Animals International encompasses the global activity of Animals Australia. Animals International is recognised internationally for strategic public awareness campaigning. Our ground-breaking investigations have spanned 16 countries — shining a spotlight on animal abuse, forcing government intervention, driving change and empowering individuals and communities to be active participants in the fight against animal cruelty. The Animals International privacy policy is therefore bound by the Animals Australia privacy statement which can be found below:
Animals Australia (AA) respects the trust you place in us when you share your personal information. We collect and use various types of data as part of our work and we aim to be clear about how we approach the capture, disclosure, and use of this data.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and aim to comply with our obligations under, among other things, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (EU) (GDPR) and the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
This policy applies to all personal information or personal data we collect, regardless of whether the individual is inside or outside Australia.
This Privacy Policy contains the information required by APP 1.3, APP 5.1 and article 13 of the GDPR and GDPR UK. This document also contains, where possible, the matters required under APP 5.
Among other things, this policy provides an overview of:
- The kinds of personal information we collect and hold,
- How this information is collected and held,
- The purposes for which we collect, use, hold and disclose personal information,
- Information about overseas disclosures,
- How we protect your personal information,
- How you can opt-in & opt-out of AA correspondence,
- Your use of cookies & analytics tools,
- How you access personal information about yourself, seek to correct your personal information,
- How you can withdraw your consent for AA to manage your personal information, and
- How you can make a complaint.
Personal information we collect and hold
Personal information means any information that can reasonably identify you, such as your name or email address.
If you engage with Animals Australia (such as signing a petition, donating, sending us an email, or calling us), we may collect the following kinds of personal information, if you choose to provide this to us:
- Your name, street address, email address, phone number, and date of birth,
- Honorifics and pronouns, which may indicate your gender,
- Information relating to your donations, bequests, and contact preferences,
- Your views on animal protection and other political policies or issues (for example, if you send a message to a Member of Parliament through our website),
- Information about your paid work or volunteering (if you choose to apply to work / contract / volunteer with us, or let us know you work for a specific entity),
- Information about your personal circumstances, such as bereavement, financial hardship, or having a medical condition, where this is relevant to your relationship to us as a supporter (for example, if you let us know you are experiencing financial hardship and need to cancel your recurring donation), and
- Other information you might choose to provide us.
If you engage with Animals Australia’s website or other online platforms, we may collect your IP address and device model automatically, without you choosing to provide this to us. If any personal information is collected in this way, it will be handled in accordance with this Policy.
How we collect and hold personal information
The information we collect is shaped by how you engage with us. Some information is collected automatically, such as your IP address when you visit the website, but most data will only be gathered if you provide it to us, such as when you sign a petition, donate, or complete a supporter survey. Personal information you provide to Animals Australia team members—such as via phone call, email, social media, or at an event—may also be collected.
You may interact with us without revealing your identity whenever practical. That said, certain things—such as job applications and bequests—may require identifying information.
We may collect your personal information:
- directly from you, such as via website forms, phone calls, emails, and surveys, and
- through third-party suppliers and service providers, such as social media platforms.
In addition to storing personal information in our own systems, we may also collect and hold data using third-party service providers, such as email providers, payment processors, and other technology platforms. We secure data using protections such as multi-factor authentication and restricted access controls.
We hold personal information for as long as is needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected, and we otherwise hold information in accordance with this Policy and according to law. Among other things we will, in accordance with APP 11.2, take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify information that is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected. Individuals in the EU or UK may also have a right to request erasure of their personal information under Article 17 of the GDPR, subject to applicable exceptions. In addition, you can opt-out from AA email correspondence at any time, or withdraw your consent for AA to hold, use or disclose your personal information at any time (see below).
The purposes for which we collect, use and hold personal information
We may collect, use and hold your personal information for the following purposes:
- Sending you updates about our work and ways you can help animals,
- Personalising our communications with you,
- Processing your donations and issuing receipts,
- Fulfilling your orders from the Animals Australia shop,
- Assessing your submission and contacting you if you apply for a job with us,
- Analysing and improving our impact, services, and communications, or
- Complying with legal obligations, such as record-keeping or responding to lawful requests.
We process personal data of individuals in the United Kingdom and European Union.
