This YHA Privacy Statement, which is our privacy policy, covers the YHA group in Australia. The YHA group in Australia includes YHA Ltd,  Hostelling International Australia Inc (trading as YHA Australia)  as well as YHA WA Inc and Youth Hostels Association of Tasmania Inc, and all associated, YHA branded hostels (together referred to as YHA, we, us, our). 

YHA is part of the world's largest backpacker accommodation network, Hostelling International (HI). YHA offers a range of member services including an Australia-wide network of hostels and accommodation services, YHA Travel & Tours, and an extensive member discount program.

We understand that you care about the use and storage of your personal information and we value your trust in allowing us to do this in a careful and sensible manner.  Personal information is information about you that is identifiable, like your name and email address.

YHA complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) including the Australian Privacy Principles and other Australian regulations such as the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and the Spam Act 2003, which govern how it must handle personal information. Our Privacy Statement explains how we do this.

Information we collect and how we collect it

By providing us with your personal information you consent to our collection and use of this information for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement.

Direct collection

We primarily collect information about you directly when you register with us to:

•          create your YHA Profile online,
•          become a member of YHA;
•          make bookings for accommodation and services
•          submit  queries to us;
•          create a YHA Travel Profile and obtain travel products and services and answer queries; and
•          respond to offers from us and our partners, including when you enter our competitions or receive discounts.

Examples of the types of personal information we collect include your name, date of birth, email, mobile or telephone number, address and postcode, credit card information, destination(s), time of travel and details regarding your health and special requirements if these are provided by you.

Indirect collection

We use technology including cookies to collect information about you indirectly.  This may include information about what internet browser you use, what site brought you to our site, the time and date of visiting the site and your IP address.   This information is usually anonymous, but may be used in conjunction with information you have provided us directly to enhance your experience, anonymously.

We use cookies to improve your experience of our website by storing preferences, remembering your journey and improving the interaction between you and the website.

Cookies are small text files that are downloaded to your computer, mobile or other device when you visit a website. They allow us to identify when you visit our website, and the previous information you have viewed in relation to our service. The use of cookies does not allow the website to access any information on your computer or other personal device.

If you want to prevent cookies being stored on your device in the future, you can easily change your web browser setting to refuse cookies or to notify you when you receive a new cookie. Just remember that preventing cookies may affect your experience when engaging with our site. You can find out more about cookies at www.youronlinechoices.com.au.

We may also obtain your information from someone else where you have consented for them to disclose your information to us, for example, if you have booked YHA services through a travel agent or partner.  In this case we will take reasonable steps to ensure you are aware of the information collected and the circumstances of collection.

Automatic collection

YHA usually collects limited information about all visitors to our website and online resources; this is only used to identify generic behavioural patterns of how our website and online resources are being used.

The YHA website collates such information as the IP address (i.e. location of your computer on the internet), date and time of visits, browser used, pages accessed and file downloads from the site. Monitoring such information helps YHA determine the activity on its website and which pages are most accessed. This is statistical data about browsing actions and patterns and does not identify any individual.

All of this information is used to develop and improve our services online.

Why we collect your information

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information:

•          To provide the services you have asked for, including hostel bookings and membership;
•          To evaluate and improve our service, and provide you with a more personalised service;
•          To provide you with information about the products and services we offer, including letting you know about promotions and discounts;
•          To conduct market research;
•          For our own administration purposes; and
•          To contact you.

We may communicate with you by email, post, SMS, telephone, mobile or otherwise.

If we no longer need your personal information, we will ensure that it is either destroyed or de-identified.

Disclosure to Third Parties

Generally, we only disclose your personal information to third parties involved in fulfilling your bookings and providing you the services you have asked for, or where you have specifically consented to the disclosure.

We work with third-party organisations to deliver some of our services to you and we disclose your information to enable them to provide you with these services.  This includes third party operators of “Travel Deals” to whom we disclose name/s, destinations, time of travel and other special requirements you have provided and agreed to share.

In some cases, the organisations to which we disclose your personal information will be based outside Australia. Typically, overseas hostels are booked through our umbrella organisation Hostelling International, located in the UK.

Before we disclose your information to our overseas service providers, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that they comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and only use your information for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement. You consent to us disclosing your personal information to overseas recipients on that basis.

We may disclose your information to a person or authority if we are required to do so by law.

Security of your information

YHA holds your personal information electronically, both at our own premises and with the assistance of our service providers. Your data will be stored on a central database that is located in Australia and operated by us/one of our service providers.   Only authorised YHA staff can have access to this material.

YHA implements a range of technical systems and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, destruction, use or disclosure and against accidental loss.

YHA does not have control over information while in transit over the internet.  We do our best to keep your information safe, including by encryption, but we cannot guarantee its security. In addition, our website may include links to other websites. We are not responsible, nor do we endorse the contents of those sites, and you should always read the privacy policies of those sites.

Your Choices

You have a choice about how we use your personal information.  When you register with us, you can choose not to provide us with some or all of your personal information.  However, it may mean you are not able to take advantage of certain services that we provide.

You have the following rights in relation to our communications to you:

•          You can unsubscribe at any time from receiving email messages from us by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any message we send you, or by contacting us;
•          YHA will not intentionally send unsolicited email marketing messages as it is prohibited under the Spam Act 2003;  
•          If you notify us that you no longer wish to be registered with us as a member we will place your details in a suppression file and you will receive no further communications from YHA.  In the future you can always re-register;
•          When you register with us and you provide your telephone number you are consenting to us contacting you by telephone even though you may have registered on the “Do Not Call Register” under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.  You may withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us; and
•          YHA will not send you marketing messages if you have indicated to us that you do not want to be contacted in this way.

You can contact us using the details below.

Accessing your personal information 

We do our best to make sure that all information we hold about you is accurate, up-to-date and complete.  You have the right to access your personal information held by us, and have any inaccuracies in your information corrected.  You may also request for us to delete your information from our databases by contacting us using the details below.  

We will use all reasonable efforts to respond to your requests within 30 days. Proof of ID is required before any information will be disclosed

To correct personal information (not booking details such as dates of arrival or departure) on our records in relation to:

•          your YHA Australia membership, log onto yha.com.au and correct the relevant details, or contact the YHA office  in your State of residence;
•          your hostel or travel bookings, contact the location where the booking was originally made; and
•          your hostel or "Travel Deals" bookings, made online, contact YHA using the details below.

We may charge a reasonable administration fee to provide you with access to your personal information in certain circumstances if the costs of meeting your access requests are not nominal.

Changes to this Policy

YHA may change the Privacy Statement to reflect changes in our practices and privacy regulation.  Any changes will come into effect when an updated Privacy Statement is posted to our website.

Complaints

If you believe that YHA has breached the Australian Privacy Principles, or you have a complaint about how your personal information is handled, you can contact us using the details below.

We take your complaints seriously and we will attempt to resolve any issues quickly and fairly.

If we cannot resolve your complaint to a satisfactory standard, you are entitled to lodge your complaint in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at:

http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint    

Contact us