Effective Date: 19 February 2026
1. Introduction
Backpack Bed for Homeless (ABN: 93 128 411 012), operating under its legal name Swags for Homeless Ltd, a registered Australian charity based in Queensland, is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and store your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
By interacting with Backpack Bed for Homeless, whether by donating, volunteering, subscribing to our communications, applying to become or operating as an Agency Partner through the BBH Agency Partner Portal, or otherwise providing us with your personal information, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
2. Scope of this Policy
This policy applies to all individuals and organisations whose personal information is collected, held, used, or disclosed by Backpack Bed for Homeless, including our donors, volunteers, staff, contractors, suppliers, website users, Applicant Agencies and Agency Partners registered through or applying via the BBH Agency Partner Portal, aid recipients (to the extent their information is received by us), and other stakeholders.
This Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions and the BBH Terms of Purchase, which contain additional provisions regarding data collection, confidentiality, and the use of information in the context of the Agency Partner program. Where those documents reference our Privacy Policy, this is the document to which they refer. In the event of any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and those documents regarding the handling of personal information, this Privacy Policy shall prevail.
3. Anonymity and Pseudonymity
Where it is lawful and practical, you have the right to interact with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym. Please inform us if you wish to do so, and we will discuss how we can best accommodate your request. However, in many circumstances, it will be necessary for us to collect your personal information to provide our services or process your requests (e.g., processing donations, registering volunteers, assessing Agency Partner applications, processing product orders).
4. Kinds of Personal Information We Collect
The types of personal information we may collect include:
Identification Information: Name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth.
Donation Information: Donation history, payment details (processed securely via third-party providers; we do not directly store your full credit card details).
Volunteer Information: Application details, emergency contact information, skills and experience, availability, background check information (where applicable).
Agency Partner Information: Organisation name, ABN/ACN, registered address, contact details of nominated representatives, charitable registration status, application and due diligence information (including reference checks and verification of charitable status), Agency Partner Portal account and login information, purchase and order history, grant application details, Backpack Bed Program Survey responses, distribution data, impact reports, and qualitative feedback or stories shared regarding the impact of aid distributed (collected in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions and the BBH Terms of Purchase).
Aid Recipient Information: Through our Agency Partners, we may receive anonymised or de-identified information about individuals who receive BBH products, including demographic data, geographic location of distribution, feedback, and stories about the impact of the aid. Agency Partners are responsible for obtaining appropriate consent from aid recipients before sharing any identifiable personal information with BBH, and for ensuring that information shared with BBH is anonymised or de-identified in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions. BBH will not knowingly collect identifiable personal information about aid recipients without appropriate consent having been obtained by the relevant Agency Partner.
Communication Preferences: Your preferences for receiving newsletters, updates, and other communications.
Website and Online Interaction Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited on our website and the Agency Partner Portal, referring website addresses, and other usage data collected through cookies, website analytics tools, and similar technologies (as detailed in Section 11).
Enquiry and Feedback Information: Details of your enquiries, feedback, or complaints.
Other Information: Any other personal information you voluntarily provide to us.
5. How We Collect Your Personal Information
We may collect your personal information in various ways, including:
Directly from you: When you make a donation, register as a volunteer, subscribe to our mailing list, contact us with an enquiry, or provide information through our website, phone, in person, or other channels.
Through the BBH Agency Partner Portal: When you submit an Agency Partner Application or Agency Partner Grant Application, place orders for products, submit Backpack Bed Program Survey data, provide impact reports, or otherwise interact with the Portal.
Through our website: Via online forms, cookies, website analytics tools, and other tracking technologies (as detailed in Section 11).
From Agency Partners: We may receive anonymised or de-identified information about aid recipients from Agency Partners in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions (as described in Section 4 above).
From third parties: Such as fundraising platforms (e.g., GiveNow), event organisers, or social media platforms (but only if you have consented to them sharing your information with us).
Publicly available information: In limited circumstances, we may collect information from publicly available sources.
6. Purposes for Which We Collect, Hold, Use and Disclose Personal Information
We collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
Processing Donations: To process your donations, issue receipts, and maintain donation records, including using third-party payment processors securely.
Volunteer Management: To assess and manage volunteer applications, coordinate volunteer activities, conduct necessary background checks, and communicate with volunteers.
