Privacy Policy

INTRODUCTION

We understand that privacy is important to you – it is to us too. That’s why we respect your personal information and are committed to protecting it when providing services and to you.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT

This Privacy Statement describes the personal information that may be collected by Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd (‘Global Digital Assurance’, ‘we’ or ‘us’). The choices you can make about your personal information and how we protect your information is also described within this Statement. If you would like a printed version of this Statement, you can print this page using your browser.

MEETING OUR PRIVACY OBLIGATIONS

Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd complies with:

Who are we?

Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd is a Australian registered company, with its registered address in Calwell, Australian Capital Territory.

ACN: 637 474 232   ABN: 89 637 474 232

The Global Digital Assurance service is an internet-based, bespoke e-learning platform and customer relationship management platform designed to enable members (assurance reviewers) to undertake assurance training and accreditation, whilst providing access to the globally accredited reviewer database to Clients (global government assurance units, agencies, programs, projects and non-government assurance organisations).

YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF OUR PRIVACY POLICY

You acknowledge that you’ve had the opportunity to read and understood this Statement. This Statement is intended to explain how we comply with the law not to expand your rights with us or our obligations to you beyond the laws listed above. If anything in this statement does not match the law (e.g. the law or the interpretation of the law changes) this Statement should always be interpreted to reflect and comply with the current law. This statement includes examples but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples. Where the word ‘including’ is used, it means ‘including without limitation’. Our website may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of those other websites. We recommend you review the privacy policies of each site you visit.

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

‘Personal information’ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether or not that information or opinion is true or recorded in a material form. When you give us your personal information, it imposes a serious responsibility on us. Protecting your privacy when handling your personal information is very important to us and is fundamental to the way we serve you.

HOW DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

We collect personal information about you when:

  • complete the member (reviewer) profile;
  • apply for a training course;
  • when you select and pay for a training course (excluding payment method information);
  • when you become a client;
  • when your register and receive a digital badge. Learn more here.
  • email us;
  • provide us with feedback;
  • complete an online contact form;
  • like or follow any of our social media websites, pages, forums or blogs; and
  • ask us to contact you.

We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means.

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO US

MEMBERS – When registering for or using the Global Digital Assurance training and digital assurance services (the “Service”), you will be prompted to provide us with information about yourself such as your name, email address and professional information. When you configure your Member profile, you may enter additional professional information about yourself. You may, at times, also send us an e-mail which may contain not only your email address, but other information about you, including your name, subject and a message authored by you. The information you give us may also include statements you make on the Service such as testimonials, general enquiries, reviews, feedback or other statements that may identify you personally.

When initially “signing up” as a Member, you will provide a Username (a valid email address) and we will provide you with a randomly generated user password via an account activation email for you to access the Service and create your Member profile for use as described below. When you first sign onto the Service, you will be presented with your Member profile and the information supplied to us. In addition to the required information, including name, email, password and country, you will provide some or all of the following information, including but not limited to, a photograph of yourself, a short bio (about me), your country of residence, your state/ region of residence, employment type, government employer type (if applicable), professional certifications, industry memberships, any security clearances in Australia or New Zealand, professional experience and areas of professional specialisation. You will be able to update or correct any of the contact information in your profile at anytime. You may receive certain emails relating to your use of the Service. Your contact information is also added to Global Digital Assurance directory of current and former users of the Service.

You may request that Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd provide third-parties access to your publicly accessible personal information. Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd will not provide your personal information to a third-party without your verified consent.

If you have consented or opted in to receiving news and updates from Global Digital Assurance on professional development or further education opportunities, you have the right at any time to prevent us from further contacting you by following the unsubscribe or opt-out instructions included in the relevant email or through the privacy tools provided to you through the Service.

If you choose to not provide your personal information when requested for your Member profile, you will not be able to access our online training courses, accreditations and digital badges.

CLIENTS – When initially logging in as a Client, you will provide a Username and User ID that has been previously supplied by Global Digital Assurance through an agreed medium. When you first sign into the Service  with your credentials, you will be presented with the Client dashboard from where you can access your Client profile with pre-populated information that you have supplied to Global Digital Assurance. This information includes User ID, Client name, Sector/ industry, country, state/ region, and number of authorised users. Only an approved Client administrator will be able to update or correct limited elements of the Client information in the profile. The administrator profile information is only able to updated by Global Digital Assurance Pty Ltd.

From time to time, you may receive certain emails relating to your use of the Service. Your contact information is also added to Global Digital Assurance directory of current and former users of the Service.

