Nine Network Australia Pty Limited (Nine) understands that privacy is important to our viewers, business contacts, and people who appear in our programs.
Nine strives to comply with the National Privacy Principles (NPPs), which are contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). The NPPs govern how organisations must handle personal information. This Privacy Policy is designed to provide an overview about how Nine handles personal information. If you would like more specific information, please contact our Privacy Officer (using the contact details at 7 below).
Although Nine may collect personal information about you online through our website at http://ninemsn.com.au (our website), this Privacy Policy does not address all online privacy issues. Nine has a separate privacy policy that more comprehensively explains our approach to these matters, which you can view by going to http://ninemsn.com.au/support/privacy.asp
Also, as a media organisation, Nine's handling of personal information in the course of its journalism activities is governed by the Privacy Standards for Nine Network Journalists (as discussed at 6 below, and attached to this Privacy Policy as Annexure A).
The Nine Privacy Policy is organised into the following sections:
1. What Personal Information Does Nine Collect?
Nine operates the leading television network in Australia. Our programs include news and current affairs, sport, award-winning drama and other entertainment programs. Our business is about providing our audience with programs that entertain, inform and stimulate.
In the course of operating our business, Nine may collect personal information about you. Personal information is basically information or an opinion that can identify you.
The types of personal information that Nine collects about you will depend on the nature of your dealings with us. We only collect personal information that we need for our business activities, or which is volunteered to us. Nine collects personal information from:
(a) Our viewers.
This includes (but is not limited to) information about people who write in to a viewer “mail bag” (for example, sending letters to 60 Minutes), or who make a complaint about a Nine program, or who report a transmission fault, or ask to receive any communication from Nine (including but not limited to signing up online to receive regular newsletters, programme reminders and other marketing communication), or who ask to be part of a studio audience. The information Nine collects about a viewer in these circumstances will include the person's name, address, email address and phone number.
(b) “Talent”.
This includes information about people who appear in Nine programs, whether as subjects of news and current affairs (as discussed at 6 below), or in our infotainment, reality television or documentary programs.
(c) Business Contacts.
Nine may collect contact information from people with whom we do business (such as contact people in regulatory bodies, or in our external service providers). If you are a “business contact” of Nine, we may collect contact information about you including your name, your position and the organisation you work for, your business telephone and fax number and your email address.
(d) Our Employees and Contractors.
Nine needs personal information about our employees and people who work for us as contractors (from on-air presenters to camera crews). The handling of personal information about our employees and contractors is addressed in Nine's Recruitment and Selection Guidelines, which are available from Nine's Human Resources Department.
2. How is Personal Information Used?
Generally, we only use personal information for the primary purpose for which we have collected it, or for another closely related purpose. For example, if you are a viewer who provides us with personal information because you want to be a part of a studio audience, we will use this personal information for that purpose. Similarly, if you are a “business contact” of Nine, we will use personal information about you for the business purpose for which it was collected.
3. Will Personal Information be Given to Anyone Else?
Personal information may be disclosed to third parties by Nine in the following circumstances:
(a) Recruitment
Where you have provided personal information to Nine in relation to a position of employment in a production that is produced for Nine by third party production company, we may forward your personal information to that third party. For more information about how Nine handles personal information in this context, please contact the Human Resources department using the contact details set out at 7 below.
(b) Transmission faults
If you report a transmission fault, Nine will disclose your personal information to TX Australia. TX Australia is the company that is responsible managing the transmission of Nine's programs, and it may need personal information about you for the purposes of investigating the reported fault. TX Australia's privacy policy is available from its website at: http://www.txaustralia.com.au
(c) Outsourcing.
Personal information collected by Nine may be disclosed to third parties to whom Nine contracts out specialised functions (for example, production services). Sometimes, contractors also collect personal information on Nine's behalf (for example, if you enter a competition conducted by a Nine program). If Nine does need to disclose personal information to third party contractors under outsourcing or contracting arrangements, Nine's policy is to take reasonable steps to ensure that those third parties:
o comply with the NPPs when they handle your personal information; and
o are authorised only to use personal information in order to provide the services or to perform the functions required by Nine. Nine is in the process of implementing this policy.