Agency Partner Administration: To assess Agency Partner applications (including conducting due diligence checks, reference checks, and verification of charitable status), manage Agency Partner registrations and Portal access, process product orders and grant applications, administer the distribution of aid, communicate with Agency Partners regarding the partnership arrangement, and notify Agency Partners of changes to our Terms and Conditions, Terms of Purchase, or this Privacy Policy.
Impact Measurement and Reporting: To collect, analyse, and report on the impact of aid distributed through Agency Partners, including the use of Backpack Bed Program Survey data and qualitative feedback in reports to donors, stakeholders, and the public. Any such reporting will use anonymised and aggregated data unless express consent has been obtained for identifiable information, except that Agency Partner names and their associated distribution quantities may be publicly disclosed in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions and Section 7 of this Privacy Policy. Where we receive information about aid recipients from Agency Partners, we will use this information solely for impact measurement, reporting to donors and stakeholders, and promotional purposes, and only in anonymised or de-identified form unless express consent for identifiable use has been obtained.
Public Acknowledgment and Promotion: To publicly acknowledge Agency Partners by name and logo as registered partners of BBH, and to use approved quotes, stories, and feedback in BBH marketing, fundraising, and media materials, in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions.
Providing Information and Communications: To send you newsletters, updates about our work, fundraising appeals, event invitations, and other information you have requested or that we believe may be of interest to you, in accordance with your communication preferences (see Section 10 regarding Direct Marketing).
Responding to Enquiries and Feedback: To address your questions, respond to your feedback, and resolve any complaints.
Improving our Services: To analyse website and Portal usage (including through website analytics tools) and supporter interactions, understand supporter needs, and improve our programs, services, and fundraising efforts.
Complying with Legal Obligations: To meet our legal and regulatory requirements, such as reporting to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and tax authorities.
Fundraising and Marketing: To conduct fundraising campaigns, promote our work, and build relationships with our supporters.
Internal Administration: For our internal management, planning, reporting, and auditing purposes.
We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, or for a related purpose where you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information.
7. Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to:
Our employees, volunteers, and contractors: Who need the information to perform their duties.
Third-party service providers: Who assist us with functions such as payment processing, website analytics, email communications, website and Portal hosting, data analysis, IT support, and professional advisory services. We take reasonable steps to ensure these providers comply with the APPs and have appropriate data security measures in place.
Logistics and delivery providers: To facilitate the delivery of products ordered through the Agency Partner Portal, we may share relevant contact and delivery information with our freight and logistics partners.
Our professional advisors: Such as lawyers, accountants, and auditors.
Regulatory authorities: Where required or authorised by law, such as the ACNC, law enforcement agencies, or other government bodies.
Agency Partners and the public: In accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions, Agency Partner organisational names, logos, and status as registered Agency Partners may be publicly disclosed by BBH without further consent. BBH may also publicly disclose the quantity of BBH products supplied to, and/or distributed by, individual Agency Partners, attributed by name, for impact reporting, donor communications, fundraising, and promotional purposes, in accordance with the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions. Additional anonymised and aggregated impact data collected through Agency Partners may be shared with BBH donors, stakeholders, and the public for impact reporting purposes.
Other organisations: With your express consent or where otherwise permitted by law.
8. Unsolicited Personal Information
If we receive personal information that we did not solicit, we will, within a reasonable period, determine whether we could have collected the information under the APPs. If we determine that we could not have collected the information, and the information is not contained in a Commonwealth record, we will destroy or de-identify the information as soon as practicable, provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
9. Cross-Border Disclosure of Personal Information
Some of our third-party service providers, including our payment processor and website analytics provider, may store or process personal information outside of Australia, primarily in the United States.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipients of your personal information comply with the Australian Privacy Principles or are subject to laws or contractual arrangements that provide comparable protection.
If additional overseas recipients become involved in the processing of your personal information, or if the countries in which recipients are located change, we will update this Privacy Policy accordingly and, where practicable, inform affected individuals.
10. Direct Marketing
We may use your personal information to send you direct marketing communications about our work, fundraising appeals, events, and other information that may be of interest to you. We will only do this if you have consented to receive such communications or if it is otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act. We will always provide you with a simple and easy way to opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications. You can update your communication preferences at any time by contacting us using the details in Section 15 or by using the unsubscribe link provided in our electronic communications.
11. Website, Cookies, and Tracking Technologies
Our BBH Agency Partner Portal use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activities.
Cookies: These are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit our website or Portal. They help us to:
- Ensure the functionality of our website and Portal.
- Remember your preferences (e.g., language settings, login sessions).