We may use personal information to contact Members and Clients regarding the use of the Service, for customer support purposes, and to inform you of any important updates, modifications and other matters relating to the Service, and information about others services that we offer in accordance with your subscription preferences. You may decline to receive mail or e-mail from us that does not relate directly to your access to or use of the Service by selecting the opt-out link contained in any such email or by contacting us.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

Global Digital Assurance also will maintain a history of your access to the Service, and certain actions taken by you while accessing the Service, a log of users’ IP addresses, the third-party website from which users access the Service, the type of web browsers used to access the Service and the browser’s settings that may affect Service performance (collectively, “usage log information”). For purposes of maintaining and enhancing Service performance and security, Global Digital Assurance may use usage log information, information about your browser, and other local computer settings. We also may use usage log information to tailor our communications to you about the Service, and contact you in relation to providing support. We also may aggregate usage log information to create or publish statistical analyses and reports about Service usage. We will not authorise the publication of personal information about any user without the prior written consent of such person.

INFORMATION ABOUT YOU RECEIVED FROM A MOBILE DEVICE

When you use the Service via a mobile device, we automatically collect information on the type of device you use, operating system version, user identification, and device identifier. We may send you push notifications. You may turn off push notifications at the device level. We use mobile analytics software to allow us to better understand the functionality of our mobile software on your phone. This software may record information such as how often you use the mobile site, the events that occur within the mobile site, aggregated usage and performance data. We do not link the information we store within the analytics software to any personal information you submit whilst using the mobile device.

HOW DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

ADDITIONAL USES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In addition to the uses described above of the information received in connection with your use of the Service, Global Digital Assurance uses and, where specified, shares your information:

  • To provide Clients with access to Member information for reviews. We provide your profile details to Australian and New Zealand government agencies, assurance units, assurance procurement teams, programs, projects and verified non-government assurance organisations to enable them to source members for their assurance reviews, panels and reviewer databases. This information is only provided and accessible in a digital manner and only by Global Digital Assurance verified Clients. When doing so, we will take steps to ensure that such service providers implement appropriate privacy and security measures consistent with this Privacy Policy to safeguard against the unauthorised use or disclosure of your information.
  • To issue accreditation badges we work with Credly to automatically issue digital badges via their open API integration with our learning management and customer relationship management platforms. Learn more here.
  • To provide support or other services that you have requested, and to respond to your inquiries.
  • To engage in transactions with you including contacting you about your account or transactions.
  • To process transactions Global Digital Assurance may use financial, credit card and payment information that you provide. Global Digital Assurance may need to share some of this information with suppliers, delivery services, credit card clearing houses and other third parties to complete the transactions.
  • To notify you of relevant opportunities such as new product releases and service developments, related facts or programming that may be relevant to you.
  • To provide online forums and social networks. allowing Members and Clients the option to participate in interactive discussions and post comments and other content. Note that any information you share may become publicly accessible.
  • To improve quality and facilitate use of the Service.
  • To operate the Service through the assistance of third parties. Global Digital Assurance may use services from third-party service providers, such as hosting services and software developers, in support of its operation of the Service. When doing so, we will take steps to ensure that such service providers implement appropriate privacy and security measures consistent with this Privacy Policy to safeguard against the unauthorised use or disclosure of your information. These companies are authorised to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.
  • To comply with legal requirements. In addition, we may also disclose information about you as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or other legal process, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our rights or protect our operations or users or others investigate fraud, or in response to legal processes or governmental investigations in accordance with our internal policy on access by governmental authorities, or under exigent circumstances in response to a perceived significant threat to a person’s health or property.
LOCATION BASED SERVICES

The device you use to access the website or Service may provide your location to us. This information may be shared in connection with the issuance of digital badges, where location is relevant to completion of the online training recognised by the digital badge. If you no longer wish to share your location you may contact us at the information below or if you no longer wish have your location collected and used, you may turn this off at any time by going into your device settings.

PRIVACY REFERENCES

MEMBERS – The Service allows Members to customise the information about themselves that is made accessible to others, including government assurance units. When Members establish a Member account, the Service applies default settings. Default settings also apply to new features introduced on the Service.

DIGITAL BADGES – The Credly digital badge service allows Members to customise information about themselves that is made accessible to others (outside of Global Digital Assurance website and database). When you establish a Credly/Acclaim account, the service applies default settings. Default settings also apply to new features introduced on the Credly service. Digital badge credentials issued to you will default to the “public” setting. You may activate a “private” setting such that the credential will no longer be publicly accessed at any time, on a credential-by-credential basis, including those that are not Global Digital Assurance digital badges. Until you terminate your use of the Credly service, the fact that you are a user, as indicated by the public display of your full name and avatar, is available to others on the Credly service. Global Digital Assurance recommends that you review your Credly/Acclaim privacy settings regularly to ensure that they match your preferences. Learn more here.

NON-PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may statistically aggregate in non-person-specific form information collected to improve our websites, our quality controls, operations management, security processes, future marketing and promotional efforts, and the overall Service in attempt to better understand our users’ interests and preferences. In some cases, we may transfer this information to our third-party service providers. By using this Site, you consent to this non-person specific data aggregation and the use and transmission of this aggregated statistical data as outlined above.

