PRIVACY STATEMENT

This privacy statement discloses the privacy practices for the Pet Alert web site www.petalert.com.au, and email newsletters (ezines).

If you feel that Pet Alert is not abiding by its posted privacy policy, you should first contact our administrator, by sending email to administrator@petalert.com.au with full details of your concerns.

Information Collection and Use

Pet Alert is the sole user of the information collected on the petalert.com.au web site. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement.

Pet Alert collects information from users at several different points on our website and also receives requests for subscription to the ezines that may be collected by third parties on our behalf. As an absolute policy we only ask you for information that is necessary for us to provide service to you.

Pet Alert has three parts of its operations that need some personal information from you as follows:

Email Newsletters

If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletters, we only ask for your email address.  We may also store your name if you subscribe via email and your name is included in your email message header.  

Your email address is only used by us to send the email newsletter you have requested.

We do not otherwise retrieve your email address in the normal course of business.

We send all new subscribers a welcoming email to verify their email address. That message prominently includes information on how to stop receiving that email newsletter.

Correction/Updating Personal Information

If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (i.e. email address), or if a user no longer wishes to receive email newsletters, then the user has full control over the information we store.

Current instructions for this are provided at the bottom of each email newsletter that we send.

It is vital that any request for cancellation is done at exactly the same email address as originally subscribed -- the exact address stored is displayed in the “subscriber information” section at the bottom of each ezine sent to you.

Since the subscription system is fully automated and secure you must use one of the method outlined to unsubscribe.

A confirmation email of your cancellation will be sent to your email address. If you do not receive that confirmation then the request to cancel has been unsuccessful, please check carefully the email address used.

Online Forum

The Forum is a web based discussion facility that you may choose to participate in a collection of online Message Boards where users may post comments and reply to other posts relating to Animal Welfare and other related topics. These posts are available for viewing by all users and visitors to the site.

To enter you need to supply a username, password and email address only.

Pet Alert will not disclose personal details supplied with the registration or other communication except where required to do so by law or where a user has elected to make details available, as outlined below.

Users are reminded that the Online Forum is accessible to all visitors and users and any information given through the content of posting on the forum becomes public and they should exercise caution when deciding to disclose their personal information.

Information obtained during registration

The Pet Alert Online Forum stores each user's information entered during registration including their username, email address and IP identifying number.

The username will be displayed on each post or reply made by the member on the forum. At the time of registration, members may choose to identify themselves on their posts by using their own name or may remain anonymous to other members and the public by choosing a pseudonym as their username.

The email address provided during registration will not be displayed on the forum and is only available for the Pet Alert administration to communicate directly with the user for the issue of their initial password (which is stored encrypted) and to provide users, if they so choose, with information from time to time on the development of the Boards.

The IP identifying address is for system administration and to assist in identifying a user in the event of a formal complaint or claim being made against that member by an aggrieved party or by other legal or regulatory authorities.

Pet Alert may pass on a user's details or disclose their identifying data, other information or content to any law enforcement or regulatory authority in order to comply with their direction or request in regard to legal process. Further, we may disclose a user's identifying data, other information or content to a third party in response to any claim of violation of a third party's rights.

Additional public information entered by users on their profile

Other users who choose to click on a username beside a posting can view users’ profiles. There is no initial personal information displayed on this profile until a member decides to edit their Basic Profile and provide further particulars. This publicly available information is optional and may be left blank if a user desires. These optional items include an email address for other users to contact the member, the member's real name, the member's Internet home page address, their occupation, hobbies, location and ICQ number. Members can add to, amend or delete this optional personal information at any time by editing their Basic Profile.

The use of cookies and external links

Cookies are pieces of software code sent from the web site to each user and stored as small files within their web browser program. Pet Alert requires users to accept cookies so as to be able to maintain their personal custom settings, assist in speedier logins and to facilitate the effective use of the site. Users may disable cookies by selecting the appropriate option on their web browser. However, this may adversely affect the ability to correctly view or to access the Online Forum.
Posts may contain links to other web sites. We have no control over and are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other such web sites.

Security

Pet Alert maintains a security system on the server to protect member's personal data and the site's operation. However, no Internet data is able to fully guarantee to be secure. While we will continue to endeavour to protect user’s personal data we cannot warrant the security of any information sent over the Internet to us.

Surveys

From time-to-time our site may request information from users via surveys

Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose information.  Information requested may include contact information (such as name and address), and demographic information (such as postal/zip code, age level). Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site and email newsletters.

Spread the Word

If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address.  Pet Alert will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site and/or subscribe to our free email newsletters. Pet Alert uses this information for the sole purpose of sending a one-time email and then deletes the information.  The data is not used, sold or shared.

Registration

Registration is not required to use any part of the Pet Alert web site.

If you wish to receive our free email newsletters you are required to supply to your email address only.

Registration is required for use of our online discussion facility known as the Online Forum.  To use that feature you need to supply a username and password of your choice plus an email address.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing information about the user.

The Pet Alert web site and email newsletter do NOT use cookies.

Some of our advertisers may use cookies on our site and email newsletters. However, we have no access to or control over these cookies.

Log Files

We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site, track user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.  IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Sharing

We may share aggregated demographic information with our partners and sponsors. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person.

We may use an outside company to dispatch our email newsletters. This company does not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Links

Our web sites and our email newsletters contain links to other sites. Please be aware that Pet Alert is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites.  We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information.

This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site and email newsletters.

Security

Our website takes every precaution to protect user information. If users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line.

All of our users’ information is held by restricted access in our offices.  Only employees who need the information to perform a specific function are granted access to personally identifiable information. For the vast majority of users we hold little, if any, information about them, apart from the subscriber’s email address and possibly their name.

Site and Service Updates

We may in the future send the user site and service announcement updates. Subscribers are not able to un-subscribe from service announcements (until they cancel the newsletter subscription), which contain important information about the service. We communicate with the user to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account via email or the web site only.

Collection by outside parties

We do not permit our web site to be used for collection of information by outside parties and it is not anticipated that we will do so.  Users of our site would always be notified if their information were being collected by any outside parties.  We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with services that require an outside party, or not.

Notification of Changes

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our privacy related web pages so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it.  If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we would notify users by way of an email.  Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.

Effective Date

For the purposes of any dispute resolution this privacy policy is effective from 1st January 2001.

2001 Pet Alert     ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.