Privacy

Privacy Policy – How we use and protect your data

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 28 September 2023.

About this Privacy Policy

1.1 Ovida Pty Ltd (ABN 59 090 855 306) and Ovida Infrastructure Pty Ltd (ABN 63 610 403 882) and each of its related body corporates (we, us or our) has implemented this Privacy Policy to provide information about what kinds of Personal Information we may collect or hold, how we collect, hold, use and disclose that Personal Information, choices you have regarding our use of that Personal Information, and your ability to access or correct that Personal Information. If you wish to make any inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy, you should contact our Privacy Officer in any of the ways specified in section 14.

Personal Information

2.1 “Personal Information” is information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

What Personal Information do we collect and hold?

3.1 The types of Personal Information we may collect about an individual will depend upon the nature of our interaction with them. Personal Information that we collect may include (but is not limited to) the following:

name
age and/or date of birth
contact details including telephone numbers (landline and/or mobile)
current and previous address (including postal address)
email address
gender
race and ethnicity
sexual preference
biometric data, including fingerprints
identification information such as:
1. driving licence details, including driving licence number
2. meter numbers and identifiers
meter and usage data including without limitation:
1. electricity and gas consumption
2. load profile
3. meter number/identifier
health information, including vaccination status
payment details, such as your credit card or bank account details, your or your organisation’s billing address, bank account, payment and credit card details, or other financial or billing information
occupation and employment details including employment status and any previous work experience
remuneration, benefits and other employment information
information from or in connection with your resume or job application if you apply for a position with us, including registration and licencing requirements, reference and background check information, identity verification information and information about your right to work in Australia
Other information as necessary and relevant to your employment, including emergency contact details, information about your performance, training and development;
geographical location
Tax File Number
Australian Business Number (ABN) and Australian Company Number (ACN)
credit history
trade references, credit references or reports from a third party
passport and visa details
photographs and/or images of you from camera footage (for example, from CCTV cameras on our premises)
how and when you use our goods and services
your email, communication and marketing preferences
as further set out in section 5 (Information collected via our Website), including without limitation: information which is used to identify the IP addresses, ISPs and devices you utilise to access our website or online services, and
user names and passwords required to access our Websites

3.2 We collect and record Personal Information about individuals such as:

our customers, potential customers and their representatives
our suppliers and potential suppliers and their representatives, directors, partners, proprietors and shareholders
contractors and subcontractors and potential contractors and subcontractors and their representatives in relation to providing goods and services to us
our employees past and present, including applicants, and
any other person who comes into contact with us.

3.3 In addition to the above, we may also collect and maintain sensitive personal information where there are special health needs at the premises regarding special electricity supply arrangements (for example, where there is a dependence on a dialysis or life support machine). This sensitive information will ordinarily be collected from you, your energy retailer or in accordance with sections 4.2 or 4.5 as per your request for special supply arrangements.

How and when do we collect Personal Information?

4.1 We collect your Personal Information in the course of our business functions including supplying of gas or electricity and marketing and selling our products and services. In some circumstances the collection of Personal Information may be required by law.

4.2 We may collect your Personal Information in the course of providing you with goods or services, or:

when you apply for, use or buy our products or services
when you provide us, or you offer or apply to supply us, with goods or services
when you provide information to us in any way (including without limitation by completing a form, disclosing information over the phone, SMS, via our websites, by email, video conferencing, via Gas Meter Mate application or any other application or in person)
when you request information from us about our products or our services
when you provide feedback to us
when you use one of our online or digital services, or visit or fill in a form on our Website (see section 5)
when you make claim from us for compensation
when you visit premises from which we operate
when you submit a job application to us, or an application form for training services, or in the course of your employment, internship, temporary work or acting in your role as our contract
where we are otherwise required or authorised by law to do so
when you attend or sign up for one of our events or activities, and
when we have other legal or commercial dealings with you or an entity related to you.

4.3 Generally, when providing our products and services, dealing with our personnel, or obtaining goods and services from our service providers or contractors, we collect Personal Information directly from the relevant individual where reasonable and practicable.

4.4 In the Australian electricity sector, electricity is sold to end-use consumers by licensed retailers. Electricity is transported from the place it is generated (e.g. a power station) to the place it is consumed (e.g. an individual’s home or a business) via high voltage transmission networks and, closer to population centres, low voltage distribution networks. The distribution networks are operated by electricity distribution businesses, or distributors. In Victoria, the regulatory framework creates an indirect relationship between distributors and their customers. This means the personal information distributors need about their customers to provide regulated electricity services is collected by a third party (the electricity retailer) and disclosed to the distributor.

4.5 We may also collect Personal Information about you from third parties and other sources such as:

energy retailers or distribution system operators who have, may, or previously, provided you energy services, including without limitation those mentioned above in section 4.4
your nominated representatives (eg spouse, builder, guardian, accountant, trade person and other professional advisors)
your employer, including previous employers or organisations you have dealt with in the past in the course of us conducting or administering our relationship with you, or when you are carrying out activities in connection with our business operations including for the purpose of employment reference or credit checks
third party service providers who check you status and right to work in Australia or any relevant location
publicly available sources of information, and
credit reporting bodies who provide information about commercial credit worthiness.

