Privacy policy

Five Hands Foundation Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 September 2026

Five Hands Foundation Pty Ltd (ABN 15 695 078 329) ("Five Hands", "we", "us", "our") is a not-for-profit company registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). We are committed to protecting the privacy of everyone we work with: donors, volunteers, partners, grant applicants, the people and families our work supports, and visitors to our website.

Five Hands is currently a small business operator under section 6D of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), so the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) do not yet apply to us by law. We have chosen to follow them anyway. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information, and how you can contact us about it.

1. What personal information we collect

We may collect:

• Contact details: your name, email address, phone number and postal address.
• Donation details: the amount, date and history of your donations, and whether you have asked to remain anonymous. Payment card details are collected and processed by GiveNow, our donation platform, and its payment gateway. We never see or store your full card number.
• Information you give us when you contact us, volunteer, or apply for a grant or partnership. For volunteers this may include emergency contact details and any checks required for the role.
• Event information: ticketing details, raffle and prize entries, and photographs or video taken at our events.
• Website and social media data: see "Cookies and website analytics" below.

Sensitive information. Sensitive information includes health information and information about a person's ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or criminal history. We collect it only where it is reasonably necessary for our work and the person has consented, for example in a grant application or a story about someone we have supported. We do not ask donors for sensitive information.

2. Stories, photographs and video about the people we support

Some of the people and families our work supports have experienced domestic and family violence. Their safety comes before any fundraising or communications benefit. When we share a story, photograph or video about a person we have supported:

• We obtain the person's express written consent first. The consent states where the material will be used (for example our website, social media, newsletter or reports) and for how long.
• Stories are de-identified unless the person asks to be identified and we are satisfied it is safe. We change names and remove locations, images and any other details that could identify the person or where they live, work or study.
• Consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will remove the material from the channels we control as soon as practicable, although we cannot recall copies that others have already shared.
• Material we receive from a partner organisation is handled the same way. We do not publish it unless we are satisfied the person has consented.
• We do not publish images of, or stories about, children without a parent's or guardian's consent, and never where it could put a child or parent at risk.

3. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information when you:

• Donate through GiveNow. GiveNow shares with us the details you enter (such as your name, contact details, donation amount and any message) so we can thank you and keep accurate records.
• Sign up to our newsletter or mailing list.
• Contact us by email, phone, social media or a website form.
• Apply for a grant, partnership or volunteer role.
• Buy a ticket to, or attend, one of our events, such as the Beat the Odds charity poker night.
• Use our website or social media pages.

We may take photographs or video at our events for use on our website, social media and in reports. We will tell you at the event, and you can ask not to be photographed or for an image of you to be taken down.

Sometimes we receive personal information from someone else, such as a partner organisation or a referee. When that happens we take reasonable steps to let you know.

You can deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym where that is practicable. If you would like your donation to be anonymous, tell us or select that option when you donate, and we will not publish your name.

4. How we use personal information

We use personal information to:

• Process donations and keep the records the law requires.
• Thank and communicate with donors, volunteers, partners and grant applicants.
• Run our events, including ticketing, raffles and prize draws.
• Send updates about our activities and fundraising. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time by contacting us.
• Assess grant and partnership applications and distribute funds.
• Meet our legal, financial and reporting obligations, including to the ACNC, the Australian Taxation Office and fundraising regulators.
• Improve our website, events and services.

We use and disclose personal information only for the purpose we collected it, a related purpose you would reasonably expect, or as required or permitted by law.

5. Who we share personal information with

We may share personal information with:

• GiveNow (operated by Our Community Pty Ltd) and its payment gateway, to process donations and issue receipts.
• The providers of our website hosting, email, newsletter, event ticketing, file storage and analytics services.
• Our bank and our accounting software provider.
• Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors and lawyers, where necessary.
• Regulators, including the ACNC, the Australian Taxation Office and fundraising regulators, where required by law.
• Partner organisations we fund or work with, only with your consent or where necessary to provide support you have asked for.

We do not sell, rent or exchange personal information with anyone. We do not publish donor names or donation amounts without permission. We may thank event sponsors and major supporters publicly, with their agreement.

6. Overseas disclosure

Most of the personal information we hold is stored in Australia. Some of our service providers, and some of GiveNow's, process information overseas, including in the United States. This mainly involves email, newsletter and analytics services. We take reasonable steps to use reputable providers with appropriate privacy and security safeguards. GiveNow publishes the list of its service providers, and where they process data, at ourcommunity.com.au/privacy.

7. How we hold and secure personal information

We hold personal information electronically in cloud-based systems (email, document storage, and our donation and accounting platforms) and occasionally on paper, for example event sign-in sheets. We take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, including:

• Limiting access to the directors and volunteers who need it.
• Password protection and multi-factor authentication on our accounts.
• Secure, reputable hosting providers.
• Entering paper records into our systems promptly and then destroying them securely.

GiveNow and its payment gateway handle donation payments. We do not store full payment card details.

Retention. We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes above or as the law requires. Financial and donation records are kept for at least seven years to meet ACNC and tax record-keeping requirements. When information is no longer needed, we destroy or de-identify it.

Data breaches. If personal information we hold is lost, or accessed or disclosed without authorisation, and this is likely to cause serious harm, we will contain the breach, assess it, and notify the affected people, and where appropriate the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), as soon as practicable.

8. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site. This information is aggregated and does not identify you. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, and you can opt out of Google Analytics using Google's browser add-on. If you interact with us on social media, the platform's own privacy policy also applies.

9. Access and correction

You can ask to access or correct the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days and may need to verify your identity first. We do not charge for access or correction. If we cannot give you access or make a correction, we will tell you why in writing and how to complain about that decision.

10. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, contact us using the details below. We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days, look into it, and give you a written response within 30 days. If we need longer, we will tell you why.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au for guidance on your options.

11. Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and update it when our practices or the law change. The current version is always available on our website at fivehandsfoundation.com.au.

12. Contact us