Privacy Policy

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Focus People Pty Ltd Privacy Policy

Focus People Pty Ltd (ABN 97143073390) respects and protects your privacy.

We comply and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act (1988).

Focus People adheres to all standards and guidelines published by The Research Society (formerly the Australian Market and Social Research Society) which is Australia’s leading research association.

This Privacy Policy lets you know what personal information of yours we hold, what we do with it, who we will disclose it to and how you can access the personal information we hold about you. You can also find out here how to change inaccurate personal information and how to opt out of receiving communications from us.

What personal information about you do we collect and hold?

Focus People will generally collect your personal information directly from you in the course of you participating in our research and/or surveys.

However, we may also from time to time collect personal information about you from third parties, such as when our clients provide us with a customer list for the purpose of inviting to research. We only contact you for the purpose of inviting you to this research project and then delete your details from our system as soon the project is completed.

When registering with Focus People to take part in Market Research you are asked to register your details on our website. You create your own password so that you can go and update your details at any time. You can choose what information you supply to us about yourself but we do need the following information on our registration page from you in order for us to contact you to invite you along to research projects (click on registration page on our website).

Once you have filled out these basic details you are then asked to fill in other information about your work / family life / business / household but this is optional. The more information you give us the better chance you have at qualifying for research projects.

We keep this data for the sole use of finding suitable people for research projects and for contacting you when we think a project might be suitable for you to take part in.

When our staff call you about a research project we also collect information that you supply to us when screening you for a research project and this may include:

  • Your opinions and feedback on your use of certain brands, products or services.
  • Information regarding your personal or professional interests, demographics and experience with the services that our clients offer
  • We may also collect sensitive information from you including racial or ethical origin, political options, religious beliefs, details of your sexual orientation or preferences
  • Your bank details in some situations where cash is not offered as the incentive method

Sensitive information will only be collected with your prior consent and only if it is directly related to, or reasonably necessary for, the research we conduct.

How we use your personal information

Focus People will use your personal contact details in order to contact you to provide you with information about opportunities to participate in a research project.

Our staff will screen you for a particular project (via phone or via a survey link) and the answers you provide to us will be documented. If you are successfully booked into that particular research project you will be notified and the answers you have provided to us will be passed on to our clients so they can see the answers you have provided. This confirms your suitability for the project.

Focus People will not sell, rent, or lease or otherwise deal with your personally identifiable information to others. Unless we have your permission or are required by law, we will only share the personal data you provide to us for this particular research project on to our clients. We do not provide our clients with your personal contact details unless required for the project ie: online project will require your email address so our client can send you the link to the online project. If we need to supply our clients with your personal contact details we will ask you for your consent to pass these details onto them.

We will only use and disclose your personal information for the purpose of conducting our research and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We will not use or disclose your personally identifiable information for the purpose of advertising, promotions or direct marketing activities

Use of a Pseudonym?

Due to the nature of Market and Social Research, we need to be able to identify the person attending the research, or answering the survey. This ensures accurate insights and decisions made about products, service and government policy. Data is not valid if we cannot confirm key details such as the demographics and postcode of the participants. When attending market research projects such as focus groups you are often asked to show Photo ID when you arrive at the venue.

In most cases, it is therefore not possible to participate in Market and Social Research under a pseudonym. Your name and any other identifying information is always de-identified for the purpose of reporting, unless your consent has been expressly given.

For some sensitive nature topics we do allow a pseudonym name to be used but we will make this known at the time of contacting you for this research project.

Sharing of Personal Identifiable Information

Any information supplied to Focus People by a third party (one of the clients we are working with) are deleted from our system at the completion of each research project.

Any requests for Bank details are made on a project basis. We will let you know if we need to pass your bank details onto our client for the purpose of them paying you for the research project you took part in. This is requested purely to enable payment of incentives. All details are deleted at the completion of the applicable research project. We do not add these details to your permanent record so if you have provided these to us in the past for a previous payment we will need to ask you for these details again.

Referrals

As part of our provision of services, we may sometimes ask you to refer other people for Market and Social Research. These referrals are not contacted by Focus People directly, without receiving their express permission. If you would like to refer a respondent to us please ask them to contact our office directly to express their interest.

Accuracy & Access to your Information

Focus People strives to keep your personally identifiable information accurate but we do rely you on you to make these changes. You can update your details at any time by going onto our website to update any information that you wish to change.

Retention of your Information

We keep your information on our database for as long as you would like to be on it. If you no longer want to participate you can unsubscribe at any time. To unsubscribe simply send us an email and we will action this within 24 hours of receiving your email: info@focuspeople.com.au

You have the right to request access to any personal information we hold about you. You can request this information by contacting our office at any time.

Questions and Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy please contact us:

The Managing Director

Phone: (03) 9599-4200

Fax: (03) 9599-4299

Email: info@focuspeople.com.au

Address: Suite 2S, 349-351 Bluff Road, Hampton Vic 3188

If you are still not satisfied after having contacted us and given us a reasonable time to respond, then we suggest that you contact

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Phone: 1300 363 992.

Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au

Other Important Items

Children’s privacy

The safety of children is very important to us. Children can register with us to take part in research however we do need parental consent (in most cases in written form) for a child under the age of 16 years of age to take part in any research projects.

Whilst Focus People will make every reasonable effort to ensure that children’s privacy and other rights are not compromised, it is ultimately the responsibility of parents to monitor their children’s Internet usage.

There are strict guidelines through the Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS) that we abide by. Please click on the link below to learn more about this. https://www.amsrs.com.au/industrynews/amsrs-guidelines-for-interviewing-children

Miscellaneous

In this policy “personal information” has the same meaning as under the Privacy Act.

This policy is effective from 15th May 2019. We may change this policy from time to time. Although we intend to observe this Privacy Policy at all times, it is not legally binding on Focus People Pty Ltd in any way.

Awareness

Focus People provides this Privacy Policy to make you aware of our privacy policy, practices and of the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our website and can also be obtained by calling our offices and requesting this information at any time.