(d) Business Contacts.
If you are a business contact of Nine, we will only disclose personal information about you if such disclosure is for the business purpose for which it was collected.
(e) Disclosures required or permitted by law.
Otherwise, Nine will only disclose personal information if you consent, or if this is required by law or otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act.
4. Security of Personal Information
Nine understands that the security your personal information is important. Nine's policy is to ensure its staff understand that reasonable steps must be taken to keep personal information secure from unauthorised access and misuse.
5. Access and Correction
(a) Access
Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to request access to the personal information which Nine holds about you (although there are some exceptions to this). You also have the right to ask us to update or correct your personal information when it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. If you wish to exercise your right under the Privacy Act to seek access to the personal information that Nine holds about you, we ask that you contact Nine using the contact details set out at 7 below. So that we can respond to your request in an efficient way, you will need to complete an Access and Correction Request Form.
We will assume (unless you tell us otherwise) that your request relates to our current records about you. These current records will include personal information about you which is included in our databases and in paper files (and which we may use on a day to day basis), or in tapes of programs which we have broadcast.
To provide you with access to personal information about you that is not taped footage, Nine may provide you with a copy of the relevant personal information (ordinarily, a print-out from a database or a photocopy of personal information recorded only in paper form). If personal information about you is contained in a tape of a program, Nine may provide you with an opportunity to come to our offices for a viewing (rather than providing you with a copy of the tapes on which the personal information is stored).
Ordinarily Nine will not charge you for the cost of providing access to print-outs of paper copies of personal information, or for the cost of providing you with the opportunity to view a tape of a program. (Please note that if you wish to obtain a tape of a Nine program, these may be purchased from your local Nine station).
Generally, Nine will endeavour to acknowledge your request for access within 7 days, and to provide you with access within 30 days of the date of receipt of your request. We will notify you if we consider it will take longer than 30 days to provide you with access.
For legal and administrative reasons, Nine may also store records containing personal information in its archives. Please be aware that if the relevant personal information was collected before 21 December 2001, Nine will only provide you with access in accordance with section 16C of the Privacy Act 1988. Section 16C states that access must only be provided to personal information collected before 21 December 2001 if we use and disclose that information after that date, and that providing access would not cause an unreasonable administrative burden or unreasonable expense.
Therefore, if you seek access to records held by Nine which are not current records, our Privacy Officer will need to contact you to discuss your request. If your access request to archived records is granted, please be aware that it may take a longer period of time to locate these records and that we may charge you for the cost of providing access.
(b) Correction
After we have provided you with access, if you are of the view that the personal information we hold about you is not accurate, complete or up to date, please let our Privacy Officer know (using the contact details at 7 below).
6. Privacy Standards for Nine Network Journalists
As Nine is a media organisation, the NPPs do not apply to acts done or practices engaged in by Nine in the course of journalism. This is because Nine is committed to complying with the Privacy Standards for Nine Network Journalists (Journalist Privacy Standards). The Journalist Privacy Standards are at Annexure A of this Privacy Policy. The Journalist Privacy Standards outline how journalists engaged by Nine will handle personal information in the context of Nine's journalism activities.
7. How to Contact Nine
The Nine Privacy Policy may change from time to time. The Nine Privacy Policy is available on request from our stations or through the Publishing and Broadcasting Limited website (http://www.pbl.com.au). If you have any questions or comments about the Nine Privacy Policy, or if you wish to make a complaint about how Nine has handled personal information about you, please contact Nine:
o by telephone on 02 9906 9999 between 8 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday; or
o by facsimile on 02 9958 2279; or
o by email at rectcn@nine.com.au (mark it attention Privacy Officer) or
o by letter at:
Privacy Officer
Nine Network Australia Pty Limited
PO Box 27
Willoughby NSW 2068
Australia
For further information about privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's website at: www.privacy.gov.au
Our Privacy Policy was last updated in December 2009.