- Analyse website and Portal traffic and usage patterns to improve our services.
- Personalise your experience.
Website Analytics: Our website and Portal use third-party analytics tools that automatically collect and analyse information about how visitors use our online platforms. This data is collected from all visitors through cookies and similar technologies, and includes:
- Pages visited and time spent on each page.
- How you arrived at our website or Portal (e.g., search engine, direct link, referral).
- Your approximate geographic location (derived from your IP address).
- Your browser type, device type, and operating system.
- Other usage and interaction data.
Where available, we use IP anonymisation features provided by our analytics tools to minimise the personal information processed. Analytics data may be processed overseas in accordance with Section 9 of this Privacy Policy.
You can limit analytics tracking by:
- Adjusting your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
- Using browser-based opt-out tools or add-ons provided by your analytics provider.
Other Tracking Technologies: We may also use pixel tags or web beacons to track the effectiveness of our email campaigns and website usage.
You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to control cookies, including deleting them and preventing future cookies from being stored. However, please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website and the Agency Partner Portal.
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.
12. Security of Your Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. These steps include:
- Implementing physical security measures, such as secure storage of paper records.
- Using electronic security measures, such as encryption (e.g., SSL), firewalls, and password protection to secure our systems, databases, and the Agency Partner Portal.
- Implementing access controls on the Agency Partner Portal to restrict data access to authorised users.
- Restricting access to personal information to authorised personnel who need the information to perform their duties.
- Ensuring our employees and volunteers are trained on their privacy obligations and data security practices.
- Regularly reviewing and updating our security measures to reflect technological advancements.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Notifiable Data Breaches: In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to any individual whose personal information is involved, we will comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This includes:
(a) taking reasonable steps to contain the breach;
(b) assessing whether the breach is likely to result in serious harm;
(c) notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required; and
(d) maintaining records of the breach and our response.
13. Retention of Your Personal Information
We will retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, as described in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. When your personal information is no longer needed, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it in accordance with APP 11.2.
The following retention periods apply:
- Donation records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years in accordance with Australian taxation law requirements.
- Agency Partner records: Application and partnership records are retained for a minimum of 7 years after the end of the partnership arrangement, or as otherwise required by law.
- Purchase and order records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years in accordance with Australian taxation law requirements.
- Volunteer records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years after the end of the volunteer engagement, or as otherwise required by law.
- Anonymised impact data: May be retained indefinitely for historical reporting and research purposes.
- Website and Portal usage data: Retained in accordance with the data retention settings configured in our analytics platform and the retention policies of our hosting providers.
If you wish to request the deletion of your personal information, please contact us using the details in Section 15. We will action your request subject to any legal obligations requiring us to retain certain records.
14. Access to and Correction of Your Personal Information
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request corrections if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date.
To request access to or correction of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details provided in Section 15. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe (usually within 30 days) and may require you to verify your identity.
There may be circumstances under the APPs where we are not required to provide you with access to or correct your personal information. If this is the case, we will provide you with written reasons for our decision.
15. How to Contact Us and Make a Privacy Complaint
If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about our Privacy Policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at:
Privacy Officer Backpack Bed for Homeless PO Box 1211 Cleveland QLD 4163 Australia
Phone: 07 3286 9834
We take all privacy complaints seriously. If you make a complaint, please provide us with as much detail as possible about the issue. Our Privacy Officer will investigate your complaint and aim to provide you with a response within a reasonable timeframe (usually within 30 days). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). For more information, please visit the OAIC website at www.oaic.gov.au.
16. Government Related Identifiers
Backpack Bed for Homeless will only collect, use, or disclose government-related identifiers (such as tax file numbers) if required or authorised by law. We will not use these identifiers to identify you for our own purposes unless permitted by law.
17. Quality of Personal Information
We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use, and disclose is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. We encourage you to advise us of any changes to your personal information as soon as possible so that we can keep our records accurate. Agency Partners can update their information through the BBH Agency Partner Portal or by contacting us directly.
18. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or technology. Any material changes will be posted on our website and, where practicable, communicated to affected individuals by email or other appropriate means.
For Agency Partners, material changes to this Privacy Policy will be communicated in accordance with the notification provisions set out in the BBH Agency Partner Application Terms and Conditions.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal information.
19. Governing Law
This Privacy Policy is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. To the extent that any dispute arises in connection with this Privacy Policy that is not within the jurisdiction of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Queensland, Australia, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland.