Privacy Policy

Effective date: 03 December 2025
Operated by: Sam Devlin Consulting Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”)
Contact: sam@samdevlinconsulting.com

1. Overview

The Planned Giving Platform helps Australians include charitable gifts in their wills by connecting supporters, charities, solicitors and wealth advisers through a trusted referral network.
We respect your privacy and handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
We will never sell or rent your personal information and we will never publicly display data that identifies you.

Our services are intended for Australian residents aged 18 and over.

2. What information we collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Supporters / public users

  • Name, email, phone number, address or suburb/postcode

  • Preferred contact method and appointment preferences

  • Details supplied in enquiry or referral forms

  • Marketing and communication preferences

  • Website and analytics data (IP address, browser type, device identifiers)

Charity and professional partners

  • Organisation name, ABN, contact person, email and phone

  • Engagement and training records, invoicing and performance data

Sensitive information
In limited cases we may collect information such as health, religious or other personal matters relevant to your estate wishes. We only collect this with your consent or as permitted by law and disclose it solely to deliver the requested referral or service.

3. How we collect information

  • Directly from you via forms, email or telephone

  • From participating charities or professionals (where you have provided consent)

  • Automatically via website analytics and cookies

  • From publicly available professional sources where appropriate

4. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

  • Arrange and manage solicitor/adviser referrals and charity connections

  • Facilitate appointments and track completed will events (with consent)

  • Provide service updates and sector news (compliant with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth))

  • Operate training and reporting for partner organisations

  • Improve our services and create de-identified sector insights

  • Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time via the unsubscribe link or by emailing us.

5. Our role and data sharing

For most activities we act as an APP entity controlling how your personal information is handled for referral and reporting services.
When we share information with a solicitor, adviser or charity, those organisations handle it under their own privacy policies as independent APP entities.

We only disclose what is necessary, typically: name, contact details, suburb/postcode, preferred contact time and notes you provide.

We may also disclose information to:

  • Trusted service providers (e.g. IT hosting, analytics, email platforms) under contractual confidentiality; and

  • Regulators or law enforcement where required by law.

6. Data security

We protect personal information using:

  • Encryption (HTTPS and encrypted storage)

  • Role-based access controls and audit logging

  • Multi-factor authentication for administrators

  • Regular security reviews and supplier due diligence

7. Retention and de-identified insight

We retain information only as long as needed to fulfil its purpose, meet legal requirements, or support de-identified reporting. When no longer required, data is securely deleted or de-identified. Back-ups are time-limited.
Aggregated, de-identified data may be used to analyse charitable wills activity and sector trends; this information does not identify any individual.

8. Cross-border disclosure

Data is primarily stored in Australia. If information is processed by cloud or email providers overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives privacy protections comparable to the APPs (contractual and technical safeguards).

9. Cookies and analytics

We use essential cookies for site functionality and optional analytics (Google Analytics or similar) to measure visits and improve performance.
Analytics data is aggregated and does not personally identify you. You can manage cookies through your browser settings.

10. Access and correction

You may request access to or correction of your personal information by emailing sam@samdevlinconsulting.com.
We’ll verify your identity and respond as required by APP 12 and 13.
If you’re unsatisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au.

11. Data breaches

If a data breach occurs that is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the OAIC in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

12. Complaints

We aim to acknowledge privacy complaints within 5 business days and provide a written response within 30 days.
If you remain unsatisfied after this process, you may contact the OAIC.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. The latest version will always be posted on our website with an updated effective date. Material changes will be highlighted for a reasonable period.

14. Contact us

Privacy Officer
The Planned Giving Platform – operated by Sam Devlin Consulting Ltd
Email: sam@samdevlinconsulting.com

Security at The Planned Giving Platform

Your trust and data security are essential to us.

  • Encryption – All web traffic uses HTTPS/TLS encryption. Data stored in our systems is encrypted at rest and in transit.

  • Access controls – Only authorised team members and IT providers with a legitimate business need can access personal information.

  • Infrastructure – Our servers are hosted in secure Australian data centres and monitored 24/7. Cloud providers are contractually bound to meet Australian Privacy Principles.

  • Payment security – If we offer online payments in future, transactions will be processed through a PCI-compliant provider (e.g. Stripe). We will never store your credit card details.

  • Continuous improvement – We regularly review our systems and suppliers, conduct security audits and staff training, and apply patches promptly.

  • Incident response – Any suspected breach is investigated immediately and, if required, reported under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

If you ever have concerns about data security or receive suspicious communications purporting to be from us, please contact sam@samdevlinconsulting.com so we can investigate.