ANNEXURE A
PRIVACY STANDARDS FOR NINE NETWORK JOURNALISTS
Introduction
Since 21 December 2001, the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (the new privacy laws) have regulated how organisations in the private sector handle personal information.
However, the new privacy laws do not apply to “acts done or practices engaged in by a media organisation in the course of journalism”, so long as that media organisation is publicly committed to observing standards that deal with privacy in the context of its activities and those standards have been published in writing by the organisation.
These Privacy Standards for Nine Network Journalists (Standards) outline how journalists engaged by Nine Network Australia Pty Limited (Nine journalists) will handle personal information in the context of Nine's journalism activities. The objective of these Standards is to balance the right of a person to privacy against the obligations of the media to inform the public about matters of news and current affairs.
What is personal information?
To summarise, personal information is basically information or an opinion which can reasonably identify a person.
Collection of personal information by Nine journalists
Nine journalists will collect personal information in the course of reporting on news, current affairs and other events. It is Nine's policy that generally, journalists should identify themselves when collecting personal information. There may be exceptions to this in some circumstances if the collection is for the purposes of a broadcast which is in the public interest.
Nine journalists will only collect personal information that is needed for an actual or anticipated report or broadcast, or where there is an identifiable public interest reason for the personal information to be collected and/or broadcast.
How will personal information be used or disclosed by Nine journalists?
Personal information collected by Nine journalists will generally be used or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected. For example, Nine journalists should not disclose personal information for purposes unrelated to the reporting of news, current affairs or other events.
Personal information should only be disclosed in broadcasts if this is relevant for the purposes of reporting the story in question.
How will personal information be stored and checked?
It is a responsibility of Nine journalists to take reasonable steps to check that the personal information they use is accurate, complete and up-to-date, and that it is stored in a secure way.
Can our sources stay anonymous?
The new privacy laws do not require Nine journalists to reveal the identity of confidential sources. It is consistent with the new privacy laws for us to ensure the anonymity of our sources, where lawful and practicable to do so.
What is sensitive information?
Under the new privacy laws, sensitive information includes details of a person's religion, race, sexual preferences, health, trade union or professional association membership. Sometimes, Nine journalists need to collect sensitive information if this is relevant information for a news or current affairs report. Nine journalists must take care in relation to the use of sensitive information by taking reasonable steps to ensure that they do not portray any person in a negative light (eg, by placing gratuitous emphasis on age, colour, gender, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, race, religion or sexual preference). However, where it is in the public interest, Nine may report events and broadcast comments in which such matters are raised.
Appropriate and sensitive handling of personal information
Nine understands that the question of intrusion into peoples' lives, such as in circumstances of bereavement or personal tragedy, is one of real difficulty for all providers of news, current affairs and other programs. Ultimately, it is a matter of balance between what should be reported (having regard to the interests of the general public) and what, if reported, would cause an individual or group of individuals unnecessary anguish.
Nine journalists will be conscious of the need to exercise sensitivity in broadcasting images of or interviews with bereaved relatives and survivors or witnesses of traumatic incidents, and will take reasonable steps to ensure that victims are not identified directly or, where practicable, indirectly before their immediate families are notified by the authorities.
Nine journalists will have appropriate regard to the feelings of relatives and viewers when including images of dead or seriously wounded people. Images of that kind which may seriously distress or seriously offend a substantial number of viewers will only be broadcast when there is an identifiable public interest reason for doing so.
Complaints
If you have a complaint about the handling of personal information by Nine journalists, please contact our Privacy Officer, (using the following contact details):
o by telephone on 02 9906 9999 between 8 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday; or
o by facsimile on 02 9958 2279; or
o by email at rectcn@nine.com.au (mark it attention Privacy Officer) or
o by letter at:
Privacy Officer
Nine Network Australia Pty Limited
PO Box 27
Willoughby NSW 2068
Australia