4.6 If the Personal Information we collect includes sensitive information, including health information, we are in certain cases required by law to ask for your consent to collect such sensitive information.

4.7 Where we engage with you multiple times over a short period in relation to the same matter, we may not provide you with a separate notice about privacy each time we engage with you.

4.8 If you choose not to provide your Personal Information to us for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, or if we do not or are unable to collect the Personal Information we require, we may not be able to provide you with requested information, products or services, or to effectively conduct our relationship with you.

Information collected via our Website

5.1 Personal Information may be collected by us and by our third party service providers who assist us in operating our websites at https://www.ovida.com.au/ including its subdomains and any other website we operate from time to time (collectively the Website).

5.2 We may use various technological methods from time to time to gather personal information, track the visiting and usage patterns of individuals accessing our Website, including but not limited to the methods set out in this section.

Google Analytics and Remarketing

5.3 We use Google Analytics to help analyse how you use our Website. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on users’ computers. The information generated is used to create reports about the use of our Website. Google will store this information.

5.4 If you do not want your Website visit data reported by Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. For more details on installing and uninstalling the add-on, please visit the Google Analytics opt-out page at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

5.5 We use Google AdWords’ Remarketing interest-based advertisements on other third party websites. Google and other third parties may publish our advertisements on other websites individuals may visit; such websites may use cookies to provide individuals with advertisement material from us based on their past visits to our Website.

5.6 You can opt out of Google’s use of cookies or device identifiers at https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Click Stream Data

5.8 When you read, browse or download information from our Website, we or our internet service provider may also collect information such as the date, time and duration of a visit, the pages accessed, the IP address of your computer, and any information downloaded. This information may be used for purposes such as for example statistical, reporting and website administration, maintenance and improvement purposes.

Cookies

5.9 Our Website may use ‘cookies’ from time to time. Cookies are small text files that are transferred to a user’s computer hard drive by a website for the purpose of storing information about a user’s identity, browser type or website visiting and engagement patterns. Cookies may be used on our Website to monitor web traffic, for example the time of visit, pages visited, the use of the Website (ie clicks) and some system information about the type of computer being used. We use this information to enhance the content and services offered on our Website.

5.10 Cookies are sometimes also used to collect information about what pages you visit and the type of software you are using. If you access our Website or click-through to our Website from a link in an email we send you, a cookie may be downloaded onto your computer’s hard drive.

5.11 Cookies may also be used for other purposes on our Website.

5.12 You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is sent. Each browser is different, so check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

5.13 If you disable the use of cookies on your web browser or remove or reject specific cookies from our Website or linked sites then you may not be able to gain access to all of the content and facilities in those websites.

Third party content (eg social media links)

5.15 Some of the content on our Website may include applications made available by third parties, such as social media buttons or links that allow you to share content or links to our Website through the relevant third party platforms. These third party applications themselves may facilitate collection of information by those third parties, through your interaction with the applications and sometimes even if you do not interact directly with them. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third party websites (including those to which we provide a hyperlink), the technical operation of third party applications or the collection and use practices of the relevant third parties. Please visit the relevant third party websites to understand their privacy practices and options they may make available to you in relation to their collection of your Personal Information.

How do we use your Personal Information?

6.1 We use the Personal Information we collect about you for our business functions and activities, in order to operate our business efficiently, and to market our products and services for the benefit of our customers.

6.2 We may also use your Personal Information:

to identify and communicate with you
to enable us to provide you with requested information, products or services and otherwise assist you by providing you information and support
to collect and process payments and billing
to help us to manage and enhance products or services we provide to you
to help us to manage and enhance goods and services we procure from our suppliers and subcontractors
to personalise and customise your experiences on our Website
to manage and administer any account you may hold with us, and to build and maintain our relationships with you, any entity you represent and our clients
to provide you with information that we believe may be of interest to you or that you may be interested in receiving, including advertising material, regarding us, our clients, and our business partners
to conduct research for the purposes of improving existing products or services or creating new products or services, to monitor and analyse our business and internal operations (including personnel management)
to provide for the safety and security of our customer, employees, contractors or service providers
to help us manage our business operations, including the safety and security of our electricity and gas assets
to inform customers, contractors, supplier or employees of outages
to send safety messages or alerts
for business support purposes including maintenance, backup and audit
to process any job application submitted by you
to conduct appropriate credit and pre-employment checks (such as right to work checks), including police checks and pre-placement health assessments
to respond to and investigate any requests, queries or complaints made by you
to investigate, review, mitigate risks associated with, and inform you of, a data or other security breach involving your Personal Information
to comply with our statutory, legal, regulatory, accounting, and reporting obligations, or to protect, exercise or defend our legal rights, or
discuss potential employment or work roles with you, make available and provide to you work experience or other work related opportunities, consider applications and test and determine suitability for roles.

6.3 In addition to the above, we may aggregate Personal Information for reporting, statistical and analysis purposes, and for operational, business, product and service improvement purposes. This allows us to better inform ourselves and anticipate our customers’ preferences and requirements, and to monitor and improve the effectiveness of our business, products and services.

6.5 You consent to us using your Personal Information in the above ways and as set out in this Privacy Policy and acknowledge we may otherwise collect, use or disclose your Personal Information where the collection, use or disclosure is in accordance with any agreement you enter into with us.

When do we disclose your Personal Information?

7.1 We may disclose, or provide access to, your Personal Information to third parties in connection with the purposes described in section 6. Depending on the circumstances and the nature of your engagement with us, we may disclose your Personal Information to third parties that provide products and services to us or through us, or to other third parties (such as your referee(s) in connection with a job application you have submitted).

7.2 We may also disclose your Personal Information to:

any of our internal divisions, business units or departments
your nominated representatives
entities to whom we provide services (including non-related asset owners)
retailers of gas and electricity
gas and electricity market administrators
medical providers including medical and rehabilitation practitioners for assessing insurance claims
representatives, agents, service providers, contractors or individuals who are appointed by us in the ordinary operation of our business to assist us in providing goods or services or administering our business
government and regulatory authorities, and other organisations as required or authorised by law, and
specific third parties authorised by you to receive information held by us.

7.3 We may also disclose your Personal Information to our Website host or software application providers in certain circumstances, for example when our Website experiences a technical problem or to ensure that it operates in an effective and secure manner.

Interstate and Overseas disclosures

8.1 We may collect, use and disclose Personal Information generally within Australia (including between states and territories).

8.2 Some of your Personal Information may also be disclosed, transferred, stored, processed or used overseas by us, or by third party service providers. For example, this may happen if:

our offices or related entities are overseas, including without limitation in Singapore, Hong Kong and China
we outsource certain activities overseas, or
our computer systems including IT servers are located overseas.

8.3 You consent to the collection, use, storage, and processing of your Personal Information outside of Australia as set out in this Privacy Policy.

8.4 In particular, your Personal Information may be disclosed to third parties in countries in which those parties or their, or our, computer systems may be located from time to time. In these circumstances, although we aim to keep your Personal Information secure, you consent to the collection, use, storage and processing of your Personal Information in those countries, without us being responsible under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) for such use (or for any breach).

Marketing

9.1 You consent to us using your Personal Information for sending you information, including promotional material, about us or our products and services, as well as the products and services of our related entities and third parties, now and in the future. You also consent to us sending you such information by means of direct mail, telemarketing, email, SMS and MMS messages.

9.2 If you do not want to receive marketing information from us, you can unsubscribe in any of the following ways:

clicking on the ‘Unsubscribe’ or subscription preferences link in a direct marketing email that you have received from us, or
contacting us using the contact details specified in section 14.

Storage and security of Personal Information held by us

10.1 We aim to keep your Personal Information secure. We use a variety of physical and electronic security measures to protect Personal Information that is collected via our Website or which is held on our computer systems. For example, we employ firewalls, restrict physical access to our offices and password protect our IT systems.

10.2 However, please note that we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information. The internet is not a secure or risk-free environment. If you do use the internet, email or other system to send us any information, please be aware that you do so at your own risk.

10.3 If we find that we no longer require or have no further need for your Personal Information we may de-identify it or remove it from our systems and destroy all record of it.

You can access and update your Personal Information

11.1 You are generally entitled to access Personal Information that we hold about you. If you want to gain access or correct any of your Personal Information held by us please contact our Privacy Officer in any of the ways specified in section 14.

11.3 We may charge for providing access to this information, however such charge will not be excessive. However, there may be some legal or administrative reasons to deny access. If we refuse your request to access your Personal Information, we will provide you with reasons for the refusal.

How do we deal with complaints about privacy?

12.1 If you feel that we have not respected your privacy or that we have conducted ourselves inconsistently with this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer in any of the ways specified in section 14 and advise us as soon as possible. We will investigate your queries and privacy complaints within a reasonable period of time depending on the complexity of the complaint.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

13.1 We may, from time to time, review and update this Privacy Policy, including to take into account new laws, regulations, practices and technology. All Personal Information held by us will be governed by our most recent Privacy Policy, posted on our Website. Any changes to this Privacy Policy may be advised to you by updating the Privacy Policy being displayed on our Website.

What to do if you have a question, problem or complaint, or want to contact us about our use of your Personal Information or this Privacy Policy

14.1 If your request to access, correction of, or compliant in respect of, your Personal Information relates to Ovida Infrastructure Pty Ltd, Ovida Pty Ltd or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries please contact us using the below:

Privacy Officer
Ovida Level 16, 567 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Email: info@ovida.com.au

14.2 If you:

have a query or concern about this Privacy Policy or our Personal Information handling processes, or
would like to opt out of direct marketing,

please contact our Privacy Officer using the below contact details:

Ovida

Privacy Officer
Ovida Level 16, 567 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Email: info@ovida.com.au