SECURITY MATTERS TO US

Global Digital Assurance takes appropriate and reasonable precautions to implement appropriate administrative and technical procedures to protect the security of Personal Information provided or generated through the Service. We permit persons working for us to access and use your information only in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

We protect the security of your information during transmission by using Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software or other encryption technology, which encrypts information you input. Wherever appropriate, we obfuscate and/or encrypt information in our systems and/or during information transfer. Global Digital Assurance regularly reviews the cryptographic protocols it uses to protect the privacy and security of your personal information.

Because of the nature of internet and for other reasons, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information, so you should take precautions to protect it when you are on the internet, such as changing passwords often, using a combination of letters and numbers when creating passwords, using a secure browser and being sure to log off the Service when finished using a shared computer.

THIRD PARTY SITES

The Service may include hyperlinks to third-parties neither owned nor managed by us, and, as described above, you may use certain Third-Party Services in connection with the digital badges issued through Credly. Global Digital Assurance has no control over these Third-Party Services and your interactions with those third parties are subject to their privacy policies and terms of use.

INFORMATION COLLECTED BY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND WEB BEACONS

We may collect information about you and your use of the Service through electronic communications protocols, web beacons, cookies, embedded URLs, pixel tags and related devices or technologies. As is true when you visit most websites, certain information is automatically generated and stored about your visits. Such information may include: network routing information (for example, where you came from); equipment information (for example, device type, operating system, browser type); IP address, and dates and times of your visits. We may use your Personal Information to inform you about other assurance services that might interest you and to gather feedback from you.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Do not send us any sensitive personal information (i.e.: medicare numbers or other national identifiers, or information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, health, sex life or sexual orientation, genetic or biometric information or criminal background).

USE OF COOKIES

A cookie is a small piece of information, sent by a web server to a web browser, that is stored on your computer so that it can later be read, allowing the server to uniquely identify the browser. Some cookies may remain on a user’s computer after the user leaves the website. Most browsers provide you with information on and control over cookies, including a feature to opt-out of the use of cookies. You can set your browser to alert you when a cookie is being used, and accept or reject it. You can also set your browser to refuse all cookies or accept only cookies returned to the originating servers. However, you may not be able to use some features of the Service if you disable cookies. For more information on managing cookies, please go to www.allaboutcookies.org or visit www.youronlinechoices.com which has further information about behavioral advertising and online privacy.

Our website uses cookies or similar technologies to distinguish you from other users and to collect information about your online preferences and to analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. This helps us provide you with a good experience when you browse our websites and allows us to improve our websites. Our main purpose in using cookies is to facilitate and enhance communications and interactions between you and our websites, but cookies can be used for other purposes. Cookies for the Service may collect a unique identifier, user configuration settings and profile information. Global Digital Assurance also uses cookies to collect general usage and volume statistical information that does not include personally identifiable information.

BY CONTINUING TO USE THE WEBSITE YOU CONSENT TO COOKIES

We use the following cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.
  • Analytical/ performance cookies that collect information about how you use our website. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website. This helps us to improve the way our website work. These cookies are sometimes placed by third party providers of web traffic analysis services, such as Google Analytics.
  • Functionality cookies that remember choices you make and recognize you when you return. This enables us to personalise our content, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
  • Targeting cookies that collect information about your browsing habits such as the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We use this information to make our website more relevant to your interests, and, if we enable advertising, to make advertising more relevant to you, as well as to limit the number of times you see an ad. These cookies are usually placed by third-party advertising networks. They remember the other website that you visit and this information is shared with third-party organisations, for example advertisers.

We use Google Analytics. For information on how Google processes and collects your information regarding this product and how you can opt-out, please see https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout .

Global Digital Assurance and its service providers, vendors and partners, may use cross-device/cross-context tracking. For example, you might use multiple browsers on a single device, or use various devices (such as desktops, smartphones, and tablets), which can result in your having multiple accounts or profiles across these various contexts and devices. Cross-device/cross-context technology may be used to connect these various accounts or profiles and the corresponding data from the different contexts and devices.

THIRD PARTY FUNCTIONS AND COOKIES

Certain third-party tools are available for your use through the Service – such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – and these third parties may use cookies, pixel tags and other technologies to, among other things, record your use of these tools and which pages you were viewing when doing so. Information so collected is subject to the privacy policies of those third parties (please see the third-party sites section above). If you wish to opt out of any interest-based advertising, which would include the use of the above-mentioned third-party tools, click here.

CORPORATE MATTERS

Global Digital Assurance may provide our investors, partners, and others with aggregated information (i.e.: information that does not identify users personally) concerning users of the Service. In addition, Global Digital Assurance may disclose your personal information to a successor or acquiring entity as part of a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or other transaction involving all or substantially all of Global Digital Assurance assets or shares, or the business to which the Service relates. If Global Digital Assurance were sold to or merged with another company, that company will agree to abide by the terms of this Privacy Policy. You will be notified via email or a prominent notice on our website, of any change in ownership, uses of your personal information, and choices you may have regarding your personal information. You have the right to request that your personal information be removed from our records at any time.