St Mary’s Mission — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 October 2026

This policy explains how St Mary’s Syro-Malabar Mission, Newcastle (“the parish”, “we”) handles personal information on our websites (stmarysnewcastle.org and parish.stmarysnewcastle.org.au), in the parish register, and in the St Mary’s app. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). More detail about the app is in the App Privacy Policy.

Information we collect

  • Parish registration: names, baptism names, dates of birth, sacrament dates, address, phone numbers, email addresses, ward and Family Code for each family member.
  • Sacraments and certificates: baptism, First Holy Communion and other sacrament records, and recommendation letters.
  • Catechism: children’s class, attendance, assessment results and report cards, Student ID photos, any health or medical notes a parent gives for an event, and early pickup and event check-in records.
  • Forms and requests: appointments with the Chaplain, prayer requests, event registrations, and volunteer applications (including Working With Children Check number and expiry for roles with children).
  • Payments: Direct Debit requests (the account details the bank form requires) and online donations and fees, which are processed by Stripe. The parish does not store card numbers.
  • App use: your sign-in email or mobile, your phone’s notification token and type if you allow notifications, and a random install ID with the app version so we can count usage.
  • Photos and videos taken at Masses, feasts, catechism and other parish activities.

Sacrament and other religious records, and health information, are sensitive information. We collect them only with your consent and only for the purposes below.

How we use it

To keep the parish register; provide pastoral care, sacraments and catechism; organise events, wards and volunteers; process donations and Direct Debits; send parish notices by email, SMS or app notification; and meet child-safety and legal obligations. We do not use it for advertising, and we never sell or rent personal information.

Who can see it

  • Your family sees its own record in the app and on My Parish. No family can see another family’s details.
  • The Chaplain and authorised parish staff and volunteers see what their role needs, through protected dashboards.
  • Catechism teachers and the Principal see the details, attendance, results and photos of the children in their care.
  • The Syro-Malabar Eparchy of St Thomas the Apostle, Melbourne may receive sacrament or safeguarding records where church requirements apply.

Photos and videos

Group and event photos and videos may appear in the parish bulletin and newsletters, on the parish websites and on official parish social media, for parish purposes only. If you have a serious concern, such as a child-safety reason, please tell the parish office and we will not feature you or your child.

Service providers and overseas storage

We use providers to run our services: our website host (Hostinger), our email delivery service, Expo, Apple and Google for app notifications (they receive the notification token and the message, not your registration details), and Stripe for payments. The websites and parish register are stored on servers in the United States. We choose providers that protect information and use it only to provide their service to us.

How we protect it

Encrypted connections (HTTPS); one-time sign-in codes that expire after 10 minutes; private, non-public storage for children’s photos; access limited by role; and regular backups.

How long we keep it

Registration and sacrament records are kept as part of the parish register. Catechism records are kept while the child is enrolled and for as long as child-safety rules require. Volunteer and Working With Children Check details are kept while you volunteer and deleted on request afterwards, unless child-safety rules require us to keep them. App accounts are kept until you delete them; guest app records are removed after 180 days without use.

Your rights

You can see and correct your details in the app (Me) or on My Parish, ask for a copy, ask us to delete your app data or registration, and withdraw your consent at any time. Some records, such as sacrament records, may need to be kept. Contact us and we will respond within 30 days.

Contact and complaints

St Mary’s Syro-Malabar Mission, Newcastle — chaplain@stmarysnewcastle.org — 262 Sandgate Rd, Shortland NSW 2307. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Changes

We will post any changes on this page and update the effective date.