Who is the Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body?
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body, VRFish, is a not for profit organisation established in 1995 and is funded by Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) revenue. VRFish commenced operations after a joint Parliamentary Committee recommended to the then Minister for Natural Resources that a Peak Body be set up to represent the interests of recreational fishers in Victoria.

VRFish Charter: To consult broadly with the recreational fishing community to represent the views of recreational fishers in an accurate and timely manner to Government and their agencies, as well as communicate effectively with the recreational fishers of Victoria.

VRFish Vision: To ensure full access to a diverse and healthy Victorian recreational fishery. VRFish Mission ...is to represent and advocate the interests of the Victorian recreational fishing community.

Collecting your Personal Information
VRFish understands that members may have concerns about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of information that VRFish may obtain about them. VRFish's policy is to protect members' privacy and personal information that it may collect from time to time.
VRFish has undertaken to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Privacy Principles included in the Privacy Act (Private Sector) Amendment Act 2000.

Personal information is collected by VRFish for the primary purpose of membership requirements and/or advocacy requirements. VRFish collects details such as your name, address, telephone and facsimile numbers, email addresses, organisation details, area of recreational fishing interest etc. A hard copy file containing the member's application or recreational fishers details are retained in a secure location in accordance with the Act and for a further seven years in accordance with current Federal and State legislation governing document retention, before being destroyed.

Website privacy
You can access the VRFish home page and browse our website without disclosing your personal information. We do not collect personal information when you visit of browse. Where you submit an email automatically generated from the website or complete and submit a form online, your personal information will be managed in accordance with the policy set out in this Statement. Email addresses are not added to mailing lists without your consent.

Web Statistics and Data Collection
Pages on the site may be coded with NetRatings and DoubleClick software. This software stores a cookie in your browser, which contains a unique identifier, and sends information to NetRatings and DoubleClick. This enables NetRatings and DoubleClick to track the number of unique visitors to the site. In no way does this unique identifier identify a user personally. We do not and will not marry any data collected by NetRatings and DoubleClick with any personal information.

Cookies
Like many sites, this website may use cookies from time to time. Cookies are small data files that a website is able to place on a user's hard drive to record aspects of that user's experience of the website. For example, we may use cookies to record that a user visited a particular section of the website, that their browsing software was a particular version or to ensure that online applications and transactions do not require you to re-input information when moving between web pages. In this way, cookies can improve the operation of the website, and make the experience more efficient, more enjoyable or more personalised. Importantly, in depositing information on a user's computer and referring to it later in the same session (sessional) or on a subsequent visit (persistent), cookies do not need to identify the user or record any personal information.

The default settings of browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer may allow some or all cookies, but users can easily take steps to erase cookies from their hard-drive, block all cookies, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. However, some parts of sites may not function fully for users that disallow cookies.

Email subscription service
The personal information we collect via the email subscription system includes the content of any electronic forms you submit to request the subscription service or information, which may include your name, organisation and email address. In addition to using the information for the purpose of providing our email subscription service you have requested, we may also use or disclose the personal information that we collect about you for the following purposes: research or the compilation or analysis of statistics. Other than by publication of the information in a form that identifies an individual, it is impracticable to get that individual's consent before the use or disclosure and in the case of disclosure VRFish believes the recipient of any of the information will not disclose it. We may preserve that content of any electronic message that we receive. Any personal information contained in that message will only be used or disclosed in ways set out in the Privacy Statement. We will not use that information to add you to a mailing list without your consent.

Links to external websites
This Website Privacy Statement does not extend beyond this website. When following links to other sites from this website, we recommend that you read the privacy statement of that site to familiarise yourself with its privacy practices.

What if you do not provide the personal information we require?
Failure to provide the information sought by VRFish for the purposes detailed may not enable the organisation to complete the membership process or any specific service requested i.e. VRFish may not be able to communicate with you effectively regarding your area of interest in recreational fishing.

How does VRFish secure your personal information?
To prevent any unauthorised access to your information, VRFish has installed computer and network security, including encryption and password protection processes. However, you should be aware that there are risks in transmitting information across the internet. So while we strive to protect such information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to use online and individuals do so at their own risk. Once any personal information comes into our possession, we will take reasonable steps to protect that information from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. If you are concerned about conveying sensitive material to use over the internet, you might prefer to contact us by telephone or mail. Only staff authorised by the VRFish Board have access to the data file information. Hard copies of any information are stored in locked offices and equivalent off site secured storage areas.

To whom do we disclose your personal information?
A member's personal information will only be used or disclosed by VRFish as allowed by the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Privacy Principles included in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000. To facilitate VRFish delivering better services and benefits to its members and the recreational fishing community, personal information collected may be shared with other organisations and including Member Associations, Committees and Member Clubs. Further, to conduct VRFish operations, VRFish occasionally engages independent operators and parties. Accordingly, some information may be used or disclosed in part by VRFish for the following purposes: research or the compilation or analysis of statistics -

Withdrawing your consent
If you do not consent to any of the disclosures above then you can write and advise VRFish at its office address or contact VRFish by:
Telephone: (03) 9686 7077 Fax: (03) 9682 1066. VRFish will then ensure that your personal information is not used for this purpose. This exemption cannot apply where VRFish is required by law to provide such disclosure. If you do not object to the uses or disclosures as stated above, VRFish will accept this as having received your express consent.

What if you wish to access your personal information?
Members may, upon written request, access the personal information VRFish has obtained from membership application forms and the related product or service forms that it currently holds. To the extent possible, VRFish will let you access your personal information. However, there are times where the organisation is not in a position to do so (e.g. where it would be unlawful to do so). If VRFish denies you access to this information, VRFish will notify you of this refusal and the basis for it. To cover administration costs of providing access to your personal information a charge may be applied. If so, it is $100. To arrange access, please ask for details at head office:
VRFish Marine House, Ground Floor, 24 York Street, South Melbourne Vic 3205

What if you wish to change some of the personal information held?
VRFish endeavours to ensure that personal information held is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Where you believe that personal information held by VRFish is not accurate, complete or up-to-date, then advise VRFish and every effort will be made to correct the information.

What if you wish to lodge a complaint?
For any purpose associated with privacy matters including the lodgement of a complaint, VRFish can be contacted at its office on (03) 9686 7077. Your call will be directed to the officer appointed by us to deal with your enquiry or complaint. Copies of this privacy policy are available from our office or can be mailed by phoning VRFish on (03) 9686 7077. This policy is also available on our website www.vrfish.com.au.