Privacy Policy

1.1. At Linear, safeguarding your privacy is our priority. We adhere to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles outlined in the Privacy Act when handling Personal Information.

1.2. This Privacy Policy explains how Linear handles the Personal Information provided by or on behalf of you. It also details the types of Personal Information we collect, your privacy rights, and how to contact us with any concerns, complaints, or questions, and our general rights and obligations.

2.1. This Privacy Policy (Policy) describes how Linear handles and protects Personal Information. We will handle Personal Information in accordance with this Policy and relevant legislation.

2.2. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, by publishing changes on our website.

3.1. Personal Information refers to any information or opinion, whether true or not and whether recorded in material form or not, about an individual who is identified or is reasonably identifiable. Examples include an individual’s name, address, phone number, and date of birth.

3.2. Sensitive Information is a subset of Personal Information that generally receives greater protection under the Privacy Act. It includes health information and information about an individual’s race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and criminal record.

3.3. Health Information includes details about an individual’s health or disability, their wishes about future health services, health services provided to them, and other information collected in the provision of health services.

3.4. De-identified Information is Personal Information that is no longer about an identifiable individual. Once de-identified, such information is no longer considered Personal Information. Publicly available information is also not considered Personal Information.

3.5. References to Personal Information in this Privacy Policy include Sensitive Information and Health Information.

4.1. The type of Personal Information we collect includes, but is not limited to, the following kinds of information:
4.1.1. Name;
4.1.2. Date of birth;
4.1.3. Contact details (such as email, address, phone numbers);
4.1.4. Gender;
4.1.5.Next of kin details;
4.1.6. Health information such as information about medical conditions, blood results,
or other samples you have provided in connection with our medical trials or
research; and
4.1.7. Other sensitive information such as ethnicity.

5.1. We collect Personal Information when you contact us, participate in or support us in any of our clinical trials, make a donation or apply for an employment opportunity with us.

6.1. We may collect your personal information in different ways, including:
6.1.1. Direct interactions, such as discussions, participation in clinical trials, form
completions, donations, job applications, and service provision
6.1.2. Third parties, with your consent or where legally permissible, and publicly
available sources
6.1.3. Third parties if listed as an emergency contact or family member in research
participation
6.1.4. Video and camera surveillance on our premises and in car parks (note that it
may not always be possible to reasonably identify you in the footage) Call recording with your permission, with the option to opt-out based on your preference

7.1. Where requested by you and if it is practicable and lawful to do so, you may interact with us anonymously or using a pseudonym. For example, if you contact us with a general question, we will not record your name unless we need it to adequately handle your question.

7.2. However, if you do not provide the personal information we request, we may not be able to work with you on an ongoing basis, issue tax deductible receipts, or allow you to participate in or access our clinical trials.

8.1. When you visit our website, we may use ‘cookies’ or similar tracking technologies to maintain user sessions, preferences, and browsing behaviour.

8.2. Our website uses Google Analytics, which transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with other data held by Google. We use reports from Google Analytics to understand website traffic and usage.

8.3. Whilst we do not use browsing information to identify you personally, we may record certain information about your website use, such as pages you visited, time and date of visit, search engine referrals, and the internet protocol address assigned to your computer.

8.4. Our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons to count users who have visited certain pages. Web beacons do not access Personal Information but help us analyse page views.

9.1. We may collect your personal information for several purposes, including:
9.1.1. Research: Conducting research, including clinical trial participation
a) Any Sensitive Information collected through participation in a clinical trial is reviewed by an approved Human Research and Ethics Committee and outlined within the Patient Information and Consent Form
9.1.2. Contacting you:Communicating with you about our clinical trials, donations, campaigns, causes and events
9.1.3. Volunteering and other support: Enabling you to assist us with volunteering, advocacy and other community support activities
9.1.4. Other issues: Communicating with you about our operations, activities, and objectives, verifying your identity, and complying with relevant laws

9.2. If we collect your personal information for a specific purpose not outlined above, we will provide you with a collection notice explaining the primary and any related secondary purposes.

10.1. We will only disclose your personal information with your consent or as required by law to the following entities: our research partners, contractors, consultants, advisers, associates and related entities, service providers, and any industry body, tribunal, court in connection with any complaint made by you about us.

10.2. If you donate, we may publish your name in our annual report or other Linear publications, according to your preferences as notified to us. If you wish to remain anonymous in our publications or at public forums, please advise us in writing.

10.3. We will never share your information for commercial gain.

11.1. We store your Personal Information in hard copy, electronically, or in our software or systems, including cloud or other network storage. We take all reasonable steps (including organisational processes and security measures) to protect your Personal Information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include:
11.1.1. the use of identity and access management technologies to control access to systems on which information is processed and stored;
11.1.2. requiring all employees to comply with internal information security policies and keep information secure;
11.1.3. requiring all employees to complete training about information security; and
11.1.4. monitoring and regularly reviewing our practice against our own policies and against industry best practice

11.2. When storing Personal Information with third parties, we require them to maintain security in compliance with privacy legislation. Despite these measures, we are not liable for unauthorised access or use of information. Personal Information remains in our database until removal is requested, unless de-identified or destroyed earlier per privacy laws.

12.1. At Linear we take the security of your Personal Information seriously. Linear maintains a Data Breach Policy and in the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will promptly take the following steps:
12.1.1. Containment and Assessment: Immediately contain the breach and assess the potential impact on affected individuals.

12.1.2. Notification: Notify affected individuals as soon as practicable, providing details of the breach, the type of information involved, and recommended steps to mitigate potential harm
12.1.3. Reporting: Report the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Privacy Act 1988
12.1.4. Review and Prevention: Conduct a thorough review of the incident to identify the cause and implement measures to prevent future breaches

12.2. We are committed to maintaining transparency and will keep affected individuals informed throughout the breach response process.

13.1. In accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, we may transfer personal information to another party in a foreign country only if such transfer is permitted by the Privacy Act. Likely countries include the USA, the European Union, China, and Japan.

14.1. Handling and storage of debit or credit card information comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) and the Australian Privacy Principles. We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates to encrypt card numbers, names, and addresses, preventing third-party access over the internet. Financial information is encrypted on our servers and restricted to authorised staff.

15.1. We take reasonable steps to ensure Personal Information is up to date, accurate and complete.

15.2. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of the Personal Information we hold about you at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact details listed at the end of this Policy.

15.3. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. Subject to any applicable exceptions or requirements, we will respond to your request within a reasonable time and usually within 30 days. If we decide to refuse your request, we will generally tell you why in writing (unless this would be unreasonable) and how to complain.

16.1. If you have a complaint or inquiry about the way in which we have handled any privacy issue, please contact us using the details below. We will use reasonable efforts to deal promptly with complaints and inquiries and, in any event, acknowledge your complaint within 30 days.
16.2. You can make a complaint in writing to our Chief Executive Officer.

Please contact us at privacy@linear.org.au

Privacy Officer, Linear Clinical Research
Level 2, 174 Hampden Road, Nedlands WA 6009

16.3. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) via the OAIC website, www.oaic.gov.au.

17.1. We may update our privacy policy without notice. By using the website, you agree to your personal information being used for the purposes outlined above in the Privacy Policy.

This policy was last updated on 30 Sept 2024.

Version 1 Effective Date: 29 Nov 2023
Version 2 Effective Date: 04 Nov 2024

Version 2 Summary of Changes:
Consolidation of the previous main policy and 4 supporting policies into one document.

By using this site, you signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this
policy, please do not use our site. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, add, or
remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for changes.

Your continued use of the Linear site following the posting of changes to these terms means you accept the changes.