate the provision of services to you, or assist with the operation of our organisation;
2. our payment processing provider, for the purposes of processing your payment or refund or investigating suspected fraud;
3. in relation to the EEC’s training program, to external certifying bodies with whom we have a contract to deliver and support their services;
4. in relation to the EEC Professional Certifications Framework, to government bodies and (if applicable) on any online register used by third parties to check certifications under the framework;
5. our service providers and business partners (including those located overseas);
6. third party hosting vendors with whom we have contracted (and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such entities agree to protect that information in accordance with the Privacy Act); and
7. law enforcement agencies and other government and regulatory bodies as required or authorised by law.

We will not disclose your Personal Information to third parties except as permitted under the Privacy Act.

6. Other information we collect

We may also combine your Personal Information with other information in the aggregate and use or disclose it in such a way so that your identity cannot reasonably be determined (for example, statistical compilations).  We may also collect other information that cannot be readily used to identify you, such as (for example) the domain name and IP address of your computer.  In each case, this information is not considered your Personal Information.

We may use this information, individually or in the aggregate, for technical administration of our website(s); research and development; customer- and account- administration; and to help us focus our marketing efforts more precisely.

7. Cookies

The EEC uses “cookies” to store personal data on your electronic devices, so that we can help personalise your online experience. We may also link information stored on your computer in cookies with Personal Information about specific individuals stored on our servers. This anonymous data may be used by us and our online service providers to improve our services, to provide our services to you, for our internal management needs, and for any other use which is required or authorised by law.

If you set up your web browser (for example, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Firefox) so that cookies are not allowed, you might not be able to use some or all of the features of our website(s).

8. OFFSHORE DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In some cases, our service providers, including technology or data storage providers, are located in countries outside Australia.  While it is not reasonably practicable to list all of the countries to which your Personal Information may be disclosed from time to time, it is likely that such countries may include the USA and New Zealand.  Where we share your Personal Information with such entities, we will do so in compliance with the Privacy Act, and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such entities agree to protect that information in accordance with the Privacy Act.

9. Your privacy responsibilities

To help protect your privacy, be sure:

1. not to share your user ID or password with anyone else;
2. to log off EEC website(s) when you are finished; and
3. to take customary precautions to guard against “malware” (viruses, Trojan horses, bots, etc.), for example by installing and updating suitable anti-virus software.

10. Security of information

The EEC has implemented various physical, electronic and managerial security procedures in order to protect Personal Information.  The EEC regularly reviews security and encryption technologies and we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to protect the Personal Information we hold from loss and misuse, and from unauthorised access, modification, disclosure and interference.

We will also take steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to destroy or de-identify Personal Information once we no longer need it for any purpose for which the information may be used, disclosed or retained under the Privacy Act.

When using our website(s), you should be aware that no data transmission over the Internet is totally secure.  Although we strive to protect such information, we do not warrant the security of any information that you provide us over the Internet, and you do so at your own risk.

The online booking facilities of our third-party providers  utilise Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure the security of all online booking transactions.  SSL encryption is automatically enabled whenever the user submits confidential information to us via the Internet.

11. Access to and correction of personal information

Subject to any exceptions set out in applicable privacy laws, we invite you to access any Personal Information we may hold about you.

Where Personal Information we hold about you is not accurate, complete, up-to-date or relevant, you may ask us to correct that personal information, and we will respond to your request within a reasonable time.

Upon a request to correct Personal Information, we will consider if the Personal Information requires amendment.  If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we may add a note to the Personal Information noting your disagreement.

Upon a request for access to Personal Information, we will provide you with details of any of your Personal Information that we hold, subject to appropriate identity verification and except in the limited circumstances permitted by law (for example if granting access would interfere with the privacy of others or if it would result in a breach of confidentiality).

When making an access or correction request, please provide as much detail as possible to assist us.  We reserve the right to confirm the identity of the person seeking access or correction to Personal Information before complying with such a request.  If we deny access or correction, we will provide you with the reason for such denial.

If you wish to access or seek correction of any Personal Information we hold about you, please refer to section ‎14 below.

You must always provide accurate information and you agree to update it whenever necessary.  You also agree that, in the absence of any update, we can assume that the information submitted to us is correct.

12. MARKETING AND Opt-out

We  may send marketing communications in various forms, including postal mail, SMS and email, in accordance with applicable marketing laws, such as the Spam Act.

While we may use your information for such marketing purposes, you have a choice as to how we communicate with you for marketing purposes.  Should you no longer wish to receive e-newsletters or other promotional material, participate in market research or receive other types of communication from us, please refer to section ‎14 below.

Even if you have requested not to receive further marketing communications, we may nevertheless continue to provide you with information about changes to our terms and conditions for the supply of services and other factual information as permitted by law.  We do not use Sensitive Information for marketing purposes.

13. Changes to this privacy policy

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy as we deem necessary or appropriate because of legal compliance requirements or changes in our business practices.  If you have provided us with an email address, we will endeavour to notify you, by email to that address, of any material change to how we will use Personal Information.  It is your responsibility to remain aware of the content of the then-applicable policy.  Our Privacy Policy may be found at www.eec.org.au/legal .

14. Questions, comments, Complaints or concerns

In the event that you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or are dissatisfied in any way with how we have collected or used your Personal Information, believe that there has been a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, or have any complaints or concerns about this Privacy Policy, we invite you to contact us as soon as possible.  Please email us at info@eec.org.au or contact us via any of the ways described at www.eec.org.au/contact-us.

If you are not satisfied with the manner in which we deal with your question or complaint, you may refer it to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

You can contact the OAIC by:

1. visiting oaic.gov.au;
2. forwarding an email to enquiries@oaic.gov.au;
3. telephoning 1300 363 992; or
4. writing to OAIC at GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001.

15. Definitions

In this Privacy Policy the expressions “we”, “us” and “our” are a reference to the EEC.  The expressions “you” and “your” refer to each individual whose Personal Information we may handle from time to time, where we are required to comply with the Privacy Act in respect of such Personal Information.

EEC means the Energy Efficiency Council Inc.

OAIC means the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Personal Information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

1. whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
2. whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

Privacy Policy means this document as amended from time to time.

Sensitive Information means:

1. information or an opinion about an individual’s:
   1. racial or ethnic origin;
   2. political opinions;
   3. membership of a political association;
   4. religious beliefs or affiliations;
   5. philosophical beliefs;
   6. membership of a professional or trade association;
   7. membership of a trade union;
   8. sexual orientation or practices; or
   9. criminal record, that is also Personal Information;
2. health information about an individual;
   1. genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health information;
   2. biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification; or
   3. biometric templates.

Spam Act means the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).