This may include when:
- When you’ve given us your consent (e.g. subscribing to a mailing list),
- When it’s necessary to perform a contract to which you are a party, or
- When it is necessary to pursue a legitimate interest of AA (except where this interest is overridden by your rights, freedoms or interests).
If you choose not to provide personal information when requested, we may not be able to provide you with certain services, such as processing your donation, adding you to a mailing list, or fulfilling your online order.
Who we may disclose personal information to
We may disclose your personal information to third-party service providers — such as agencies, contractors, payment gateways, social media platforms, and mailhouses. We also may disclose your personal information, with your consent, or in accordance with our legal obligations.
We may disclose your personal information, with your consent, to allied organisations we run joint campaigns with. Joint opt-in contact preferences will always be clearly labelled. Please note that contact by partner organisations is governed by the privacy policy of the respective organisation.
Personal information may be disclosed for the following purposes:
- Sending you updates about our work for animals, such as providing your contact details to email or SMS service providers,
- Providing services and support to our supporters, such as sharing information with delivery providers to deliver mail,
- Processing donations and payments, such as securely providing your details to payment platforms or financial institutions,
- Managing recruitment and employment processes, such as sharing your details with your referees,
- Running joint campaigns with partner organisations, such as providing your details to a mission-aligned partner organisation, where you have consented or opted-in to their collection and use of your information,
- Improving our impact and operations, such as working with IT providers who help us improve our services, or
- Meeting our legal obligations, such as disclosing information when required by law.
Information about overseas disclosures
We may disclose your personal information to third-party service providers, partner organisations, and Animals Australia team members who are located outside Australia.
Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles, unless an exception applies — such as where you have expressly consented to the disclosure after being informed that we will not be taking such steps .
Personal information may be disclosed overseas for the following purposes:
- Managing our operations and services with partners, such as providing information to service providers with overseas staff and/or that store or process data overseas,
- Managing our operations and services internally, such as when international Animals Australia staff or contractors access personal information,
- Running joint campaigns with partner organisations, such as providing your details to a mission-aligned partner organisation, where you have consented or opted-in to their collection and use of your information, or
- Meeting legal or regulatory requirements, if we are required to share information with overseas authorities under Australian law or a binding international agreement.
How we protect personal information
Examples of how we protect personal information include:
- Restricting access to systems that contain personal information,
- Using authentication protocols on systems that contain personal information,
- Ensuring that third-party systems are kept up-to-date and contain adequate security protocols, and
- Shredding mail that has been sent to the Animals Australia office.
Opt-in & opt-out
We only send promotional emails or SMS messages where we have your express or implied consent, in accordance with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). Links to opt-out of our mailing lists (e.g. Animals Australia’s and VegKit’s mailing lists) are included at the bottom of every email broadcast that we send.
Cookies & analytics tools
Animals Australia uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small files stored on your device that, may or may not contain personal information, and can remember things like the pages you’ve visited and the information you’ve submitted in forms. This gets sent to websites like Animals Australia’s and helps, for example, with autofilling text in a donation form, keeping you logged in to MyAA, and saving the items in your Animals Australia shop cart. You can control or disable cookies in your browser settings but note that doing so may affect site functionality.
We also use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics and Meta Pixel, to understand how people use our site, as well as for marketing purposes. These tools may collect data such as your browser, pages viewed, and interactions with pages.
How to access and correct your personal information
You have the right to see the personal information we hold about you and to request corrections if any detail is inaccurate or out of date. You can request a copy of your record or request a correction by contacting us via email, phone, or mail. If you have a MyAA account, you can correct your own personal information via MyAA.
Withdrawing your consent
You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time to our management or processing of your personal information.
Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any collection, use, holding, storage, or disclosure carried out prior to your withdrawal. To withdraw your consent, please contact us using the details below.
Complaints
If you believe we have mishandled your information, or breached any of the Australian Privacy Principles, please contact us. We will investigate any complaint raised and respond as soon as reasonably practicable. If you remain dissatisfied, you may raise the matter with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.
Data breaches
If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to cause serious harm, we will investigate promptly and notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required by law.
Contact details
If you have any questions about this privacy policy please contact us:
Animals Australia
Address: Locked Bag 1236, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Phone: (+61) 03 9329 6333
Toll-free phone: 1800 888 584
Email: enquiries@animalsaustralia.org
Updates to this statement
The most recent revision date appears below.
Last updated: March 2026
