1. Introduction

Interlingual Language Services Pty Ltd (ABN 53 656 297 746) (“Interlingual”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides NAATI-certified translation, interpreting, transcription, voiceover, subtitling and related language services to government, business and community clients across Australia.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of every individual whose personal information we handle. We recognise that, because of the nature of our work, we are often entrusted with highly sensitive documents — including migration, legal, medical and financial material. We treat that responsibility seriously.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information, and how we comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the “Privacy Act”) and the 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in it. By using our website or our services, or by providing us with personal information, you agree to the handling of your information as described in this Policy.

2. Scope of this Policy

This Policy applies to all personal information we collect through our website (interlingual.com.au), our online quote and contact forms, email, telephone, and in the course of providing our services. It applies to information about our clients, the individuals our clients ask us to assist, members of the public who contact us, job and contractor applicants, and our network of linguists and suppliers.

3. What is personal information?

“Personal information” means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information is true or not and whether or not it is recorded in a material form.

“Sensitive information” is a special category of personal information that includes information about a person’s health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, sexual orientation, criminal record, and biometric information. Sensitive information is given a higher level of protection under the Privacy Act.

4. The personal information we collect

The kinds of personal information we collect and hold depend on how you interact with us. They may include:

• Contact and identity details — your name, organisation, job title, email address, postal address and telephone number.
• Enquiry and quote details — the service you require (translation, interpreting, transcription, subtitling/voiceover or equipment hire), source and target languages, type of interpreting, file format and duration, location, your category of customer (government, corporate, not-for-profit or individual), and any other information you choose to include in your enquiry.
• Documents and recordings you provide — files you upload or send to us for translation, interpreting, transcription, subtitling or voiceover. These documents frequently contain personal and sensitive information — for example birth, marriage and death certificates, passports and identity documents, visa and migration papers, academic transcripts, medical records, court and legal documents, and financial records.
• Information about third parties — where a client (such as a government department, hospital, law firm or business) engages us to provide services in relation to another individual, we may receive that individual’s personal or sensitive information from our client.
• Payment and billing information — billing contact details and the information necessary to invoice and process payment for our services.
• Recruitment information — if you apply for a role or to join our network of linguists, your résumé, qualifications, NAATI certification details, work history and references.
• Website and technical information — information collected automatically when you visit our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and how you arrived at our site, collected through cookies and analytics tools (see section 12).
• Marketing preferences — if you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address and subscription preferences.

5. Sensitive information

Because we translate, interpret and transcribe personal documents, we regularly handle sensitive information. We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions and activities and where you (or our client on your behalf) have consented to provide it, or where the collection is otherwise permitted by law.

When you submit a document to us for a quote or for service, you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing the personal and sensitive information it contains for the purpose of providing the requested language service. We use sensitive information only for that purpose and protect it with the safeguards described in this Policy.

6. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information in a number of ways, including:

• directly from you when you complete our online quote or contact form, email us, call us, or otherwise communicate with us;
• from the documents, audio or video files you provide for a project;
• from our clients, when they engage us to assist an individual or provide material relating to a third party;
• automatically through our website using cookies and analytics tools; and
• from third parties such as referees, where you have applied to work with us.

Wherever it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we collect personal information directly from the individual concerned. If we receive personal information about you from someone else (for example, the client who engaged us), we handle it in accordance with this Policy.

7. Why we collect, hold, use and disclose your information

We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for purposes connected with our business, including to:

• respond to your enquiries and provide quotes;
• deliver our translation, interpreting, transcription, subtitling, voiceover and equipment-hire services;
• match your project to a suitably qualified and certified linguist;
• communicate with you about your project and manage our relationship with you;
• invoice you and process payments;
• manage recruitment and engage contractors and linguists;
• maintain the security and integrity of our systems and records;
• send you newsletters, updates and offers where you have asked to receive them (see section 11);
• meet our legal, regulatory, accreditation and record-keeping obligations; and
• improve our website and services.

If we collect your personal information for a particular purpose, we will not use or disclose it for an unrelated purpose unless you would reasonably expect us to, you have consented, or we are otherwise permitted or required to do so by law.

8. Disclosure of your personal information

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose it, under strict confidentiality, to:

• Our linguists and project staff — the NAATI-certified translators, interpreters, transcribers and project managers assigned to your work, each of whom is bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Service providers — trusted third parties who support our business, such as IT, website hosting, cloud storage, email and payment-processing providers, who are authorised to use the information only to perform services for us.
• Professional advisers and authorities — our advisers, or government and regulatory bodies, where reasonably required.
• Where required or permitted by law — including to comply with a court order, subpoena or other legal obligation, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

9. Confidentiality and our linguists

Confidentiality is fundamental to our profession. Every translator, interpreter and member of our team who handles your information is bound by confidentiality obligations and the professional and ethical standards expected of NAATI-certified practitioners. Documents, recordings and conversations are handled in confidence and are not shared with anyone outside the project except as described in this Policy.

10. Disclosure of information overseas

Our business operates in Australia and our services are delivered to clients in Australia. From time to time, however, your personal information may be accessible to, or stored by, service providers (such as cloud hosting or software providers) located outside Australia, and in some cases a project may require a linguist located overseas.

Where we disclose personal information to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient handles the information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you would like to know the countries in which our service providers are likely to be located, please contact us using the details in section 16.

11. Direct marketing and your choices

We may send you marketing communications, such as our newsletter and information about our services, where you have subscribed or where you would reasonably expect to receive them. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe option, and you can opt out at any time by using that link or by contacting us. We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing without your consent.

12. Cookies and website analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help it function correctly, to remember your preferences, and to understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. We may use analytics tools that collect information such as your IP address, pages viewed and time spent on the site. This information is generally aggregated and is used for statistical and site-improvement purposes.

You can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent; however, some parts of our website may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

13. How we keep your information secure

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include secure storage, access controls limiting information to staff and linguists who need it, confidentiality agreements, and physical and electronic security measures.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us immediately.

14. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this Policy, or for as long as we are required to retain it to meet legal, accreditation, tax or record-keeping obligations. When personal information is no longer required and we are not required to retain it, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

15. Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. To make a request, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details in section 16.

We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. There is no charge for making a request, although we may charge a reasonable fee for giving access in certain circumstances. We may need to verify your identity before we provide access. If we decline a request, we will explain why in writing and tell you how you can complain about that decision.

16. Complaints and how to contact us

If you have a question about this Policy, wish to access or correct your information, or believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact our Privacy Officer:

We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to resolve it promptly and fairly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner — www.oaic.gov.au  |  Phone 1300 363 992

17. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The current version will always be available on our website, and the effective date at the top of this document shows when it was last updated. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.