Privacy & Accessibility

Privacy Policy Statement

Purpose

This Privacy Policy Statement is prepared in accordance with the National Privacy Principles ('NPPs') in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 ('Privacy Act'). The NPPs prescribe minimum standards for the way in which organisations deal with individuals' personal information. Under the Privacy Act, personal information generally includes information from which an individual's identity is apparent or is reasonably ascertainable.

Your Privacy is Important to Us

Rail Australia and any related companies that may be incorporated from time to time (collectively referred to as 'Rail Australia', 'we', 'us', and 'our') are committed to the protection of your personal information in accordance with the NPPs. This Privacy Policy Statement ('Privacy Policy') explains in general terms how we collect, store, use and disclose your personal information, and sets out your right to request access to information that we hold about you. Employee records which are exempt under the Privacy Act will not be subject to this Privacy Policy.

Collection of Personal Information

Rail Australia only collects personal information which is necessary in connection with its business purposes. These purposes include:

• to provide you with travel services on Rail Australia trains;
• to answer your queries, and provide you with information in relation to travel and accommodation options, packages, and other activities; and
• to arrange, process and make reservations for travel, accommodation, packages and other activities on your behalf, to invoice you for confirmed travel arrangements, and to complete related transactions.

The specific types of personal information collected and used by Rail Australia varies according to the purpose for collection. However, in general this information includes:

• your name, address, and contact details (eg telephone number, facsimile number and email address);
• credit card details and pensioner/concession information (if applicable);
• travel, accommodation and activity details;
• vehicle details (eg model, make and registration);
• any health issues that may be relevant in relation to your proposed travel or activity arrangements, including dietary requirements (if any); and
• any other special requirements that you may have.

We will assume that you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure by us of any health information which you provide to us for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, unless you tell us otherwise. Rail Australia collects most of the personal information it requires directly from you by way of written forms and other correspondence (including facsimiles, letters and emails), by telephone, in person, by its representatives, and via its website. Rail may also collect personal information about you from third parties, including but not limited to travel agents, booking agents, travel representatives, market research companies contracted by us to obtain information to assist us in improving and marketing our services, and brochure distribution companies that collect information for the purpose of providing you with information about Rail Australia's services. It is important that Rail Australia collects the information it requires about you. Without this information, Rail Australia may not be able to provide you with its services. Before providing personal information about another individual to Rail Australia, you must first ensure that the other individual is aware of:

• the disclosure of their information to Rail Australia and the purposes for which the information is collected by Rail Australia; and
• the individual's ability to request access to the personal information held about them by Rail Australia, and to advise Rail Australia if they think the information is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date.

Use and disclosure of Personal Information

Rail Australia may use and disclose your personal information for the primary purpose for which the information was collected (see Collection of Personal Information), reasonably expected secondary purposes, where you have consented, and otherwise in accordance with the NPPs, including:

• to process and make reservations for your travel, accommodation and activity arrangements and to facilitate other transactions in relation to those arrangements (including without limitation disclosing your information to travel agents, accommodation and activity service providers and other carriers, tour operators and transport companies who will be providing you with services in relation to your travel plans);
• to provide you with information from time to time about the goods and services offered by Rail Australia and third parties, including updates, special deals and other information about travel options, packages and activities that can be booked through Rail Australia. You may notify Rail Australia by written notice addressed to our Privacy Officer at any time if you do not wish to receive this information;
• to conduct surveys and other market research to assist us in assessing and improving our services;
• where required or authorised by law; and
• where required for administrative purposes and all other purposes reasonably associated with Rail Australia's business.

We may disclose your information to third party contractors and service providers engaged by Rail Australia from time to time to provide goods or services to us or on our behalf (including but not limited to email and mail handling providers, financial and credit service providers, market research providers, caterers, and those engaged to provide on-train services including luggage handling and check-in). Where such a third party is engaged, we prohibit them from using personal information provided to them by us, except for the specific purpose for which we supplied it. Your information may be shared between Rail Australia and any related companies that are incorporated from time to time.

Data Quality, Storage and Security

ail Australia strives to ensure that all personal information held in its records is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Personal information is held in a combination of electronic (and in some cases, hard copy) records stored securely at Rail Australia's facilities. Electronic information is protected by password security and other data protection measures. Access to personal information is restricted in accordance with Rail Australia's procedures to those personnel whose job functions require access to such information. Certain administrative functions may from time to time be contracted out to third parties, and in these cases appropriate security measures are implemented to ensure the security and integrity of all personal information.

Access and Correction

You may obtain access to the information held about you by Rail Australia by writing to Rail Australia's Privacy Officer as detailed below. In accordance with the NPPs, Rail Australia may deny access to requests for access to information in certain circumstances, including where:

• providing access would have an unreasonable impact upon the privacy of another individual;
• providing access to the information would be unlawful, or the law permits Rail Australia to deny access;
• the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings, or would prejudice Rail Australia's commercial negotiations with you or other individuals; or
• in Rail Australia's opinion, the request is frivolous or vexatious.

Rail Australia will correct any personal information which it becomes aware is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.

Changes to Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is current as at December 2006. Rail Australia may review and update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, Rail Australia's business practices, procedures and structure, and the community's changing privacy expectations. While it is not possible to notify you of changes to the Privacy Policy, the latest version of the Privacy Policy will be available on Rail Australia's website at www.railaustralia.com.au.You can also contact Rail Australia's Privacy Officer to obtain the latest version of the Privacy Policy at any time.

Point of Contact

To request access to personal information held about you in Rail Australia's records, to make a privacy related complaint, to obtain more information about this Privacy Policy or to enquire about privacy matters generally, please contact Rail Australia's Privacy Officer as follows:

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Accessibility

Rail Australia take seriously our responsibility for ensuring an accessible website. We are committed to building our website to support people with disabilities and those who use different types of hardware devices. Our website includes several features designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities or who have slow connections to the internet. These features include:

• all images on our site contain 'alt tags', which provide an alternative message to users who are unable to view the graphics
• all links are carefully worded to provide detailed information about their destination
• we have developed clear, consistent navigation and screen presentation

Where possible throughout our website we have not used techniques that may create access barriers, for example, frames, embedded sounds and highly patterned backgrounds.

This site uses only relative font and font sizes, compatible with the user-specified 'text size' option in visual browsers

Our brochures available on the website are provided as Portable Document Format (PDF) files for general accessibility.

If you have a comment of request regarding our Accessibility Policy, please contact: