Privacy Policy

VISION RESEARCH FOUNDATION PRIVACY POLICY

Vision Research Foundation (“VRF”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is dedicated to fostering vision research that expands the frontiers of science, shifts paradigms and supports bold projects that shape the future of eye health. It is important to us to promote and protect privacy of our members (collectively referred to as “you” or “your”). We recognise and respect the importance of your privacy and we are committed to protecting personal information provided to us.  

We will collect, use, disclose and store your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 (“the Act”). 

VRF will only use your personal information for the purpose that we collected it for, and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If we don’t need your personal information anymore for those reasons, then we will stop using it. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT 

Personal information that we collect includes, but is not limited to: 

• Your name; 
• Your email address; 
• Your date of birth;
• Your registration details; 
• Your donation details; 
• Your medical condition, that is relevant to research communication we send out;
• Your physical/postal address 
• Your postcode; 
• Your financial information (when you donate via our website); 
• Your feedback and communication with us (e.g. via our website, social media, telephone or email); and 
• Any other information you voluntarily give us. 

HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

There are five main ways that VRF collects your personal information: 

From you directly: personal information you provide to us directly when you interact with us, make a donation or when you subscribe to our newsletter. 

When you make your donation, we may require your financial information. By submitting your credit or debit card details on our website, you agree that your payment details are sent directly to our third-party payment service providers. The third-party service provider may store and process your financial information in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Please read below third-party terms and conditions if you want to know how they protect your financial information: 

• Stripe 
• Raisely 

From third parties: personal information collected from and/or disclosed to us from Eye Institute Limited or entities whom we engage to perform services on our behalf. This typically includes personal information about you collected from other individuals and organisations involved in caring for or providing treatment and other services to you. If we are collecting information from third parties, we are relying on the third party to have obtained your consent.  

From publicly available sources: From places where the information is publicly available. 

Personal information will be collected only for purposes connected with the functions of VRF and only when it is necessary. We will only use your personal information in the ways outlined in this privacy policy or otherwise, if you have your express permission. If you choose not to provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to provide you with our assistance.   

Information we collect on our premises: If you visit our premises, closed circuit TV systems and other security and access management systems may be used which can collect certain information about your visit that is used for security and safety purposes. 

HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

VRF will collect, use and disclose your personal information for a range of purposes in connection with the services we provide to you, including the following:  

• Administration: To confirm your identity when you seek information from us.  
• Services: To provide our services to you, to maintain and improve the services that we provide to you.   
• Research: To conduct research and statistical analysis. 
• Communicate with you: To communicate with you about our research and any queries you may have from time to time about our research, including by sending marketing communications and information about us.  
• Record-keeping purposes: For our internal record keeping purposes, including for the maintenance of our data security. 
• Legal compliance: To comply with our legal obligations. 
• Other purposes: For any other purposes that you authorise. 

WHEN WE DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

From time to time, personal information will be shared with third parties. You authorise us to disclose your personal information to these third parties who assist and enable us to use the personal information. This is mainly to deliver, market and promote our services for the purposes specified in this privacy policy. These service providers may access your personal information and are required to use it solely as we direct: 

• our contractors; 
• our agents or service providers; 
• professional advisors; and 
• any other third party that you authorise. 

Your personal information may be disclosed without your consent as permitted under the Act, including for the following reasons: 

• to prevent a serious and imminent threat to you, public health or public safety; 
• in the event of a change of ownership of all or portion of our research foundation or the website, your personal information may be transferred to the new owner(s) for continued operations;  
• with a court, tribunal or authority in the course of proceedings or investigations; and 
• with legal and regulatory authorities, and to others who we are permitted or required by law or regulation to share it with. 

DIRECT MARKETING  

We may send direct marketing communications or any information about our services. These communications may be sent to you by [post/electronic] means, in accordance with applicable marketing laws such as the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. You can at any time opt-out of receiving our marketing communications by contacting us directly (using the details below) or by using provided opt-out facilities in the marketing communications.  

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES  

Our website may contain links to other websites, solely for your convenience. Please note we do not endorse or recommend the content of these businesses or websites and we are not responsible for the privacy practices of these businesses and websites. Please ensure you understand and read the privacy policy and terms of use of each site that you choose to visit. 

HOW WE SAFEGUARD YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION OUTSIDE NEW ZEALAND

From time to time, we may disclose, and you authorise us to disclose, your personal information to an overseas service provider in order to carry out functions. We make sure that the overseas service provider is: 

• a participant in a prescribed binding scheme for international disclosures of personal information; and/or 
• is located in a country that provides comparable safeguards to New Zealand’s privacy laws. 

If it is not, then we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas service provider is required to protect your personal information in a way that, overall, provides comparable safeguards to those required under New Zealand’s privacy laws. Examples of these steps include a written agreement between us and the overseas service provider or making reasonable enquiries regarding data protection standards of the country in which the overseas service provider is located. 

COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING/ANALYTICAL TOOLS 

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small amounts of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier that is sent to your browser and stored on your device.  

VRF, through our service providers may use commonly used tools such as cookies, web beacons, pixels and similar technologies to collect information about you to provide the experiences you request, administer our website, track your interactions, and analyse trends. We may also receive reports based on the use of these technologies from these service providers on an individual and aggregated basis.  

For further information on cookies dropped on your device by our service providers, please visit:  

• WordPress 
• Mailchimp 
• Google Analytics 

If you reject all cookies, you can still access our website, but you may not be able to take full advantage of all other offerings. You can always manage your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies or notify you when a cookie is set. ANONYMISED PERSONAL INFORMATION 

From time to time, VRF may aggregate personal information for analysis, funding, audit and statistical purposes relating to the provision of services. This may involve “de-identifying” or anonymising your personal information. Aggregate information may be shared with our funders or third parties and utilised in connection with providing you with our services. Once we de-identify or anonymise your personal information, the information can no longer be linked to you and will not be your personal information. 

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION 

VRF has reasonable safeguards in place to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in connection with the collection, storage, and disclosure of your personal information. 

REQUEST ACCESS OR CORRECTION TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION 

You have the right to request access to personal information held about you and may request correction of your personal information held by us. If there is a legal reason why we can’t let you access your personal information, or if we don’t agree with your correction, then we will tell you. If you want to exercise either of the above rights, please contact us using the details provided below. If you wish to complain about any outcome or attach a statement of correction to your record, please see our complaints procedure below.   

PRIVACY COMPLAINTS 

If you think that we haven’t properly protected your privacy, please get in touch with us using the contact details set out below. 

If you have any questions, or would like any further information about our handling of personal information or to make a complaint about something you believe breaches the Act, please lodge a written complaint addressed to our Privacy Officer, Clare Leonard at info@visionresearchfoundation.com. Once we receive your complaint, we will respond to your complaint within a reasonable period of time, usually within 20 working days. 

While we always try to work with you to solve your issue, if you consider your privacy concerns have not been resolved satisfactorily by us, or you wish to obtain more information on privacy requirements, you can contact the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner on 0800 803 909 or visit their website at www.privacy.org.nz.    

PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES 

We may from time to time change our Privacy Policy. These changes may reflect, among other things, changes in laws, our data collection practices, and/or changes to the services we provide. 

If you continue to use our services or continue to interact with us after the updated Privacy Policy comes into effect, then this will indicate that you have agreed to our changes. 

We encourage you to review our Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.